Franz Kafka wrote a book about an unjust government. Throughout the story, the theme is deciphered as something or someone controlling the destiny of an individual unjustly.

The 1925 novel The Trial, which is an English translation of Der Prozess, is about a man named Joseph K. The story starts when K. does not receive his breakfast on the morning of his 30th birthday, and is then held in his room by two warders of the law. One of the warders, known, as Willem, tells K. “Proceedings have been instituted against you, and you will be informed of everything in due course,” which is extremely ironic because K., nor the reader, ever learns why he has been arrested.

K. is the protagonist of the novel while the antagonist is the government and the court system. Some of the main characters are Frau Grubach, Fräulein Bürstner, K.’s uncle Karl, Leni, Dr. Huld, a manufacturer, Titorelli, and a prison chaplain. My favorite character is the prison chaplain, who is the prison’s priest, because he makes K. realize that “…it is not necessary to accept everything as true, one must only accept it as necessary.”

In my opinion, The Trial is a sensational novel, and the story line is enthralling. I’ll admit, it was boring at times, but only because the format of the paragraphs. I would recommend this book to anyone who has had trouble with a legal system.