For Kafka Year 2024: the first volume of the first annotated Kafka edition.
Even after a century of multiple interpretations, the enigmatic fate of Josef K. continues to captivate readers. His entanglement in the ghostly bureaucracy, its’ inscrutability which makes it impossible for him to find his bearings, do not allow for simple analysis. Nevertheless, or perhaps precisely for this reason, Franz Kafka’s novel »The Trial« is a pleasure to read, even after almost 100 years, and feels like an intense dream. Newly edited and annotated by Kafka biographer Reiner Stach, this volume invites you to read Kafka’s »The Trial« once again or for the first time with a fresh perspective.This first volume of the annotated edition focuses on one question: How did Kafka actually do it? The detailed commentary explains essential motifs, terms and narrative techniques, as well as significant deletions and corrections, providing an insight into Kafka’s workshop. In this way, it becomes clear how extraordinarily dense »The Trial« is woven. The edition sheds light on the virtuoso play with levels of reality that Kafka pursues. Finally, the editor’s afterword provides an overview of the genesis, transmission and impact of the work.
Franz Kafka (1883–1924), is one of the most important German-language writers of the 20th century.
Reiner Stach, born in 1951, studied German language and literature, philosophy and mathematics in Frankfurt am Main. After working as a science editor for several publishing houses, he began working on a three-volume biography of Franz Kafka in the mid-1990s, which is now internationally recognized as a standard biography. Awards: Special prize for the Heimito von Doderer-Literaturpreis (2008), Bayerischer Buchpreis (2015) and Joseph-Breitbach-Preis (2016).
