Not read 'The trial', but this reminds me of a book I did read -- 'The Fixer' by Bernard Malamud. Set in Kiev in 1911 during a period of heightened anti-Semitism, the novel tells the story of Yakov Bok, a Jewish handyman blamed for the brutal murder of a young Russian boy. Arrested and imprisoned, Bok refuses to confess to a crime that he did not commit.
Interesting connection - I've not read 'The Fixer', but read some Malamud short stories years ago. One - 'The Silver Crown' - sticks out. I'll give this novel a look - it'll have to be added to a long list, though! Thanks for reading!
In 1974, at age 19, I was briefly detained by a NY State Trooper for hitchhiking, He insisted on examining my knapsack, which bore a button featuring a photo of Franz Kafka. “Who’s that?” the cop asked. “Franz Kafka. He was a writer,” I answered.
“Yeah? What’d he write?”
“A novel about a guy who gets arrested, tried, and executed and never finds out what for.”
“Oh, a smart-ass,” the trooper said.
He then let me go, warning me that if I was still at that spot in an hour, I’d be going to jail.
I presume you moved a few feet forward so you weren't in that same spot?!
Nothing says Kafkaesque like uneducated law enforcement. But a Franz Kafka button? Really? That has to be the coolest thing I've heard of in years. When I was 19 it was Che Guevara, John Lennon (circa The White Album years) and a strange one of Peabo Bryson, for some inevitably tripped out reason ...
That particular one, if memory serves, was found in a box in a garage sale somewhere in the South Park area of Charlotte in the late 80s. It was too kitsch not to buy.
That's a sweet cite for quote of the day. Could any sentiment be more out of step with the spirit of our age? Took me a sec to find:
"A first inclination of the onset of understanding is the wish to die. One is no longer ashamed of wishing to die; one asks to be moved from the old, hated cell to a new one, which on one has yet to learn to hate. A vestige of belief is also involved in thinking that the director might happen by in the corridor, look at the prisoner, and say: 'You are not to lock this man up again. He's coming to me.'"
Yes, it's a great quote - the last bit ('A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us') has stayed with me ever since I first saw it in the World Lit textbook I used to teach back in the 90s. Somehow, I'd missed it before!
I like yours, too - he certainly had a way of putting it just so.
Loved this one, Bryan! The Trial was the first novel my AP English teacher had us read back in 1987, and it's still one of my favorites. Might have to reread it after reading your post!
I'm very pleased you liked this! I came late to The Trial - my Kafka in high school consisted of The Metamorphosis and A Hunger Artist. As part of writing the post, I re-read/skimmed a good bit of it - and I'd forgotten a lot (and other bits were magnified). If you have the chance, I'd give it a read! And - as always - it's great to have you on board!
Not read 'The trial', but this reminds me of a book I did read -- 'The Fixer' by Bernard Malamud. Set in Kiev in 1911 during a period of heightened anti-Semitism, the novel tells the story of Yakov Bok, a Jewish handyman blamed for the brutal murder of a young Russian boy. Arrested and imprisoned, Bok refuses to confess to a crime that he did not commit.
Interesting connection - I've not read 'The Fixer', but read some Malamud short stories years ago. One - 'The Silver Crown' - sticks out. I'll give this novel a look - it'll have to be added to a long list, though! Thanks for reading!
In 1974, at age 19, I was briefly detained by a NY State Trooper for hitchhiking, He insisted on examining my knapsack, which bore a button featuring a photo of Franz Kafka. “Who’s that?” the cop asked. “Franz Kafka. He was a writer,” I answered.
“Yeah? What’d he write?”
“A novel about a guy who gets arrested, tried, and executed and never finds out what for.”
“Oh, a smart-ass,” the trooper said.
He then let me go, warning me that if I was still at that spot in an hour, I’d be going to jail.
I presume you moved a few feet forward so you weren't in that same spot?!
Nothing says Kafkaesque like uneducated law enforcement. But a Franz Kafka button? Really? That has to be the coolest thing I've heard of in years. When I was 19 it was Che Guevara, John Lennon (circa The White Album years) and a strange one of Peabo Bryson, for some inevitably tripped out reason ...
Che makes sense, and I know the Lennon button with the White Album headshot, but Peabo Bryson? That must have been, what, 1977?
That particular one, if memory serves, was found in a box in a garage sale somewhere in the South Park area of Charlotte in the late 80s. It was too kitsch not to buy.
Maybe I should start hitting garage sales here in Davidson. I’m sure there’s kitsch around here!
No doubt about that at all.
That's a sweet cite for quote of the day. Could any sentiment be more out of step with the spirit of our age? Took me a sec to find:
"A first inclination of the onset of understanding is the wish to die. One is no longer ashamed of wishing to die; one asks to be moved from the old, hated cell to a new one, which on one has yet to learn to hate. A vestige of belief is also involved in thinking that the director might happen by in the corridor, look at the prisoner, and say: 'You are not to lock this man up again. He's coming to me.'"
F. Kafka, Recording, October 25th, 1917
Yes, it's a great quote - the last bit ('A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us') has stayed with me ever since I first saw it in the World Lit textbook I used to teach back in the 90s. Somehow, I'd missed it before!
I like yours, too - he certainly had a way of putting it just so.
You’re just gonna dangle that note about a friend being caught in a Kafkaesque situation, aren’t you Bryan? What a tease!
Loved this one, Bryan! The Trial was the first novel my AP English teacher had us read back in 1987, and it's still one of my favorites. Might have to reread it after reading your post!
I'm very pleased you liked this! I came late to The Trial - my Kafka in high school consisted of The Metamorphosis and A Hunger Artist. As part of writing the post, I re-read/skimmed a good bit of it - and I'd forgotten a lot (and other bits were magnified). If you have the chance, I'd give it a read! And - as always - it's great to have you on board!