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A review by nunchikoi
The Trial by Franz Kafka, E.M. Butler
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Look, I get it, Kafka is dry and literally nothing happens for too long before everything happens in one fell swoop. It's unpleasant either because its boring or the subject matter is untoward.
This shit is still hilarious.
It is by design that K. is unlikeable, that he endlessly struggles for answers that will never arrive, and that the otherwise setting follows a sort-of surreal, dream logic that is inaccessible. Kafka's concern with the long-winded legal and bureaucratic systems is made evident through all of these features and amplified. It's like capitalism is literally reinforcing itself and pressing down upon me, and all I can do is laugh. And I totally get how that is NOT the vibe for some readers, but for myself I applaud Kafka's ability to conjure such dread and absurdism in his deadpan prose-style.
On a more heartfelt note, the epilogue with Max Brod's note is bittersweet and it provides a bit of context for the surreal and endless purgatory K. (as well as many of Kafka's other characters) finds himself in.
This shit is still hilarious.
It is by design that K. is unlikeable, that he endlessly struggles for answers that will never arrive, and that the otherwise setting follows a sort-of surreal, dream logic that is inaccessible. Kafka's concern with the long-winded legal and bureaucratic systems is made evident through all of these features and amplified. It's like capitalism is literally reinforcing itself and pressing down upon me, and all I can do is laugh. And I totally get how that is NOT the vibe for some readers, but for myself I applaud Kafka's ability to conjure such dread and absurdism in his deadpan prose-style.
On a more heartfelt note, the epilogue with Max Brod's note is bittersweet and it provides a bit of context for the surreal and endless purgatory K. (as well as many of Kafka's other characters) finds himself in.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Sexual assault, and Violence