The Trial

A brilliant translation of one of the most important novels of the twentieth century, revealing a tale that is as full of energy and power as it was when it was first written.

Written in 1914, 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, Kafka’s nightmare has resonated with chilling truth for generations of readers. This new edition is based upon the work of an international team of experts who have restored the text, the sequence of chapters, and their division to create a version that is as close as possible to the way the author left it.

“Kafka’s ‘legalese’ is alchemically fused with a prose of great verve and intense readability.”  - James Rolleston, professor of Germanic languages and literature, Duke University

“Breon Mitchell’s translation is an accomplishment of the highest order that will honour Kafka far into the twenty-first century.”  - Walter Abish, author of How German Is It

FRANZ KAFKA was born in 1883 in Prague, where he lived most of his life. He published only a few short stories, including “The Metamorphosis,” “The Judgment,” and “The Stoker.” He died in 1924, before completing any of his full-length novels. At the end of his life, Kafka asked his lifelong friend and literary executor Max Brod to burn all his unpublished work. Brod overrode those wishes.