One of the great works of the twentieth century, Kafka's The Trial has
been read as a study of political power, a pessimistic religious
parable, or a crime novel where the accused man is himself the problem.
In it, a man wakes up one morning to find himself under arrest for an
offence which is never explained. Faced with this ambiguous but
threatening situation, Josef K. gradually succumbs to its psychological
pressure. One of the iconic figures of modern world literature, Kafka
writes about universal problems of guilt, responsibility, and freedom.
He offers no solutions, but provokes his readers to arrive at meanings
of their own. Mike Mitchell's translation captures Kafka's distinctive
style. Based on the best available German text, it includes not only the
main text but the chapters Kafka left incomplete. In his Introduction,
Ritchie Robertson considers the many puzzles in the novel and the
different interpretations to which the novel has been subjected. The
book also includes
a Biographical Preface, an up-to-date bibliography, and a chronology of
Kafka's life.
About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has
made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the
globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to
scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other
valuable features, including expert introductions by leading
authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date
bibliographies for further study, and much more.
