The Trial book club questions

The reading plan

Meeting 1: Parts 1 to 3

1. Does going to work make Josef K.'s arrest less powerful, or show how far its power reaches?
2. What can Josef K. gain by challenging officials who give no explanation for his arrest?
3. When a hearing becomes a protest, what might K. gain and what might he risk?
4. How does discovering the audience's shared allegiance change your view of K.'s protest?
5. How would you decide whether to trust offers of help during an unscheduled court visit?

Meeting 2: Parts 4 to 7

6. What does K.'s unwelcome visit after a refusal suggest about his respect for other people's choices?
7. How should we judge K.'s attempt to rescue the guards through a bribe?
8. What does the punishment scene's return the next evening suggest about the possibility of intervening?
9. Do you see K.'s departure from the legal discussion as avoidance, independence, or something else?
10. How much weight should K. give his relative's anxiety when deciding whether to accept legal help?

Meeting 3: Part 8 to Chapter 10

11. Would Block's years of costly legal effort make you more determined to seek help or more doubtful about its value?
12. What might K. learn from Block's experience that he could not learn from his own distrust of his lawyer?
13. How does Leni's interruption affect your view of K.'s ability to seek advice on his own terms?
14. What makes a challenge to someone's understanding helpful rather than another form of pressure?
15. How does the absent client shape your reading of K.'s encounter with the chaplain?

Themes to talk about

Tips for the host

1. Open each meeting with one question everyone can answer, then go deeper.
2. Anyone who fell behind can catch up with the 15-minute summary.