Item #747 The Trial. Franz Kafka.

The Trial

London: Gollancz, 1937. First Edition. 1st edition in English, preceding Knopf’s American edition. First and last few pages, the page edges and extreme marginsfoxed (the rest is ok), near fine in a dustjacket that is 1/8” short along the top (maybe miscut or maybe trimmed), faded to tan on the spine and with 2 darker tan spots, else very good, nice looking, never repaired, real as a heart attack, and priced to more than compensate for its failings. Half morocco case. A giant of 20th century literature. The last auction sale was $7,500 for one in a repaired jacket (Sotheby’s, Sep. 17, 2021). Very good / good. Item #747

“…without having done anything wrong, he [Josef K.] was arrested…”

–Kafka, The Trial (the first sentence)

So, Josef K., the reader, and the narrator, do not know why he was arrested. And though he is found guilty, and executed, he, and we, never find out. And why? Because this literary coupis so transfixing that why is incidental and, by the end, doesn’t really matter.

Price: $3,250.00

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