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The Trial

Arcturus Classics

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The Trial

By: Franz Kafka
Narrated by: Richard Attlee
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About this listen

In the end, out of nothing at all, an enormous fabric of guilt will be conjured up.

One morning Josef K. is arrested for a crime he did not commit. In fact, he is never even told the nature of the offense. His life is thrown into turmoil as he becomes enmeshed in a struggle to prove his innocence. As the confounding case unfolds, K. is ultimately powerless—battling against a remote and uncaring bureaucracy.

This edition features a new translation by Isabel Tucker. Due to its posthumous publication, The Trial's original text is largely unedited and Tucker emends certain details while retaining the enigmatic and surreal style which marks Kafka's brilliance.

Filled with psychological tension and disconcerting parallels with the modern world, The Trial is a dystopian masterpiece by one of the greatest writers in the German-language.

Public Domain (P)2025 Arcturus Digital Classics Dystopian Genre Fiction Political Psychological Science Fiction
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Most relevant
I enjoyed the authenticity of this performance. You can tell Attlee enjoyed reading the novel. His measured narration helps even those new to Kafka understand the finer elements of this story.
The work itself is eye opening, stunning and harrowing. All of us who surrender parts of ourselves to opaque power structures and higher authorities can relate to and find value in Kafka’s work.

Excellent reading that makes details clear

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