Book Excerpt of the Week: The Trial by Franz Kafka

Young Franz Kafka
w/ huge pompadour

I've chosen The Trial by the Austria-Hungarian novelist, Franz Kafka as the first Book Excerpt of the Week because of its influence on countless authors, among them Japan's Haruki Murakami, whose novel, Kafka on the Shore, I've most recently finished. Kafka is noted for his Existentialist themes, such as alienation, persecution, hopelessness, and absurdity. In The Castle, the main character, K-- a land surveyor who has been summoned by authorities of a town, residing in the nearby castle-- is repeatedly thwarted and refused access by a self perpetuating bureaucracy that rivals no others. Kafka never completed The Castle, his final book, but it is still considered one of the major existential works of the 20th century. Enjoy the excerpt provided by Google Books.