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 81st greatest book of all time
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- Published
- 1926
- Nationality
- Czech
- Length
- Short
- Pages
- 200-300
- Original Language
- German
- Avg User Rating
-
(3.9)
- Alternate Titles
-
- Das Schloss
- Das Schloß
- El Castillo
- Il Castello
- Le Château
If you're interested in seeing the ranking details on this book go here
This book is on the following 28 lists:
- 6th on Biblioteca (Argentina)
- 6th on The 100 Best Novels of the 20th Century (Folha de São Paulo)
- 29th on The 100 Most Important Translations (Notos Magazine (Turkey))
- 49th on In Which These Are the 100 Greatest Novels (ThisRecording.com)
- 54th on 100 Books of Classical and Modern Foreign Literature (The Union of Russian Writers)
- 59th on The 100 Best Books from 1900 to the Present (Yedioth Ahronoth)
- 84th on 100 Must-Read Classics, as Chosen by our Readers (Penguin (UK))
- 97th on The 500 best books of all time from Culture Café users (Culture Café)
- 123rd on El Pais Favorite Books of 100 Spanish Authors (El Pais)
- 153rd on The Complete 500: OCLC (OCLC)
- 163rd on Our Users' Honorable Mention Favorite Books of All Time (The Greatest Books Users)
- 494th on Fantasy and Horror: A Critical and Historical Guide (Book)
- 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read (The Guardian)
- 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (The Book)
- 100 Books From The Last 100 Years (Der SPIEGEL)
- 20 Posthumous Works You Should Read Before You Die (The National Post )
- Best German Novels of the Twentieth Century (Wikipedia)
- Books of the Century (The Age (Newspaper))
- Books that Shaped the Century (LOGOS 20th Century Books Project)
- Everything You Should Read without Being a Library Rat (Book by Luiz Carlos Lisboa)
- Fifty French Writers Choose Their Favorite 10 Books - Honourable Mention (On en garde 10 ! Pour la littérature)
- Finest Works of Fiction (Martin Seymour-Smith and Editors)
- Harenberg Buch der 1000 Bücher (Harenberg Buch der 1000 Bücher)
- Harold Bloom's The Western Canon (The Western Canon (Book) by Harold Bloom)
- Masterpieces of World Literature (Frank N. Magill)
- The New Lifetime Reading Plan (The New Lifetime Reading Plan)
- Top 100 Works in World Literature (Norwegian Book Clubs, with the Norwegian Nobel Institute)
- ZEIT-Bibliothek der 100 Bücher (Die Zeit)