In 1983 Giulio Einaudi asked Primo Levi to translate Kafka’s Trial for the new series «Scrittori tradotti da scrittori». The proposal sounded original and provocative, and Levi accepted eagerly. The translation, however, had a negative effect on him. While working on The Trial, Levi relived his Auschwitz season, revived his deepest fears, and fell back into depression: he felt as if he was himself on trial. This was partially due to a clash of literary styles as well as to two contrasting–and yet at times kindred–conceptions of language and communication. The present study addresses the following questions: were Levi and Kafka’s literary styles as opposed as Levi implies? How is Levi’s “obscure part” connected to Kafka? Why did Levi associate The Trial with his Holocaust experience and identify himself with Josef K.? What does Levi’s encounter with Kafka tell us about the shame of being human and our capacity to give an account of ourselves? By investigating Levi’s uncanny encounter with Kafka, my essay will discuss Levi’s theory of language, showing how the Levi-Kafka intersection opens up new ways of interpreting Levi’s concerns about communication, the work of the witness, moral responsibility, and shame, which coalesced into the reflections of The Drowned and the Saved.