---
product_id: 328212805
title: "The Trial: Franz Kafka (Macmillan Collector's Library, 241)"
price: "€ 29.52"
currency: EUR
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reviews_count: 10
url: https://www.desertcart.sk/products/328212805-the-trial-franz-kafka-macmillan-collectors-library-241
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---

# The Trial: Franz Kafka (Macmillan Collector's Library, 241)

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## Description

Buy The Trial: Franz Kafka (Macmillan Collector's Library, 241) by Kafka, Franz, Davies, David Stuart, Scott, Douglas, Waller, Chris from desertcart's Fiction Books Store. Everyday low prices on a huge range of new releases and classic fiction.

Review: A book everyone must read! - It is not necessary to accept everything as true, one must only accept it as necessary Nothing speaks a more profound truth than a pristine metaphor… Funny, us, worming through the world ascribing meaning, logic and order to the dumb, blind forces of void. It’s all one can do to maintain sanity in the absurd reality of existence, but what is it worth? Are we trees in gale force winds fighting back with fists we do not possess? Is life the love of a cold, cruel former lover bating us on while only concerned with themselves? What use is logic in an illogical prison where the opinion of the masses reigns supreme? Franz Kafka’s The Trial is the world we all live in, unlocked through layers of allegory to expose the beast hidden from plain sight. On the surface it is an exquisite examination of bureaucracy and bourgeoisie with a Law system so complex and far-reaching that even key members are unable to unravel it’s complicated clockwork. However, this story of a trial—one that never occurs other than an arrest and a solitary conference that goes nowhere—over an unmentioned crime serves as a brutal allegory for our existence within a judgemental societal paradigm under the watch of a God who dishes out hellfire to the guilty. This is a world where man’s noose is only a doorway. The Trial is not for the faint of heart or fragile psyche yet, while the bleakness is laid on thick, it is also permeated with a marvelous sense of humor and a fluid prose that keeps the pages flipping and the reading hours pushing forward towards dawn. This is a dark comedy of the human comedy, full of the freeing chortles of gallow humor. Kafka’s nightmarish vision is the heartbeat of our own existence, chronicling the frustrations of futility when applying logic to the reality of the absurd, yet factual, nature of life. Someone must have slandered Josef K., for one morning, without having done anything wrong, he was arrested. Seriously this is a book everyone should read. It teaches us about life in so many ways!
Review: Is the Wordsworth the best British translation ? - Going by the translations of the novel I have read so far (I have three translations of this great novel: the Wordsworth, the Oxford World's Classics and the original Muir translation) the Wordsworth is the most readable and up to date. I'd avoid the Oxford translation; I couldn't get through it. The fluency of the translation is of some importance. Compare the following same sentence as translated by each: 1) K. was informed by telephone that next Sunday a short enquiry into his case would take place. (The Muirs) 2) K. had been informed by telephone that a brief investigation into his case would be held the following Sunday. (John Williams, Wordsworth) 3) K. had been informed by telephone that a short hearing IN HIS AFFAIR would take place the next Sunday. (Mike Mitchel, Oxford) The first two sentences work, the third is blunted by its clumsiness. Sentence version 3 is not idiomatic English, it sounds 'foreign', which can't be the intention. The Oxford version lacks an idiom .... Another example: "Some had brought cusions, which they placed on their heads so as not to hurt them as they pressed them against the ceiling." The reader needs to work out what these people are trying not to hurt - their heads or the cushions, so the joke is lost ... Kafka wanted a comic effect but this translation's vagueness dissipates it. I do not speak German nor have I the new penguin edition but the Oxford version stuggles to capture Kafka's grace and energy as a writer. The Williams version is the better of these two.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | 50,547 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) 102 in Jewish Fiction 370 in Political Fiction (Books) 578 in Legal Thrillers (Books) |
| Customer reviews | 3.7 3.7 out of 5 stars (2,867) |
| Dimensions  | 9.14 x 2.03 x 15.24 cm |
| Edition  | New Edit/Cover |
| ISBN-10  | 1529021073 |
| ISBN-13  | 978-1529021073 |
| Item weight  | 1.05 kg |
| Language  | English |
| Print length  | 304 pages |
| Publication date  | 1 Oct. 2020 |
| Publisher  | Macmillan Collector's Library |
| Reading age  | 18 years and up |

## Images

![The Trial: Franz Kafka (Macmillan Collector's Library, 241) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41+zL-dnoLL.jpg)
![The Trial: Franz Kafka (Macmillan Collector's Library, 241) - Image 2](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41KMJ4dmibL.jpg)
![The Trial: Franz Kafka (Macmillan Collector's Library, 241) - Image 3](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41baY8FvOfL.jpg)
![The Trial: Franz Kafka (Macmillan Collector's Library, 241) - Image 4](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41v71E5PwoL.jpg)
![The Trial: Franz Kafka (Macmillan Collector's Library, 241) - Image 5](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/514aE3U0cIL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A book everyone must read!
*by S***H on 22 December 2018*

It is not necessary to accept everything as true, one must only accept it as necessary Nothing speaks a more profound truth than a pristine metaphor… Funny, us, worming through the world ascribing meaning, logic and order to the dumb, blind forces of void. It’s all one can do to maintain sanity in the absurd reality of existence, but what is it worth? Are we trees in gale force winds fighting back with fists we do not possess? Is life the love of a cold, cruel former lover bating us on while only concerned with themselves? What use is logic in an illogical prison where the opinion of the masses reigns supreme? Franz Kafka’s The Trial is the world we all live in, unlocked through layers of allegory to expose the beast hidden from plain sight. On the surface it is an exquisite examination of bureaucracy and bourgeoisie with a Law system so complex and far-reaching that even key members are unable to unravel it’s complicated clockwork. However, this story of a trial—one that never occurs other than an arrest and a solitary conference that goes nowhere—over an unmentioned crime serves as a brutal allegory for our existence within a judgemental societal paradigm under the watch of a God who dishes out hellfire to the guilty. This is a world where man’s noose is only a doorway. The Trial is not for the faint of heart or fragile psyche yet, while the bleakness is laid on thick, it is also permeated with a marvelous sense of humor and a fluid prose that keeps the pages flipping and the reading hours pushing forward towards dawn. This is a dark comedy of the human comedy, full of the freeing chortles of gallow humor. Kafka’s nightmarish vision is the heartbeat of our own existence, chronicling the frustrations of futility when applying logic to the reality of the absurd, yet factual, nature of life. Someone must have slandered Josef K., for one morning, without having done anything wrong, he was arrested. Seriously this is a book everyone should read. It teaches us about life in so many ways!

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Is the Wordsworth the best British translation ?
*by J***P on 28 April 2011*

Going by the translations of the novel I have read so far (I have three translations of this great novel: the Wordsworth, the Oxford World's Classics and the original Muir translation) the Wordsworth is the most readable and up to date. I'd avoid the Oxford translation; I couldn't get through it. The fluency of the translation is of some importance. Compare the following same sentence as translated by each: 1) K. was informed by telephone that next Sunday a short enquiry into his case would take place. (The Muirs) 2) K. had been informed by telephone that a brief investigation into his case would be held the following Sunday. (John Williams, Wordsworth) 3) K. had been informed by telephone that a short hearing IN HIS AFFAIR would take place the next Sunday. (Mike Mitchel, Oxford) The first two sentences work, the third is blunted by its clumsiness. Sentence version 3 is not idiomatic English, it sounds 'foreign', which can't be the intention. The Oxford version lacks an idiom .... Another example: "Some had brought cusions, which they placed on their heads so as not to hurt them as they pressed them against the ceiling." The reader needs to work out what these people are trying not to hurt - their heads or the cushions, so the joke is lost ... Kafka wanted a comic effect but this translation's vagueness dissipates it. I do not speak German nor have I the new penguin edition but the Oxford version stuggles to capture Kafka's grace and energy as a writer. The Williams version is the better of these two.

### ⭐⭐⭐ a pretty dark experience to read
*by A***R on 29 October 2014*

😶The imagery is bizarre and claustrophobic...a pretty dark experience to read...but likely to prompt you to read more of Kafka

## Frequently Bought Together

- The Trial: Franz Kafka (Macmillan Collector's Library, 241)
- Metamorphosis: Franz Kafka (Little Clothbound Classics)
- The Castle: Franz Kafka (Everyman’s Library Contemporary Classics)

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*Product available on Desertcart Slovakia*
*Store origin: SK*
*Last updated: 2026-02-03*