The CastleThe Castle
Score Classic
What it's about
A man known only as K. arrives in a snowy village at the foot of a castle, claiming to have been hired as a land surveyor. But no one in the village knows anything about it, and the officials in the castle are impossible to reach. K. spends the novel trying, again and again, to make contact with the authorities who control everything, without ever getting inside.
Why it's worth reading
It's on the Bokklubben list of the 100 greatest books. It's Kafka's strangest, most mysterious novel, about power and belonging.
You'll love it if you liked
The Trial
The Stranger
The Tartar SteppeGood to know
Kafka never finished it; it stops mid-sentence. It's slow and dreamlike.
By the numbers
- Readers26 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics55 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller28 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #278 of the 459 fantasy books we rank
- #533 of the 762 classics we rank
- #1855 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Thought-provoking, Dark
More by Franz Kafka
If you like this, read next
Gormenghast
Cat's Eye
The Lord of the Rings
The Dispossessed
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
FoundationExplore the best-of lists
All 36 best-of lists →
Quick answers
Is The Castle worth reading?
Yes. It's on the Bokklubben list of the 100 greatest books. It ranks #1,855 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 65.2 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is The Castle about?
A man known only as K. arrives in a snowy village at the foot of a castle, claiming to have been hired as a land surveyor. But no one in the village knows anything about it, and the officials in the castle are impossible to reach. K. spends the novel trying, again and again, to make contact with the authorities who control everything, without ever getting inside.
How long does it take to read The Castle?
About 9 hours (353 pages), or about 3 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after The Castle?
If you liked it, try The Trial by Franz Kafka, The Stranger by Albert Camus or The Tartar Steppe by Dino Buzzati.