Franz Kafka

The Trial, The Metamorphosis — the Kafkaesque

He gave his name to a condition. The Trial, The Castle, and The Metamorphosis describe a world of inexplicable authority, inaccessible bureaucracy, and sudden transformation with such clinical precision that the adjective Kafkaesque entered every European language. He asked Max Brod to burn his manuscripts; Brod refused.

Key works

• The Trial1925— Arrested for an unnamed crime — published posthumously
• The Metamorphosis1915— Gregor Samsa wakes as a giant insect
• The Castle1926— The unreachable authority — unfinished

Connections

External