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The Castle cover art

The Castle

By: Franz Kafka
Narrated by: Allan Corduner
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Summary

A land-surveyor, known only as K., arrives at a small village permanently covered in snow and dominated by a castle to which access seems permanently denied. K.'s attempts to discover why he has been called constantly run up against the peasant villagers, who are in thrall to the absurd bureaucracy that keeps the castle shut, and the rigid hierarchy of power among the self-serving bureaucrats themselves. But in this strange wilderness, there is passion, tenderness and considerable humour. Darkly bizarre, this complex book was the last novel by one of the 20th century's greatest and most influential writers.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

Public Domain (P)2010 Naxos Audiobooks

What listeners say about The Castle

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Outstanding

Where does The Castle rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of the best.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Castle?

Very funny description of the main character, K, waking up in the night to find one of his assistants in bed with him instead of his wife, and then having to deal with the aftermath of this incident the next morning.

What about Allan Corduner’s performance did you like?

An excellent reader, reminding me of Jon Pertwee in style.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It is both funny and sad, but creates a menacing tone throughout.

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6 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Not my idea of a good read

Would you consider the audio edition of The Castle to be better than the print version?

I have to be honest and say that, although this was superbly read, I was irritated with the story and I borrowed a copy of the print version just so I could skim to the end and claim I'd read it.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

What does it mean? For me it was exactly like one of those horrible, involved dreams where you can't get anywhere, or do anything, and there is a lingering sense of menace.

What about Allan Corduner’s performance did you like?

Everything, he's a really good performer and I'd happily listen to him again.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I was moved to tears of relief when I finally "finished" it.

Any additional comments?

Despite not enjoying it at all, it's nearly a year since I listened to it and I can still remember a lot about it and I still think about it - perhaps that's why it is considered a masterpiece?

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5 people found this helpful

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Loved it

A great book, well read. I enjoyed it thoroughly.
Please be aware, though, the book is unfinished.

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Marvellous Bureaucratic Folly

A great Narrator tells the tale of a Surveyor who is thwarted at every turn by the bureaucracy of The Castle. Having being robbed then forced to take his robbers on as assistants. The Surveyor's life descends into chaos of a hugely layered bureaucracy blocking him at every turn. The futility of his situation carries through the book. This was Kafka's last book and you could argue an unfinished work the story could have seen more volumes. This is a literary masterpiece.

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2 people found this helpful

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just not for me

I appreciate his politics and his clever writing style but this was just a bit too much faceless bureaucracy for me and not enough believable characters. I will definitely not re-listen

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1 person found this helpful

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Kafka at his very best! <br />

The pace of Kafka 's literature per se, is simply superb! Keeps one wholly intrigued.

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    1 out of 5 stars
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no ending

As far as I'm aware a friend of Kafka wrote an ending for the book, this doesn't have it though and finishes mid sentence.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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Waste of time

A story that goes absolutely nowhere the point of it could have been made in half the time

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful bizarreness

I read a comment once that Kafka was just comes across as a guy on a coarse on creative writing. Of course. And a very good one. This book is rambling and has no plot. Wordy, People speak forever. A series of set pieces. But so atmospheric, Amazing. Who cares if there is no plot? Also has sex and slapstick humour (Kafka was a Laurel and Hardy fan). A wonderful random trip to nowhere.

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Grim boring drivel

I really forced myself hard to finish this book. ultimately it was boring nonsense. It was very well read, but aside from that I can't find anything positive to say about this

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