Written in 1914 but not published until 1925, a year after Kafka’s death, The Trial is the terrifying tale of Josef K., a respectable bank officer who is suddenly and inexplicably arrested and must defend himself against a charge about which he can get no information. Whether read as an existential tale, a parable, or a prophecy of the excesses of modern bureaucracy wedded to the madness of totalitarianism, The Trial has resonated with chilling truth for generations of readers.

Hardcover, 264 pages

Norwegian, Norsk, bokmål language

Published Dec. 31, 2006 by Skald.

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Reviews

A dark, futilistic book about a bureaucratic, authoritarian nightmare.

I can see why people look at Kafka's work and can see a germ of fascism. The most chilling part of his writing is the relentless unstoppable nature of the forces involved. It is the perfect form of the unacountable, authoritarian state. A world so tied up in red tape it doesn't matter who's in charge, and even if it did there would be no way to change anything anyway.

Enjoyable in it's own, grimly farsical way.