"The Trial" by Franz Kafka is a haunting novel about Josef K., a bank clerk who is arrested without explanation and thrust into a bizarre, nightmarish legal system. As he seeks answers, he encounters absurd bureaucracy, inaccessible courts, and elusive authority figures. The novel explores themes of guilt, alienation, and powerlessness, capturing the surreal terror of being judged without knowing the crime. Kafka's masterpiece remains a chilling critique of modern society.