The Trial

Description

The Trial is a novel by Franz Kafka published posthumously in 1925. The story follows Josef K., a bank employee who is arrested and prosecuted by an unseen authority for a crime that is never explicitly stated. As K. navigates the bewildering and labyrinthine legal system, he becomes increasingly isolated and estranged from his former life. He encounters a series of bizarre and often sinister characters who seem to embody the arbitrary and inscrutable nature of the legal process. Despite his best efforts to defend himself, K. is ultimately condemned to an unknown fate, and the novel ends with his abrupt and ambiguous death. The Trial is widely regarded as a masterpiece of modernist literature, and is noted for its exploration of themes such as alienation, guilt, and the power of bureaucracy.

№ 49 in The Guardian's 100 Greatest Novels Of All Time.

This book has 83,939 words, 105 pages in the PDF version, and was originally published in 1925. This is a translation by David Wyllie.

Production notes: This ebook of The Trial was published by Global Grey in 2018, and updated on the 16th April 2023. The artwork used for the cover is 'The Head of the Prisoner' by Nikolai Yaroshenko.