The Trial - Franz Kafka / 14+

THE TRIAL
Franz Kafka
Adapted by Bettina Rehm and Cornelius Edlefsen

On his thirtieth birthday, Josef K., senior clerk at a major bank, is arrested - without being told of any crime and without being taken into custody. He is simply expected to continue living as before. He receives no explanations. Searching for answers, he is drawn into the labyrinth of an incomprehensible bureaucracy that operates by its own inscrutable rules and soon comes to dominate his entire life. In the end, Josef K. faces death - without a verdict, without proven guilt.

Kafka's unfinished novel (1883-1924) is simultaneously a surreal nightmare, a crime story, and a linguistically dense work of art - one that resists any single interpretation. At a time when justice and legal systems worldwide are faltering and law increasingly becomes a matter of interpretation by those in power, this material takes on new urgency.

Recommended for everyone aged 14 and up who wants to grapple with questions of law and justice and sharpen their critical perspective on the present day.