[Pocket Edition] World Literature Classics Library - The Trial

Author: Franz Kafka, translated by Qian Manso
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-09-01
Features: Franz Kafka, an Austrian novelist and a master of Western modernist literature. He profoundly and realistically wrote about human alienation, loneliness, and crisis, as well as the absurdity and irrationality of the world in literary history. He was sensitive, timid, and eccentric, and remained unknown during his lifetime. After his death, his works caused worldwide shock, sparking a long-lasting "Kafka fever" and exerting an immeasurable influence on later literature. The Trial is Kafka's most famous long representative work, depicting the cruelty and corruption of the Western modern state machine, as well as the inescapable absurdity and fear in ordinary people's lives. It is hailed as "a classic that cannot be surpassed by later generations and must be read," marking the formation of Kafka's unique artistic style. Kafka was a renowned Austrian novelist, one of the greatest writers of the 20th century, and one of the founders of Western modernist literature. He is revered as the forefather of modernist literary movements such as absurdist drama and the French New Novel. The Trial is Kafka's long representative work, widely recognized as his most outstanding work and marking the formation of his unique artistic style. After his works were published, they caused a huge impact on the literary world and sparked debates among critics. Due to their portrayal of the theme of "the confusion of modern people," they ignited a "Kafka fever" in Western society. The renowned American poet Auden remarked, "In terms of the relationship between a writer and his time, Kafka can be ranked alongside Dante, Shakespeare, and Goethe." Kafka's pioneering creative style has broadly influenced contemporary literature in various countries. The Czech novelist Milan Kundera ranked Kafka and Cervantes as his two most influential literary masters. The Nobel Prize-winning author García Márquez said that after reading The Metamorphosis, Kafka showed him "that literature still holds many other possibilities." Chinese avant-garde writers such as Yu Hua, Ge Fei, and Can Xue have also been deeply influenced by Kafka. Kafka's novels depict a world filled with fantasy yet meticulously realistic, which will remain an eternal temptation on the horizon. The Trial, a long by the Austrian writer Franz Kafka, was written between 1914 and 1918 and marks the formation of his unique artistic style. The novel depicts a bank clerk who is suddenly arrested by a secret court without being charged, yet still allowed to move freely. Knowing he is innocent, he desperately tries to seek help through connections. However, no matter who he turns to, escaping the court's accusation is an uphill battle. In the end, two black-clad men abduct him one night and secretly execute him.