The Castle by Franz Kafka
This novel presents the story of a man who arrives in a village and struggles to gain access to the mysterious authorities who govern it from a castle. The protagonist, a surveyor, faces the constant frustration of his efforts to make contact with the elusive authorities and integrate into village society. The book explores themes of alienation, bureaucracy, the seemingly endless frustrations of man's attempts to stand against the system, and the futile pursuit of an unobtainable goal.
The 103rd greatest book of all time
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This book is on the following lists:
- 6th on The 100 Best Novels of the 20th Century (Folha de São Paulo)
- 6th on Biblioteca (Argentina)
- 13th on El Pais Favorite Books of 100 Spanish Authors (El Pais)
- 49th on In Which These Are the 100 Greatest Novels (ThisRecording.com)
- 97th on The 500 best books of all time from Culture Café users (Culture Café)
- 538th on Our Users' Favorite Books of All Time (The Greatest Books Users)
- 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (The Book)
- Harold Bloom's The Western Canon (The Western Canon (Book) by Harold Bloom)
- Top 100 Works in World Literature (Norwegian Book Clubs, with the Norwegian Nobel Institute)
- Books of the Century (The Age (Newspaper))
- Best German Novels of the Twentieth Century (Wikipedia)
- ZEIT-Bibliothek der 100 Bücher (Die Zeit)
- The New Lifetime Reading Plan (The New Lifetime Reading Plan)
- Masterpieces of World Literature (Frank N. Magill)
- Finest Works of Fiction (Martin Seymour-Smith and Editors)