Reading The Castle in winter

“The Castle” begins with snow and a stranger. K. arrives in a village, claims a profession, and spends the rest of the novel trying to have that claim recognized. The castle never quite appears. It sends letters, officials, and excuses.

This is Kafka's funniest book and his most exhausting one. The comedy is in the negotiations: everyone knows the rules, no one can state them, and every conversation produces another errand.

Reading in winter

Read it slowly, one chapter at a time. Notice how often someone explains a procedure in order to avoid saying what they want. Notice how K. keeps mistaking persistence for progress.

If “The Trial” is about a man who cannot stop defending himself, “The Castle” is about a man who cannot stop arriving.