A review by lucysbookshelf
El castillo by Franz Kafka

5.0

This unfinished novel can be best described as the struggles the modern man faced several times (especially in the “in between wars” period) of wanting to belong and be a part of something, somewhere and never actually doing it. The bureaucracy being unrealistic and not in contact with what the people need at all due to losing itself in grandeur and titles instead of work to make people’s lives better. This also influences an individualist society where there’s no compassion nor empathy because no one wants to fall out of favor with those in power, even when they have never even seen their faces. There’s also two sensations that might be considered to be the constants throughout the book and it’s the feeling of being lost and the frustration that comes with it and with what I previously mentioned.
The meaning of the castle that our protagonist, K, wants to reach so badly is brilliantly explained in the epilogue by Max Brod, who also gives an insight into Kafka’s thoughts when he wrote this story and enriches the story to no avail.
I do recommend knowing a bit of Kafka’s biography before reading this book, it makes the experience much better and helps you understand more about this amazing and complex writer.