K, a land surveyor, is invited to "The Castle" to work. He never gets there. He spends time in a snow-laden village beneath the Castle. It's hard to get around in the snow. He learns that the authorities in the Castle - highly thought of in all respects - may have made an error in inviting a land surveyor. He is not permitted to practice his trade. He does end up for awhile as a janitor in the local school (this after forming a relationship with Frieda, the taproom girl). He is somehow given two assistants - childlike, unhelpful, always present; one eventually takes off with Frieda. He is supposed to receive messages from the Castle about his situation via Barnabas, but learns from Barnabas's sisters (especially via Olga) that this may not be very reliable. (Their family had been disgraced when one of the sisters (Amalia) rejected an overture sent via message by a gentleman from the Castle.)Klamm is an important Castle representative who spends time in the Gentlemen's Inn in the village. K keeps trying to get in touch with Klamm. His efforts do not succeed.
Pepi succeeded Frieda in the taproom.
The villagers have a strange life in general - generally in awe of the Castle and its inhabitants, inconsistent in their descriptions of the Castle officials, lacking understanding. And K struggles to figure out how things work in this odd little world.
But there's more here - loneliness, inability to meet a goal; the setting in the village is unsettling.
Kafka didn't finish this book either; he was working on it when he died.
And no, I don't really know what to make of it.
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