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Review of 'Trial' on 'Storygraph'

4 stars

There are at least 2 levels that you can read this Trial. First it is an absurd satire of bureaucratic legal system. Not so interesting. Second it is about guilt. Guilt of religious nature. K is guilty of what he doesn't know. So how can he prove or atone? The guilt/trial overtakes his whole life.

The best chapter is Cathedral, the penultimate chapter. I understand that much of this is Jewish theology/morality/pessimism and it's ironic to use a christian cathedral and Crucifixes - an atonement and hope.

Not sure if it was the old translation, but I felt like I was reading a children's version of a classic. The characters were 2D. It was a dry read and a turnoff. However, I will go over the conversation K has with the priest. I guess the rest is necessary to build to that. The novel was unfinished so with that in mind the end wasn't that bad.