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Author: Franz Kafka
Genre: Classic Literature
Length: 201 pages
Published: 1972
Publisher: Bantam Classics
Brief Synopsis: (Taken from Goodreads) "As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect. He was laying 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 keep in position 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."
With this startling, bizarre, yet surprisingly funny first opening, Kafka begins his masterpiece, The Metamorphosis.
It is the story of a young man who, transformed overnight into a giant beetle-like insect, becomes an object of disgrace to his family, an outsider in his own home, a quintessentially alienated man. A harrowing -- though absurdly comic -- meditation on human feelings of inadequacy, guilt, and isolation, The Metamorphosis has taken its place as one of the most widely read and influential works of twentieth-century fiction.
As W.H. Auden wrote, "Kafka is important to us because his predicament is the predicament of modern man."
With this startling, bizarre, yet surprisingly funny first opening, Kafka begins his masterpiece, The Metamorphosis.
It is the story of a young man who, transformed overnight into a giant beetle-like insect, becomes an object of disgrace to his family, an outsider in his own home, a quintessentially alienated man. A harrowing -- though absurdly comic -- meditation on human feelings of inadequacy, guilt, and isolation, The Metamorphosis has taken its place as one of the most widely read and influential works of twentieth-century fiction.
As W.H. Auden wrote, "Kafka is important to us because his predicament is the predicament of modern man."
My Review:
I give this book a 3 out of 5.
First, I'm going to admit that I only read the story. There are over 100 pages of essays by other people discussing the story. I chose to skip over those.
This wasn't a bad tale. It was comical at first, and then slowly morphed into a horrible tragedy. Poor Gregor Samsa wakes one morning as a giant insect. He can understand his family, but they can not understand him. In their fear, they keep him locked to his room, opening it only twice daily to feed and clean the room. I did enjoy it for the most part, but the ending was fairly dark, though Mr. and Mrs. Samsa, as well as their daughter, Grete, are happy at the outcome.
This wasn't a bad tale. It was comical at first, and then slowly morphed into a horrible tragedy. Poor Gregor Samsa wakes one morning as a giant insect. He can understand his family, but they can not understand him. In their fear, they keep him locked to his room, opening it only twice daily to feed and clean the room. I did enjoy it for the most part, but the ending was fairly dark, though Mr. and Mrs. Samsa, as well as their daughter, Grete, are happy at the outcome.
You can purchase The Metamorphosis through Amazon in hard copy format.
Have you read The Metamorphosis? If so, leave a comment and let me know your thoughts!
Please note: I was not compensated in any way for this review. It is strictly my opinion.
Please note: I was not compensated in any way for this review. It is strictly my opinion.
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