Having come across the term “kafkaesque” many times, I decided to finally go and read one of Kakfa’s most popular novels, The Trial. It was my understanding that the general premise of the book is that the main character is being convicted of a crime, perhaps even penalized for it somehow, without ever knowing what the crime was. It’s an interesting premise— one I assumed would play out in some way over the novel, to make at least some pointed critique of society, or justice, or anything. Unfortunately, The Trial never delivered.
The story remains bleak, and limped on with a few confusing events and conversations. The Trial was, quite obviously, a good example of what it means for something to be kafkaesque.
Kafkaesque: extremely unpleasant, frightening, and confusing