num_pages: 286
description: 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.
language: English
title: The Trial
titlecomplete: The Trial
characters: Willem, Erna K., Josef K., Fräulein Bürstner, Albert K., Titorelli, Frau Grubach, Leni, Rudi Block, Fräulein Elsa, Karl K., Herr Huld, Franz
genres: Fiction, 20th Century, Czech Literature, Classics, Philosophy, Dystopia, German Literature, Literary Fiction, Literature, Novels
ratings_count: 306421
awards: awardedAt: 915177600000
name: Helen and Kurt Wolff Translator's Prize
category: Breon Mitchell
publisher: Alfred A Knopff, Inc.