Similarly to the embarrassment that I felt when I went to Anne Frank's house in Amsterdam before reading her journal, I had some regrets of not reading Franz Kafka before visiting his grave in Prague this summer. (This is a picture of Dwarf wearing a yarmulke next to the famous F. Kafka's grave.) Thus, I promised myself that I would read one of his books sooner or later. Well, I finally got around to it. I've tried numerous times to start this book, which many say is his best piece of work, but they were all false starts because I couldn't get into the translated pieces. This is - seriously - the fourth copy that I purchased and finally it was a great translation which I was able to read completely. Now, I don't know if you've read Kafka before, but it seems that he's got some psychiatric problems. Paranoilia is a running theme and I don't think that there is a large seperation between Kafka and the protagonist, K. Obviously, you'll have to read it for yourself and determine your own ideas but, damn, the characteristic correlations between what I read about Kafka and how K. acts in the book are striking.
I won't lie to you. The book is somewhat a complicated read, even after finding a well translated copy, and there are certain parts of the book that I didn't understand at all. However, the mysterious possibilities that may have resulted in the charges against him make the book a great one. I give the book 4/5. Find a copy at one of your local used book outlets. (254 pages. Total for the year: 7311 pages).
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