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The Metamorphosis
The Metamorphosis
The Metamorphosis
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The Metamorphosis

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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Poor old Gregor. One day he's depressed about his dreary traveling salesman gig, the next, he's roaching around the apartment and disgusting his family. All that's left is creeping the walls and eating garbage. How's his sis ever going to find a sugar daddy with her grotty bro in tow?
LanguageEnglish
Release dateSep 25, 2015
ISBN9781843444626
Author

Franz Kafka

Franz Kafka was a German Bohemian novelist and short story writer, and was widely regarded as one of the major literary figures of the twentieth century.

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Rating: 4.148148148148148 out of 5 stars
4/5

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5

    Dec 6, 2018

    My rating: 4.5 of 5 starsSource: BBC Radio 4 Extra'I cannot make you understand. I cannot make anyone understand what is happening inside me. I cannot even explain it to myself.'Imagine you go to bed one night with nothing out of the ordinary occurring only to wake up to find you have transformed into a monstrous insect overnight. Your family can no longer communicate with you, they no longer can even stand to look at you. You've become repulsive and abhorrent for seemingly no apparent reason. What do you do?Everyone has heard of The Metamorphosis, Kafka's literary masterpiece, a book that is obviously more than meets the eye. The story possessed a dream-like quality where nothing is ever considered appropriately, as Gregor accepted his transformation into insect form a lot more readily than one might normally. Many have attempted to form their own interpretations of the story but I personally can't see it being anything other than a metaphor. While there are bound to be several different opinions on this, this is what I came up with:Up until that life altering morning Gregor led an uneventful life where he worked constantly to support his family and in turn they steadily grew unproductive the more they began to depend on him. Gregor travels so often for work that communication between him and his family begins to cease and most importantly his family stops being appreciative of all he does for them and instead begins to simply expect it. That fateful morning he woke and began to contemplate his job and how terrible he finds it and if he didn't have his parents to worry about he would have "given in my notice a long time ago, I'd have gone up to the boss and told him just what I think, tell him everything I would, let him know just what I feel." The more and more he dwells on this the more he realizes what he does for them, what they don't do and how his work ethic in order to support his family has in turn alienated them from him. By becoming the sole breadwinner of the family he transformed himself into an outsider, the transformation only becoming a physical interpretation when he realizes that himself.I've never read Kafka before having always found myself intimidated by his works. When I discovered that the BBC Radio had produced a recording of this being read by Benedict Cumberbatch I jumped on the opportunity and I am so glad I did. I had listened to a clip of the audiobook that was released by Blackstone Audio and narrated by Ralph Cosham... that audiobook sat on my phone for so long I forgot about it because it sounded dreadfully dull. Benedict Cumberbatch truly brought this story to life and made this a real treat for me.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5

    Dec 6, 2018

    We have all been up stuck up on the ceiling and had an apple lodged in our back. Kafka writes one of the most important stories ever written.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5

    Dec 24, 2024

    2.5
    A son, who was the breadwinner for his family, wakes up one day as a beetle.

    He can no longer work and must be taken care of. His family resent him, consider him a burden and wish him dead.

    I can see how it relates to work culture, capitalism, family dynamics and disability, but it was just depressing for me, also Incredibly sad for Gregor.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5

    Nov 3, 2024

    Recently reread for classics book club. I recall that this is the first literary work I ever read where I realized that it could be about the fantastic and still be taken seriously. That was an important revelation for me.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5

    Sep 30, 2024

    Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis is a profound exploration of alienation and identity. The story, centered around Gregor Samsa's transformation, symbolizes how individuals who think differently from societal norms often face isolation and emotional suffering. Gregor’s experience of becoming an outcast reflects the challenges faced by those who break away from conventional expectations.Kafka brilliantly illustrates how society tends to reject what it doesn't understand, leaving people to suffer in their own emotional cocoon. Metamorphosis not only challenges our understanding of identity but also opens new perspectives on the cost of nonconformity. This timeless classic is a must-read for anyone who questions societal norms—a truly five-star read that breaks boundaries.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5

    Aug 9, 2024

    He woke up as a bug! And that's the story! This is amazing. I asked my husband if he'd still love me if I was a bug, and he was non-committal on that answer.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5

    Aug 7, 2024

    I vaguely recall reading Kafka’s iconic but bizarre novella in my high school era when the Dead Sea was alive. I’m quite certain my Christian Brothers educators introduced us to the book’s existential themes of alienation, isolation, identity and transformation, but I only recall being captivated by the notion of a guy turning into a grotesque, ooze-emitting bug.
    Sampling a century of reviews is fascinating. Readers spanning multiple eras have offered a smorgasbord of interpretations, a fact that underscores the genius and complexity of a work that is essentially a short story. I only wish Kafka had spent a bit more time delving into psyches of the four key characters. But his ability to accomplish what he managed to achieve in under 70 pages speaks to the book’s brilliance. It nudges readers to ponder many issues, including society’s tendency to scorn those who are different or are not living up to their scripted roles.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5

    May 1, 2024

    So he turned into a bug, then everything sucked. Really thats it.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5

    Apr 18, 2024

    There are a number of ways of looking at the Metamorphosis, but I like to see it as an allegory which represents the slippery slope of tempered justice. In the elementary example of a child who breaks her grandmother's vase and hides the shards under the rug on a fearful impulse, how easy it is for one to neglect one's morals and resolve to cover up one's wrongdoing. And once this has been done, would it not be too farfetched to say it would be easy for the child then to lie about the vase's whereabouts when questioned about it, and thus dive further down the rabbit hole of sin? We often treat justice the same way, especially when our reputations or egos are threatened. Guilt may keep us at bay for a while, but time and familiarity are the greatest killers of one's conscience, and eventually it disappears altogether. (potential spoiler) This is the kind of creeping normality which happens to Gregor Samsa's family, and it is what causes them to squash the bug at last and be done with it.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5

    Mar 6, 2024

    A great classic.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5

    Dec 16, 2019

    This has to one of the most unique stories ever written and is testament to Kafka's genius in conjuring up such powerful nightmarish, weird, absurd and enigmatic, but ultimately deeply moving and human in few pages.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5

    Dec 6, 2019

    read this twice, once in college and again in 2009. It is a creepy book but that is not the point. The point is that it examines identity and alienation. It is a classic of existential literature.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5

    Oct 11, 2018

    A truly strange story. I actually found it more sad than anything else, people stuck in impossible situations just trying to find some sense of normalcy again, forever out-of-reach. I read it a bit as a metaphor for having an chronically ill or disabled member of the family, someone who suddenly is not the active, capable breadwinner they once were, presenting a double-burden to the family which had built its lifestyle around their contributions. A really thought-provoking weird tragedy.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5

    Jun 26, 2018

    This was a dark little fable. The genius of the author is to totally leave it to the reader as to whether Gregor has become a vile animal or is suffering mentally and as a consequence is shunned by his family. The tale has its funny moments, but its overall a dark story.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5

    Apr 6, 2018

    Metamorphosis is an intriguing book, in a way it seems to be about Kafka's life, like George Samsa, he was unable to run away from the room he was trapped within, that room being circumstances & depression.

    Yet at the same time, the book is also about isolation and society. It takes place in an undated time and an unspecified place with the vast majority of the story taking place in the Samsa apartment. It's well worth reading.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5

    Mar 19, 2018

    Such a weird story. It's completely unclear, he's changed into another creature and he's still absorbed in his day to day.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5

    Dec 25, 2017

    A perennial favorite. Frustrating, sad, and fascinating. It begs to be dissected and analyzed, while at the same time, it just needs to be accepted as is.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5

    Apr 18, 2017

    I came across this book by accident, having learned that it was considered classic, and having missed it during my schooling days, and on whim finding it free on Project Gutenberg, and realizing that it's small story worth reading in few sittings.

    Opening premise in first line sends a shock wave. It's strange, mildly amusing, and not yet clear where the story will go. However, story is captivating from get-go. For once, this classic lives up to its such designation. For another, despite my surprise at myself, I wasn't bothered about reason of this metamorphosis nor did absence of that took anything away from the story. Usually, ridiculous hypothetical premise of story which is not resolved till end is buzz-kill for me, but Kafka's work transcends that feeling, perhaps by not pretending to be anywhere close to science fiction and by tugging heart at right places. It is science fiction in its premise, but it is not, otherwise.

    Of course, somethings in story bother you. I am amazed that rest of world wasn't throbbing Samsas' house to see the transformation, and that they could keep it as mildly horrifying novelty, despite their maid, Gregor's senior clerk, and their tenants having observed themselves. How could neighbors, police, scientists, and crowd be kept at abeyance from such rare happenstance? Another convenient coincidence was Gregor's end, brought out without much premonition.

    What's most amazing is that while story isn't really fast paced, it just seems to keep you on hook. Story from perspective of vermin, of course, helps a lot. Challenges of adjusting to new life, phases of grief displayed by family in handling him, poignancy of whole situation tugs your heart and brought tear drops in my eyes near the end. I am tempted to be angry at his family, but I cannot be seeing what they did under such extraordinary circumstances. I cannot be unsympathetic to Gregor though, for he is such a gentle soul, struggling himself yet always keeping his virtues and noble character to guide his actions.

    It's simple story, with multiple interpretations, all likely wrong, but which will keep you haunting long after you have read it.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5

    Apr 17, 2017

    I've had nightmares because of work, but I''ve never had Gregor's out of body exxperience where he wakes up one morning and finds that he's become a giant beetle. Kafka's surreal novel - perhaps the first to employ magical realism - .is a tour du force.

    Gregor, who has been supporting his family (why is left unclear), now must remain locked in his room because his appearance is too unsettling to everyone. Faced with the necessity of survival, his parents and sister now find employment and gradually become more self-suffcient. As this happens, Gregor finds his life draining away. When he finally dies, his family becomes fully actualized.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5

    Oct 15, 2015

    perfect read for late at night creepy and a great allegory for those in 12-step recovery (AA, NA, Alanon, etc.).
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5

    Sep 28, 2015

    Gregor Samsa lives with his parents and younger sister and lives a perfectly normal life until one morning when he wakes up and finds he is now a human-sized roach. The story is an examination of how a family might react to such an event and how one might feel if this happened to him.

    I loved trying to imagine life as a roach.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5

    Apr 13, 2015

    "Die Verwandlung" ist wohl eines der meistinterpretierten Bücher im deutschsprachigen, als auch im englischsprachigen Schulwesen. Hier entführt uns Kafka in eine Geschichte, in der der Handelsreisende Gregor Samsa, der alleine für seine Familie sorgen muss, sich plötzlich in einen Riesenkäfer verwandelt, sodass die Familie auf sich selbst gestellt ist. Von allen Interpretationen gefällt mir immer noch die am besten, dass sich Gregors "Inneres" nach "außen" gekehrt habe. Kafka hat gerne lange Sätze geschrieben, sodass es für ungeübte Leser am Anfang schwierig erscheint, der Geschichte zu folgen. Man kann über "Die Verwandlung" denken, was man möchte, aber diese Geschichte lässt einem aufgrund ihrer Surrealität äußerst viel Raum für Interpretationen und das allein zeugt von einer gewissen Qualität.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5

    Oct 22, 2014

    Having not read this since college, I found it much more meaningful this time around. Whatever Kafka's intent, I found the tale to be symbolic of the family dynamic when a once integral part of the family becomes helpless or worthless through illness, dishonor, etc. The death of Gregor restored life to the family.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5

    Oct 10, 2014

    When Gregor Samsa woke one morning from uneasy dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a monstrous insect.

    This is one of the most famous opening lines in literature, and the general concept of The Metamorphosis, which hovers on the borderline of being a short story or a novella, is one of literature’s most famous and fascinating stories. No explanation is given for Gregor Samsa’s terrible fate; he and his family must simply endure it. Almost the entire novella takes place within the Samsa family’s apartment, and over a mere 61 pages Kafka develops an overwhelming sense of claustrophobia, alienation and sheer misery at the unjustness of the world.

    This is a book many students are forced to read in high school, probably because of its short length, like The Great Gatsby, with no consideration for the fact that high school students probably aren’t yet equipped to appreciate the themes it explores (again like The Great Gatsby). There are dozens if not hundreds of scholarly interpretations as to what The Metamorphosis is allegorising; mental illness and depression are popular ideas. If I had to throw my hat into the ring I’d suggest it’s about the struggles of adulthood, the sometimes crushing sense of responsibility, the loss of innocence; much is made of the fact that Gregor, in his early twenties, has been working as a salesman to support his recently impoverished family, and following his transformation his inability to work and provide for them leaves him with a terrible sense of guilt. On the very morning of the metamorphosis the head clerk arrives from his office, demanding to know why he has not turned up for work, and it’s almost a scene of black comedy as Gregor attempts to leave the bed and open the door, to reassure his superior that he is fit and able and enthusiastic. The fact that he has turned into a monster is of secondary concern to his job security.

    This particular edition has a couple of Kafka’s other short stories at the back, presumably because the publisher wanted to pad the length out. None of them struck me as particularly memorable. The Metamorphosis, on the other hand, deserves its status as a literary classic – an enduring symbol of alienation in human society.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5

    Apr 5, 2014

    One of the most famous opening lines in literature: "As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect."

    Well, this will certainly be a day unlike all others.

    A classic work of expressionism. A metaphor for what happens to an individual when he lives a life he loathes, for extreme alienation and rebellion. What the reader brings to the text will inform his or her interpretation, and that makes the work all the more extraordinary.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5

    Dec 1, 2013

    This is a hard book to nail down. That despite the fact that the basic (infamous) premise is revealed in the first sentence. It was about all I knew about Kafka or The Metamorphosis when I started the book--that the "hero" wakes up as a cockroach:

    As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect. He was lying on his hard, as it were armor-plated, back and when he lifted his head a little he could see his domelike brown belly divided into stiff arched segments on top of which the bed quilt could hardly stay in place and was about to slide off completely. His numerous legs, which were pitifully thin compared to the rest of his bulk, waved helplessly before his eyes.

    I'd read this work published in 1915 was a seminal work of the early 20th century. I'd read it was important to the Existentialist movement, surreal and absurdest and despairing. So what surprised me about this short novella--it's only about 22 thousand words--is how funny it is. I just found this all pretty hilarious. Is that bad, and wrong? It has been described as horror--but I mean, just the way Kafka describes poor Gregor trying to get around on his little legs--or trying to squeak out explanations to his supervisor or his family... I found nothing very heavy in this--or anything all that philosophical--at least not in any ponderous or pedantic way. It felt more light humor than anything--and really, an engaging introduction for me to this writer who'd I'd definitely read again.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5

    Aug 12, 2013

    At first, I can't bear reading this book. It was about a person who turned into a bug. It was disgusting. I hate bugs. But towards the middle and end part you begin to feel sympathy for Gregor. Who wants to be a bug? It was something he did not choose. i just felt bad for him and how his family treated him. It actually made me cry in the end. This one classic book everyone should read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5

    Jul 29, 2013

    I’ve spent the last couple of years catching up on famous pieces of literature that, for whatever reason, I never got around to before, especially those that are ubiquitous cultural touchstones. A lifetime of making casual references to Sherlock Holmes, Jekyll and Hyde, The Last of the Mohicans, and so forth, without actually having read the works in question, always left me feeling like a bit of a poser each time I caught myself doing so. And for some reason, that guilty feeling was never stronger than when I would refer to something as "Kafka-esque," knowing I had never read any Kafka. It made me feel like such a huge poser that I actually crossed over into being a poseur, which, as everyone knows, is far worse.

    So I finally sat down to read Kafka’s most famous work, the short novel Metamorphosis, and it’s everything I had ever meant to express by invoking the man's name: absurd, dark, grotesque, and humorous only in the blackest possible sense of the word.

    I was, of course, already familiar with the very famous first line of the book, translated in my edition as, "One morning, when Gregor Samsa woke from troubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a horrible vermin." I think I had imagined, before reading, that the book would jump from that absurd beginning immediately in some other direction, but it doesn’t. It’s a good 10% of the way into the book (I read it on the Kindle; no page numbers) before Brundle-fly - sorry, Gregor-roach - even manages to flip over and get out of his bed, and it sets the tone for the rest of the book: unflinching, matter-of-fact in its depiction of surreal things, and compulsively readable at the same time that it’s psychologically uncomfortable and viscerally repelling.

    I won’t spoil the ending for anyone reading this who is as big a poseur as I was, but I will say this: if Dan Savage woke from troubled dreams one morning to find himself transformed in his bed into Franz Kafka, he’d have started a viral video campaign called "It Gets Worse."
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5

    Mar 30, 2013

    Metamorphosis is a novella written by Franz Kafka. It's a tragic parable about a man who wakes up as an insect and the subsequent exclusion from society and eventually, his family.
    This is so wonderfully written and paced and the message, so strong in its dark tones, is very balanced with the narrative, making it a pleasure to read.
    In trying to find a similar work, I can think only of Orwell's "Animal Farm", with its strong message also perfectly intertwined with it's narrative. The difference is I find Kafka's writing style more alluring, more poignant.

    I opened it, planning to read only a bit of the beginning and ended up reading all of it without getting up from the chair.
    I suspect I'll be reading this many more times.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5

    Dec 29, 2012

    A very realistic story about a completely unrealistic event. I love how Kafka describes an absurd occurrence like it's a very natural thing and nothing to be surprised at, and how he gives a completely realistic account of the consequences and behaviour of the people involved.

Book preview

The Metamorphosis - Franz Kafka

METAMORPHOSIS

Change really BUGGED him!

Poor old Gregor. One day he’s depressed about his dreary travelling salesman gig, the next, he’s roaching around the apartment and disgusting his family. All that’s left is creeping the walls and eating garbage. How’s his sis ever going to find a sugar daddy with her grotty bro in tow?

About the Author

Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-language writer of novels and short stories, regarded by critics as one of the most influential authors of the 20th century. Most of his works, such as Die Verwandlung (The Metamorphosis), Der Process (The Trial), and Das Schloss (The Castle), are filled with the themes and archetypes of alienation, physical and psychological brutality, parent–child conflict, characters on a terrifying quest, labyrinths of bureaucracy, and mystical transformations.

Kafka was born into a middle-class, German-speaking Jewish family in Prague, the capital of the Kingdom of Bohemia, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In his lifetime, most of the population of Prague spoke Czech, and the division between Czech- and German-speaking people was a tangible reality, as both groups were strengthening their national identity. The Jewish community often found itself in between the two sentiments, naturally raising questions about a place to which one belongs. Kafka himself was fluent in both languages, considering German his mother tongue.

Kafka trained as a lawyer and after completing his legal education, obtained employment with an insurance company. He began to write short stories in his spare time. For the rest of his life, he complained about the little time he had to devote to what he came to regard as his calling. He regretted having to devote so much attention to his Brotberuf (day job, literally bread job). Kafka preferred to communicate by letter; he wrote hundreds of letters to family and close female friends, including his father, his fiancée Felice Bauer, and his youngest sister Ottla. He had a complicated and troubled relationship with his father that had a major effect on his writing. He also suffered conflict over being Jewish, feeling that it had little to do with him, although critics argue that it influenced his writing.

Only a few of Kafka’s works were published during his lifetime: the story collections Betrachtung (Contemplation) and Ein Landarzt (A Country Doctor), and individual stories (such as Die Verwandlung) in literary magazines. He prepared the story collection Ein Hungerkünstler (A Hunger Artist) for print, but it was not published until after his death. Kafka’s unfinished works, including his novels Der Process, Das Schloss and Amerika (also known as Der Verschollene, The Man Who Disappeared), were published posthumously, mostly by his friend Max Brod, who ignored Kafka’s wish to have the manuscripts destroyed. Albert Camus, Gabriel García Márquez and Jean-Paul Sartre are among the writers influenced by Kafka’s work; the term Kafkaesque has entered the English language to describe existential situations like those in his writing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Kafka

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1

One morning, as Gregor Samsa was waking up from anxious dreams, he discovered that in bed he had been changed into a monstrous verminous bug. He lay on his armour-hard back and saw, as he lifted his head up a little, his brown, arched abdomen divided up into rigid bow-like sections. From this height the blanket, just about ready to slide off completely, could hardly stay in place. His numerous legs,

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