‘The Trial’ written by Franz Kafka, published in 1925 is proclaimed to be one of his best works. The novel was actually published by his friend and editor Max Brod. Kafka due to his personal problems had started to lose confidence in his ability as writer and therefore asked that his books (ones yet to be released, that is in their incomplete form) be destroyed. But Max Brod gave it some final touches and published the incomplete novel posthumously.
Kafka faced many difficulties in life, and maybe had the opinion that life had not been fair to him. The novel also has a similar theme. The book has been written in a lucid and concise way, which is something seen in almost all of Kafka’s books. The book does appear to have a lot of loose ends which is expected as the novel is incomplete.
The protagonist of the story is Josef K, a punctilious man working in a bank. He has a superiority complex and considers himself above ‘lesser’ people like the warders. This attitude of his is shown throughout the novel. The story begins when on his thirtieth birthday he is arrested by two warders for committing a ‘crime’ which is not revealed (not even to him).The book is also intended as a satire against the corrupt bureaucrats. The warders claim to know nothing beside the fact that he was arrested and asked to report in front of a magistrate.
The rest of the novel covers his meeting with the bureaucrats, who have already decided the verdict to be passed even before his trial. This is aptly put by Titorelli, a painter for the court when K decides to meet him for advice. He says the verdict is decided beforehand, and only thing which he could do was delay the sentence. K meets up with the magistrate quite a few times, and the magistrate’s opinion of him keeps getting worse.
The rest of the novel covers his attempts to get an acquittal. The novel, mostly at the end seems to be incomplete. The novel is melancholic which is justified given K’s situation. The plot of the novel is loose and uninteresting, though the style in which it is presented is good.
C.V.Ambarish
2009PH10713
P.S. - I was supposed to comment on this book , but the review has not yet been posted, so have given a mini review
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