The Castle

By Franz Kafka, J. Underwood (translator),

Book cover of The Castle: A New Translation Based on the Restored Text

Book description

'He is the greatest German writer of our time. Such poets as Rilke or such novelists as Thomas Mann are dwarfs or plaster saints in comparison to him' Vladimir Nabokov

The story of K. and his arrival in a village where he is never accepted, and his relentless, unavailing struggle…

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Castle as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

David Leo Rice

Author

This book is an obvious choice perhaps, but one that can't be omitted. The tragicomic frustration of the surveyor who can't complete the job he's been sent to do no matter how hard he tries is massively influential for a number of very good reasons. Also, the way that the castle is both a literal place and a potent metaphor is crucial—as ever in Kafka, it's never just a metaphor, just as it's never just a dream, but rather a dream or a metaphor that also develops out of and into a very concrete situation. This is…

From David's list on being a drifter or solitary wanderer at large.