THE CASTLE

George Guidall's reading is both disconcerting and comforting. Comforting, because he reads as Kafka surely wrote, with all the assurance and bravado that K, his protagonist, shows throughout. Disconcerting because, also like K, we haven't the slightest idea what is happening. As K wanders between the village and the inn, struggling to contact someone from the castle, neither he nor we can make sense of the difficulties he encounters. The listener, however, is swept along by the magic of the reader. "Guidall understands," we tell ourselves. He is in control, and, because he is, we can accept that we are not. The characters--Barnabas, the landlady, Frieda--dance in his vocal grip and become transparent vehicles of Kafka's sarcasm and humor. What fun. The Castle, like life, is as impenetrable as ever, but somehow that doesn't seem to matter. Guidall's reading is so faithful to Kafka that the book becomes less a puzzle than a mirror, illuminating the world around us. P.E.F. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/ NOV 01]