Why people recommend it
The Castle by Franz Kafka is an unfinished, surreal novel about a protagonist known only as K. who struggles endlessly and fruitlessly to gain access to the mysterious authorities governing a remote village from a distant castle. On The Ezra Klein Show, Salman Rushdie recommended Franz Kafka's major works, including The Castle and The Trial, noting that humanity currently lives firmly inside Kafka's nightmarish reality. Lex Fridman similarly cited The Castle on his podcast during a conversation with Pavel Durov, grouping it alongside other dystopian classics like 1984 and Brave New World to illustrate the surreal, oppressive nature of institutional bureaucracy and the absurd inaccessibility of those holding power. Fridman expanded on this in a monologue, calling attention to the chilling nightmarish bureaucracy depicted in the novel. Additionally, Hannah Claire mentioned on Timcast IRL that she had chosen to read Kafka's novel during her school years, reflecting on her early academic experiences with rigorous and flexible literature within educational environments.
Who recommended it
- Lex Fridman Discussed
- Salman Rushdie Recommended
- Hannah Claire Discussed
Lex Fridman — 2 mentions
“Of course, "The Trial" is a work of fiction, but I think it is often useful to go to the surreal world of literature, even of the over-the-top dystopian variety like "1984," "Animal Farm," "Brave New World," "The Trial," "The Castle," "Metamorphosis," even "The Plague" by Albert Camus...”
“Also, now that we're talking about it, let me mention some other of Kafka's work that was moving to me, "The Castle." A similar description as "The Trial" does of the absurd inaccessibility of those in authority of the nightmarish bureaucracy.”
Salman Rushdie — 1 mention
“we live in kafka's world you know um so would probably say the trial or the castle or both of them”
Hannah Claire — 1 mention
“and i said i'd like to read this book the castle by kafka”