The Trial: A New Translation Based on the Restored Text (The Schocken Kafka Library), Book Cover May Vary

Amazon.com Review The story of The Trial 's publication is almost as fascinating as the novel itself. Kafka intended his parable of alienation in a mysterious bureaucracy to be burned, along with the rest of his diaries and manuscripts, after his death in 1924. Yet his friend Max Brod pressed forward to prepare The Trial and the rest of his papers for publication. When the Nazis came to power, publication of Jewish writers such as Kafka was forbidden; Kafka's writings, many of which have distinctively Jewish themes, did not find a broad audience until after World War II. (Hannah Arendt once observed that although "during his lifetime he could not make a decent living, [Kafka] will now keep generations of intellectuals both gainfully employed and well-fed.") Among the current crop of Kafka heirs is Breon Mitchell, the translator of this edition of The Trial . Rather than tidying up Kafka's unconventional grammar and punctuation (as previous translators have done), Mitchell captures the loose, uneasy, even uncomfortable constructions of Kafka's original story. His translation technique is the only way to convey the comedy and confusion of this narrative, in which Josef K., "without having done anything truly wrong," is arrested, tried, convicted and executed--on a charge that is never disclosed to him. --_Michael Joseph Gross_ From Library Journal Kafka's final work was left unfinished at the time of his 1924 death, and the original 1925 and subsequent editions were edited according to the standards of the day. This edition endeavors to restore the text as closely as possible to the original manuscript. According to the publisher, "This translation makes slight changes in the chapter divisions and sequence of chapter fragments." In addition to the text, this volume includes a bibliography and a chronology of the author's life. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. Written In 1914 But Not Published Until 1925, A Year After Kafka's Death, 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, The Trial Has Resonated With Chilling Truth For Generations Of Readers--back Cover. Introduction / George Steiner -- The Arrest -- Conversation With Frau Grubach, Then Fraulein Burstner -- First Interrogation -- In The Empty Courtroom -- The Student -- The Offices -- Fraulein Burstner's Friend -- The Whipper -- K.'s Uncle -- Leni -- Lawyer -- Manufacturer -- Painter -- Block, The Tradesman -- Dismissal Of The Lawyer -- In The Cathedral -- The Unfinished Chapters -- On The Way To Elsa -- Journey To His Mother -- Prosecuting Counsel -- The House -- Conflict With The Assistant Manager -- A Fragment -- The Passages Delected By The Author -- Postscripts / Max Brod -- To The First Edition (1925) -- To The Second Edition (1935) -- To The Third Edition (1946) -- Excerpts From Kafka's Diaries. Franz Kafka ; Translated And With A Preface By Breon Mitchell. A New Translation, Based On The Restored Text. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 273-276). In English; Translated From German. Written in 1914, The Trial is one of the most important novels of the twentieth century: 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.In his brilliant translation, Breon Mitchell masterfully reproduces the distinctive poetics of Kafka's prose, revealing a novel that is as full of energy and power as it was when it was first written. 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. From the author of The Metamorphosis.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. Byzantine and claustrophobic novel of a man arrested by the secret police and charged with an unspecified crime. Unable to defend himself and disorientated by the legal process at work around him the man soon becomes apathetic and acquiescent, accepting his eventual sentence as inevitable.