The Trial

Name: The Trial
Brand: Recorded Books
Availability: InStock
Author: Franz Kafka
ISBN: 9781440781513

Author: Franz Kafka

Narrator: George Guidall

Unabridged: 7 hr 56 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 03/11/2008

Categories: Fiction, Literary Fiction, Classic, Political

Synopsis

If Max Brod had obeyed Franz Kafka's dying request, Kafka's unpublished manuscripts would have been burned, unread. Fortunately, Brod ignored his friend's wishes and published The Trial, which became the author's most famous work. Now Kafka's enigmatic novel regains its humor and stylistic elegance in a new translation based on the restored original manuscript. Thirty-year-old Josef K., a financial officer in a European city bank, is suddenly arrested. He is subjected to hearings, questioning, and visits from officials. Defending his innocence against charges that are never explained to him, he watches his life dissolve into absurdity. Whether read as an existential tale or a parable, this haunting story stands out as one of the great novels of our time. Breon Mitchell, a professor of Germanic Studies and Comparative Literature at Indiana University, has received national awards for his literary translations. The renewed energy and power of this classic work are complemented by veteran narrator George Guidall's superb performance. Publisher's note, translator's preface, and fragments are included on the final tape.

About Franz Kafka

Franz Kafka (1883–1924) was one of the major fiction writers of the twentieth century. His unique body of writing-much of which is incomplete and which was mainly published posthumously-is considered to be among the most influential in Western literature. Among his most well known stories are "The Metamorphosis" and "In the Penal Colony," and his novels include The Trial and The Castle.

Reviews

Goodreads review by s.penkevich on September 26, 2023

It is not necessary to accept everything as true, one must only accept it as necessary Nothing speaks a more profound truth than a pristine metaphor… Funny, us, worming through the world ascribing meaning, logic and order to the dumb, blind forces of void. It’s all one can do to maintain sanity in the......more

Goodreads review by Vit on May 15, 2024

Guilt and innocence: Who can be considered innocent and who can be considered guilty? After all, K. lived in a state governed by law, there was universal peace, all statutes were in force; who dared assault him in his own lodgings? The state is an ogre… The citizen is a pygmy… And an ogre can do with......more

Goodreads review by emma on May 15, 2024

It's important, in this life, to have goals. Sure, they are often a lesson in the enduring power of futility, our lack of free will as demonstrated by the ever-present arm of bureaucracy. If your goal, for example, is à la our protagonist's, you will spend several years or 341 pages or the rest of yo......more

Goodreads review by Sean Barrs on October 26, 2016

This book haunts me. I can’t stop thinking about it because I have questions, questions and more questions; I have so many unanswered questions that I will never know the answer to, and it’s slowly killing me! What is the trial? Is K actually guilty or is he innocent? Is this novel a nightmare sequen......more