1956 THE TRIAL Franz Kafka Modern Library HCDJ #318
This is a hardcover edition of Franz Kafka's THE TRIAL published by Modern Library in 1956. The dust jacket shows minor wear, and it is in a clear archival wrapper for protection. The Modern Library catalog is printed on the back of the dust jacket and is visible through the wrapper. The original list price is printed on the inside flap for $2.45. The boards and interior pages are in excellent condition and do not show any obvious signs of inscriptions, marginalization, or dog-eared pages.
Franz Kafka is regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It typically features isolated protagonists facing bizarre or surrealistic predicaments and incomprehensible government powers. THE TRIAL, perhaps Kafka's most pessimistic work, is a surreal story of a young man who finds himself caught up in the mindless bureaucracy of the law. His works were banned in his home city of Prague under different regimes after his death (due to being “decadent” or “despairing”) but the ban on his works was eventually lifted in 1989. If you celebrate the freedom to read, this is a novel for your library.
