What does /book/ think about Kafka's Trial? It was nice, acceptable, but nothing outstanding, in my opinion. I do not understand how a book like this can be considered such a pretentious classic, while books like slaughterhouse five are much more entertaining, tought provoking and enjoyable, everything you'd want from a superiour book. So, i ask again, what's all the fuss about The Trial?
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Anonymous2009-12-25 11:08
>>1
I think it is because it leaves you with a significant "creepy vibe" after reading it. Unless you're an insensitive buffoon of course. The type of buffoon who should be on his way back to /b/ by now. *Hint hint*.
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Anonymous2009-12-25 14:14
>>2
Yes like you never know the protagonist's surname or what crime he committed or even if he committed one at all....
I value my time a lot and i like to be feeling that i'm reading with a purpose. This book left me with a feeling that i'm wasting time the entire book. I'm far from an insensitive buffon, maybe a little on the other extreme. I do not negate the book's cultural value, it's just that I am the one not getting it. The characters act in such a unrealistic manner. I totally can not relate to the environement presented in the book. More, K speaks in a weird manner that doesn't help my speaking habbits improve at all. There are so many random parts, that have little to no real value in the story. The said "vibe". I appreciate the deep emotional impact that books can give from now and then, but there isn't one here. There are thousands of good books out there that might appeal to us, why shall anyone read the trial? I cannot think of a single thing that might help this book out in this discussion. It has exactly the same appeal of watching average show replays on tv.
How about this, /book/?
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Anonymous2009-12-25 16:41
More, K speaks in a weird manner that doesn't help my speaking habbits improve at all
Well it was translated from 19th century german and his style cannot be conveyed due to subordinating conjunctions. (Basically german grammar)
There are so many random parts, that have little to no real value in the story
Did you know it was unfinished?
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Anonymous2009-12-25 18:44
>I value my time a lot and i like to be feeling that i'm reading with a purpose.
Haha, what? Books are entertainment, you're never "reading with a purpose", jesus christ.
Excuse me while I go watch The Simpsons with a purpose.
The trial is so popular because it does (even in english translation) convey a sense of confusion and anxiety that many can relate to. The story was supposed to be an analogy for this state of mind, helplessness in the face of bureaucracy, nobody you can trust, etc. I guess you either get it or you don't. I remember being left feeling quite disturbed after reading it.
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Anonymous2009-12-29 13:50
Thank you for your post, 8.
I feel the need to excuse myself from those who had no idea of what The Trial was like, skimmed over the board, read this topic, and thought it's ok to skip on this book from now on. At the moment I made the topic i didn't finish reading the book, I wasn't comfortable with kafka's style, and felt the need to mock the book so someone might make me interested into finishing it. I was reading the book for all the wrong reasons, waiting for a moment of deep emotional impact, etc.
Now, after finishing it, all I can say is that it's a wonderful book, one of the best i have ever read. I would praise it, but there's no need in doing this for a classic, i think.
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Anonymous2010-01-01 12:02
The book is amazing, and so is most of Kafka's work. To say it's about bureaucracy is probably 1/10th accurate. I always thought that it was a parable for death and dying.
Also, once I read Kafka, suddenly everything I perceived was "Kafkaesque." Such a radical change in my perception of the world. I can't walk in large empty buildings without somehow feeling like I am Josef K.