The Trial

Rating:
Summary: Krapka
Review: Please don't disregard this review as childish schlock because of the title, it's usage could not be avoided the moment it appeared in my mind in all it's hilarity-inducing glory. What do I have to offer above the countless analyses and reviews of this book present here? How about intelligence and originality for starters, haha (jk).

Ok, to the book. One review that caught my eye was the one entitled 'Joseph K is %100 guilty'. I believe it is around number 36. I agree with this reviewer that this was most likely the intention of the author. The court is one that judges on a moral basis, and in this light K's selfish and condescending behaviour throughout the novel cannot be ignored. However, allow me to offer an extension to this interpretation: perhaps K has already died, and the trial serves only as his final judgement? This would of course explain the seeming infallibility of the court, the futility of K's appeals and his seeming ineluctable conviction. Just as he unfairly persecutes others who he deems inferior to him, the court now targets him for reasons he cannot understand. Under this pressure, the callous impudence of his perception of reality falters, and with it his ability to think and defend himself. His submission is imminent, if viewed from this perspective, as everyone is made to feel powerless against the omni-potent.

Of course the whole idea of religion is ridiculous, and I believe none of it. As we enter the 21st century, I believe people will come to recognize religion for what it is: a fabricated delusion that seeks to avoid the intrinsic absurdity of our lives. As more people realize this, literary works that rely heavily on the the teachings of religion will lose their literary merit.

I believe The Trial is slightly bloated, and that the succintly told parable in the 9th chapter exposes the book's own poor size to substance ratio. Fortunately, the anomalous originality of Kafka's style - along with the parable - is almost reason enough to read it.

Rating:
Summary: One of the 5 most illuminating books of modern literature
Review: "The Trial" is considered "One of the five most illuminating books of modern literature" (Writer's Diary, 2004). The other four books were: "Invitation to a Beheading" (Nabakov), "Crepuscule" (Roman Payne), "Hunger" (Knut Hamsen), & "The Plague" (Camus) ... In many ways, "The Trial" is the most original of these.

Rating:
Summary: I feel like I read a totally different book.
Review: After reading some of the reviews here, I feel like I read a totally different book.
I read the book only once, and a long time ago, but I will try to give my interpretation of what I remember.
First, K. is quilt, if you truly understand what the priest tells him, you will get that. He is being trial because he got to his thirties, middle age for that time, and this is his last chance to understand the truth about life and himself. (If you don't get the truth by at least your middle ages, you will probably end up a loony, in constant denial of everything, and metaphorically die.) Who judges him? Himself. Notice that K. can control everything surrounding him, but he is yet limited to talk only with the inferior court, the superior court is off limits. The lawyer and the painter are also limited to the inferior court. The lawyer can only explain the complexity of things and is completely worthless. (Can anyone remember the specific medical profession, that follows that same criteria?) The painter can only bring different types of denial. Really only K. is capable of talking to the superior court, but he doesn't do it, because he doesn't understand what is happening. (Fill people have the ability to talk with the superior court.)

Rating:
Summary: A very compelling novel
Review: Although, the novel can be hard to understand at times, it attracted my attention right from the start. It starts off with a bang, with Joseph K. getting arrested in the first chapter. This is a very good novel, but it is not a novel that is recommended by everyone. It is also not an excessively addictive story. The novel is very suspenseful also. Even though the reader and K. never figure out why he is arrested in the first place, it is an overall good book. The only con about the novel is that the novel itself, as well as some chapters, are never completed. It also contains underlying polical information. I would recommend this book to all Kafka's fans and anyone interested in a suspenseful and court-set novel.

Rating:
Summary: Virtually Perfectly Written Novel
Review: I do not as a rule review the plot of books because I don't want to give too much away and many other people do that in their reviews. I will say what most people know, that a man is charged and later executed for a "crime" despite his innocence. To add insult to fatal injury he is never told what his crime is, and is subjected to the twisted inner workings of a secret "justice" system.

I want to give my personal thoughts on this excellent novel. It is a shame that Kafka wrote this at one of his most self-critical stages. He never fully completed the novel and that is most disappointing, but what he did leave behind is just remarkable. It is a brilliant book that is chilling and some would say prophetic. What I would like to point out, which hasn't been written in the reviews I have seen, is the brilliant and extremely subtle dark comedy. It isn't throught the whole book and on every page, but it is there and when I read it the second and the third time you can see it very clearly. It is Kafka's exceptional mind at the height of creativity. It is sprinkled through the book at the best moments and the perfect time. Often refreshing and disarming. Wonderful!

Read this book. You will not regret the time you spend, and like me you might find yourself reading it repeatedly.

Rating:
Summary: The Trial
Review: I first picked this book because I am interested in the law and figured it would be like a courtroom drama. I knew nothing about Kafka or his works so I was in for quite a surprise. At first the book was confusing with the relentless pace of the narrative. Reading this book as a young American, the details at first seemed incredible. However, once put in perspective of what can happen in a totalitarian system, K.'s nightmare becomes very real, vivid, and haunting. Kafka's vague construction of the place and time in which this novel takes place gives this story a universal and timeless quality. It would seem to apply anywhere tyranny rules. This novel is a cautionary tale about how man's inhumanity to man can run amok in the absence of an effective judicial system which guarantees basic individual rights and liberties. Even though the book has a defined ending, it leaves the reader with a sense that the story is not complete. This is a must read for every American interested in preserving our democracy and freedoms.

Rating:
Summary: why to buy THE TRIAL
Review: I had read a lot of Kafka's short stories, but THE TRIAL was the first of his books I tackled. I just recently finished it, and I've been laying awake at night contemplating it ever since. If there's supposed to be any deep philosophical meaning to the book, I guess I just don't see it. I think Kafka writes about his own life and feelings in a symbolic way, and that's what the novel really is, a metaphor.
The novel starts out slow, the first hundred pages are kind of boring. But when the story's protagonist, K., starts really learning about the court he must fight his legal battle against, the novel gets intense. Of course, the more K. (and the reader) learn about the case, the more hopeless it seems.
THE TRIAL is like "1984" with the strangeness of "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland". The court K. must face is supreme and untouchable, and the only way to avoid condemnation is to stay on the good side of the perverse, unjust, yet powerful judges. If you're able to put yourself in K.'s position while reading this book, you'll find it extremely frightening.
This book gets five stars because of how well it creates an engaging world where there is no hope of salvation, and that's the most terrifying thing ever.

Rating:
Summary: Very Heavy
Review: I have read many of Franz Kafka's short stories, and after reading _The Trial_, I can say with confidence that he is one of the heaviest writers of the 20th Century. There are very few moments of levity in his writings. _The Trial_ is the story of Josef K., who goes through a year long trial without ever knowing what the crime is that he has committed. On his year long odyssey he gets into very philosophical discussions with people from all realms of life. This novel is basically a rage against the bureaucracy in the world, but at the same time, it offers no way to cure this bureaucracy; it is something that we just have to deal with. I have to agree with Franz on this one; the best in human nature is not what prevails in government, and to fight against it is nearly impossible. Kafka doesn't completely shut the door on change, he just tells of its difficulty. This book is great. The different perspectives you are allowed to hear on a lot of different issues make this an enjoyable read, and a very educational read, even if you don't agree with some the character's ideas.

Rating:
Summary: It may be the book for you...
Review: In the novel, The Trial, by Franz Kafka, a thirteen-year-old bank official, named Joseph K., is suddenly arrested in his own home and with no idea of what he is being accused of. It is placed in the early 1900's. Although he thinks has done nothing wrong, he is being harassed, and being accused of a crime he should not have been committed. K. is angry, because no one will tell him what he has done to deserve to be arrested. No one will tell him, which makes him worse. The reader also has no idea what kind of "crime" J.K. has committed.

The Trial is a book that tells about the case of Joseph K. The author tell about how K struggles though being arrested and being accused of a crime that he did not do. It is an account of J.K.'s trial and how it psychologically affects him through the pages of this book. You are put through quarry throughout the book and to me, that can be boring after a while. This book might be good for a person that likes a suspenseful mystery without too much suspense. Joseph K. trial effects his friends and strangers. Since he is accused of a crime, which he does not know what it could be, his friends and family act strangely about it. His uncle suddenly shows up and tries to help him with getting him a lawyer. J.K. decides later to dismiss his lawyer from his case. His neighbor who he loved, Fraulien B., has left him. In time the time that he needed her to listen and comfort him, she does not believe him and leaves, only leaving him a message from another woman about things not working out. His landlady, who almost comes to tell him what he is accused of, barely talks to him and is somewhat afraid of him.

He meets certain people throughout the book that fall in love with him. Leni is one of the characters that for some reason falls in love with him. Joseph K. is not even looking for love at the time, and this woman distracts him from his lawyer's meeting to try to make love to him. This book as you can see can be confusing at times, but it can be interesting to some people. Also a woman in the courtroom who wants to help him falls in love with him. She wants to help him in his case by sleeping wit the Magistrate and to try to con him into going easy on K at the trials.
People who like a good mystery without a "happily ever after" ending, this is the book for you. I did not like this book because of the ending it gives and how it drags you throughout the book. It can confuse you at times, but if you are really into the book, this could be the book for you.

Rating:
Summary: A Bewildering Process Wrapped in a Masterpiece
Review: Kafka's The Trial is a testament to those like Joseph K. who are ensnared in endless legal proceedings. Part dream, part comedy, part tragedy, part satire, Kafka works a masterpiece out of the tribulations of a common man. Joseph K. is on trial but is never informed of the charges. He is represented by an attorney, but the lawyer seems useless. He attends proceedings that go on endlessly with no apparent purpose. A host of unforgettable characters throughout the book add to his paranoia. Joseph K. finally meets his end in an execution appalling in its polite savagery. Through works like The Trial, Kafka's name became synonymous for those drifting though bizarre persecutions. A fascinating book.