Scan barcode
Reviews tagging 'Sexual harassment'
The Trial: A New Translation Based on the Restored Text by Franz Kafka
11 reviews
willow1113's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Police brutality, Classism, Sexual harassment, and Misogyny
chrisljm's review against another edition
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
The amount of times I fell asleep reading this is unprecedented, and it’s another mark against posthumous publishing from me.
I appreciate critique on bureaucracy and the complex legal system, but I really disliked the way it was executed here. It’s incredibly dense and difficult to engage with, and I think this book could’ve benefited from ‘less is more’. It also didn’t help that I found Joseph K. to be a very irritating character and at certain points I wanted him to just get arrested already so that he would stop talking. I also really disliked how the only purpose the few female characters had were to serve and seduce the men.
I much prefer The Stranger by Albert Camus.
I appreciate critique on bureaucracy and the complex legal system, but I really disliked the way it was executed here. It’s incredibly dense and difficult to engage with, and I think this book could’ve benefited from ‘less is more’. It also didn’t help that I found Joseph K. to be a very irritating character and at certain points I wanted him to just get arrested already so that he would stop talking. I also really disliked how the only purpose the few female characters had were to serve and seduce the men.
I much prefer The Stranger by Albert Camus.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, and Infidelity
Moderate: Murder, Sexual harassment, and Death
surdiablo's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Alright, this is a tough one to write but let's see.. I haven't read anything from Kafka before and went into this completely blind without any expectations. I have also seen people mentioning it's a
dry, bizarre, anticlimactic read and while there's merit to that criticism, I wasn't bothered much by those issues at all in the end, which is rather surprising for me. It's hard to talk about this book further without getting into spoilers so I will mention these first. For me, both the writing and the events that transpired were simply entrancing regardless of how boring it may appear on a surface level. I can't say I loved it top to bottom, but it felt like such a unique experience which I will not soon forget, and whatever flaws it had can be mostly attributed to it's unfinished state, due to the untimely demise of the author. Below are the unfiltered spoiler thoughts of mine so feel free to stop here if you haven't read the book.
So the general theme seems to be oppression and corruption within the Law / Justice system and here's my 2 cents about it ( I do believe there's more to it than that though ). The protagonist K is arrested and let go in the first chapter and we never find out why or if he's truly innocent regardless of his claims. We see him deteriorating throughout the course from a charming, confident, successful gentleman to a weak, paranoid, shadow of his former self, who eventually meets an unceremonious end in the middle of nowhere. We see a man who finds the trial to be nothing but a mere affront at first, going as far as to explicitly mock the judicial system that's always placed at the most unusual places. However, he soon realizes that it's a system that everyone acknowledges and obeys, but never questions, and he cannot hope to change it or free himself from it, not unless he bows to the whims of several people who mostly contradict each other. He has to submit to the authority of someone so that he won't suffer from an unfavorable outcome that derives just from inaction. Regardless, he eventually decides to live his life while fighting on his own terms, no matter how futile it might be. I got the impression that the priest was referring to K himself as well with that parable, where K can keep going / fighting by entering new doors with stronger guards / obstacles, but he will never reach true justice that way.
I thought it was fascinating to see how Kafka captures the essence of such a man slowing losing himself, dealing with a seemingly perpetual event that's mentally taxing. The whole book had a certain dreamlike quality to it, realistic and unrealistic at the same time, leaving you with lots to ponder about. The long-term anxiety, the suffocation that K felt literally and figuratively, it was all very palpable and masterfully written. Besides the oppression, it also signifies how far humans will go fighting injustice in their own ways, even when the majority may succumb to pressure. We all are defendants in various trials that may or may not be official in life. It does feel nihilistic somewhat with resistance being futile and K dying without attempting to escape, but I can't deny that it was such a captivating journey that had me questioning the vagaries of life. The only thing I found somewhat distasteful was K's uncanny ability to woo the women at first sight and the disjointed structure of the narrative, but the latter is understandable considering it's unfinished material. Anyway, I finally have an inkling about the term 'Kafkaesque' and I look forward to reading his other works in the near future. 🙂
dry, bizarre, anticlimactic read and while there's merit to that criticism, I wasn't bothered much by those issues at all in the end, which is rather surprising for me. It's hard to talk about this book further without getting into spoilers so I will mention these first. For me, both the writing and the events that transpired were simply entrancing regardless of how boring it may appear on a surface level. I can't say I loved it top to bottom, but it felt like such a unique experience which I will not soon forget, and whatever flaws it had can be mostly attributed to it's unfinished state, due to the untimely demise of the author. Below are the unfiltered spoiler thoughts of mine so feel free to stop here if you haven't read the book.
I thought it was fascinating to see how Kafka captures the essence of such a man slowing losing himself, dealing with a seemingly perpetual event that's mentally taxing. The whole book had a certain dreamlike quality to it, realistic and unrealistic at the same time, leaving you with lots to ponder about. The long-term anxiety, the suffocation that K felt literally and figuratively, it was all very palpable and masterfully written. Besides the oppression, it also signifies how far humans will go fighting injustice in their own ways, even when the majority may succumb to pressure. We all are defendants in various trials that may or may not be official in life. It does feel nihilistic somewhat with resistance being futile and K dying without attempting to escape, but I can't deny that it was such a captivating journey that had me questioning the vagaries of life. The only thing I found somewhat distasteful was K's uncanny ability to woo the women at first sight and the disjointed structure of the narrative, but the latter is understandable considering it's unfinished material.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Police brutality, Sexual harassment, and Misogyny
lynxpardinus's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Police brutality
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Vomit, Sexual content, Infidelity, Classism, Confinement, Gaslighting, Murder, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Minor: Sexual assault and Body shaming
danicam's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Murder, Death, Infidelity, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
_katie_little's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Torture, Police brutality, Violence, and Sexual harassment
bishopbox's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
It wouldn’t feel fair to rate this because it’s not really a finished work. There’s several plot lines that don’t go anywhere and it feels very disjointed.
However, what is actually on page has an idea it’s going for, but it just keeps getting distracted. Overall, read it if you want to, but don’t expect this to be some masterpiece.
Spoiler review below:
I understand that this is supposed to be all about the hopelessness of being in a corrupt system where anyone can be declared guilty of a crime and punished without any sort of way to defend yourself, or even understand what is going on. And I think the character of Block and the final words of K do a good way of representing that. But DANG this book is mostly just K freaking out and everyone around him telling him to chill out and then him being super stubborn and argumentative. It also really left a bad taste in my mouth that the women are all treated terribly or as props. It’s hard to feel too sad for a guy that is so unlikeable.
I can see why somebody might connect with this book, but it just wasn’t for me. </spoiler
However, what is actually on page has an idea it’s going for, but it just keeps getting distracted. Overall, read it if you want to, but don’t expect this to be some masterpiece.
Spoiler review below:
I can see why somebody might connect with this book, but it just wasn’t for me. </spoiler
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Police brutality, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Torture
brycestevenwilley's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Not a huge fan. Not a lot really happens, not in the sense that it's a bueracratic nightmare and stuck in limbo, just like there are only 5 or so scenes of note. IMO you could read the first ~40 or 50 pages and then the last chapter and wouldn't have missed much.
The unfinished-ness of it also detracts; I had to read many of the deleted sections to realize what was going on, and one of the chapters that's included in the book is just unfinished and stops in the middle of a paragraph.
I remember enjoying the metamorphisis, so I don't think it was Kafka that I didn't enjoy.
The unfinished-ness of it also detracts; I had to read many of the deleted sections to realize what was going on, and one of the chapters that's included in the book is just unfinished and stops in the middle of a paragraph.
I remember enjoying the metamorphisis, so I don't think it was Kafka that I didn't enjoy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Sexual harassment
Minor: Sexual content
larseneiii's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual harassment
left3000's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual harassment and Misogyny