Kafka's The Trial

actually, i read that book the first time 15 years ago, and have reread several times since. what i did read recently was a review of it on amazon.com. if you've ever seen the "customer reviews" there (especially for the classics) you'll know that they are generally a bunch of 5-star raves by non-critical people who want to show you that they are the kind of person who likes a book like that; 1-star reviews by people who want to show you that they are iconoclasts or are kids who start the reviews with "i had to read this book"; the last are the 3-star types who want to show you that they are more critical and intelligent than the other two. there was one review i came across by a reader who i think truly connected with kafka. it was eloquent in it's terseness and had an almost lover's intamacy. it showed me how rare it is for two minds truly to connect. if i were kafka i would frame this review and put it up on my wall; as it is i typed it up and have it as an icon on my desktop that i might call it up anytime i need to remind myself of why i even bother trying to write. this is it: A reader from Toronto, Canada, March 26, 1998 (one star) Very, very disturbing book This is the most depressing book I ever read. From the moment it starts to the very last page, there isn't one pleasing image. After I finished it, I felt like burning this book. Books like this may introduce concepts in our brains, but this one will give you nightmares for days. I think I am different now, after reading this book, in a very negative way. It gives you a different, and a frightening, perspective on life. I think my life has become worse after reading this book. i dare only dream that one day that someone will write a review like that about me.