Mister Kafka, I gave it my best, my all. I tried getting through it in waiting rooms, in immigration lines, by the pool, by the beach, on a balcony, at a farm, on vacation, on a Monday, sitting up, lying down, after yoga, after coffee, and even over several layovers. But, it is official. I give up — I cannot read another word of “The Trial.”
As a committed fan, I have taken the liberty of identifying why this book is so, simply put, dull.
- Length – Perhaps it’s your editor’s fault. We will never know. But this novel would have worked so much better as a short story.
- Lack of Wierdness – Joseph K. takes too long to panic when he is put on trial for no reason. Following a solid start where he is mysteriously accosted by government men, Joseph K. then goes back to work, for months and months, as a bank teller. Not fun!
- Formatting – Shorter paragraphs, with generous dialogue, would have breathed fresh air into the book’s page-long blocks of bureaucratic jargon.
That being said, my plans to reread, and re-love, “Metamorphosis” in 2015 still stand.