Maxzor reviewed La Métamorphose by Franz Kafka
Cruel
5 stars
but well-crafted
Paperback, 44 pages
English language
Published Sept. 12, 2009 by Classix Press.
The Metamorphosis
by Franz Kafka
4 stars
(253 reviews)
The Metamorphosis (German: Die Verwandlung) is a novella written by Franz Kafka which was first published in 1915. One of Kafka's best-known works, The Metamorphosis tells the story of salesman Gregor Samsa, who wakes one morning to find himself inexplicably transformed into a huge insect (German ungeheures Ungeziefer, literally "monstrous vermin") and subsequently struggles to adjust to this new condition. The novella has been widely discussed among literary critics, with differing interpretations being offered.
The Weaver Reads reviewed The Complete Stories by Franz Kafka (Schocken Kafka Library)
Goodreads Review of the Complete Stories
4 stars
First and foremost, Kafka is hard. Kafka’s style is really tough, and finding any kind of meaning in them can be tough. That may very well be the point. Nearly all of his writing feels distant and almost analytical, like a lawyer’s brief. This is odd, given that all of his stories are written in the first person. However, doing so allows him to pull out the surreality of everyday life. Undoubtedly, his writings are a literary forerunner to German expressionism.
Secondly, Kafka is FUNNY. But, the writing doesn’t always appear to be in the moment. It’s only upon stepping back can we find humor in Gregor Samsa’s first preoccupation after waking up as a giant beetle: “I’m late for work!” The reason his stories are funny are because we can see ourselves in all of them. In “Preparations for a Wedding in the Country,” the narrator hallucinates the possibility …
First and foremost, Kafka is hard. Kafka’s style is really tough, and finding any kind of meaning in them can be tough. That may very well be the point. Nearly all of his writing feels distant and almost analytical, like a lawyer’s brief. This is odd, given that all of his stories are written in the first person. However, doing so allows him to pull out the surreality of everyday life. Undoubtedly, his writings are a literary forerunner to German expressionism.
Secondly, Kafka is FUNNY. But, the writing doesn’t always appear to be in the moment. It’s only upon stepping back can we find humor in Gregor Samsa’s first preoccupation after waking up as a giant beetle: “I’m late for work!” The reason his stories are funny are because we can see ourselves in all of them. In “Preparations for a Wedding in the Country,” the narrator hallucinates the possibility of his friend murdering him on the streets of Prague. Which of us have not also had this thought that a friend we walked with late at night? His “as if” statements add to the hilarity. In the same story, he describes (and i paraphrase here) a man “moving his arms up and down, as if lifting a heavy load.” In “the Metamorphoses,” he describes a man “backing away, as if being repelled by pressure from an invisible force.” These statements add to the mental imagery, and the absurdity of it all.
In “In the Penal Colony,” we learn that the sentenced man does not know the sentence he has been given, nor that he has been sentenced at all. I can’t help but laugh. This is so real. Moreover, he only committed the most minor offense, but he is being given the gravest of all possible punishments. Doesn’t life feel a lot like this? We slip up and are slammed directly across the face with the weight of a kiloton of bricks. He also have to find the need to defend ourselves and account for every action. In his shorter story, “On the Tram,” he writes in legalistic language that he cannot justify why he is on the platform. But, this too I can relate to. Who of us can justify our own existence? But we always feel like we have to, and it’s never enough.
Kafka seems to be permanently on trial by the society around him, which i suppose is why he wrote his first novel, The Trial. Yet, the reason why it became so popular is because it resounds with all of us.
Kafka seems to very much be a tortured guy, and he’s a lot like all of us moderns. Perhaps he is THE writer who understands the 20th (and early 21st) century condition. And for that alone he is worth reading.
This is a book to come back to later. The first reading will never be enough.
Irina reviewed The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
Review of 'The Metamorphosis' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
I love how kafka explores the modern ways of living and the weight of those in the individuals experience of life. I was expecting Kafka to dive more deep into that. The premise was good, but it was a bit superficial
kieranimo reviewed The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
Ruined by weird sexism at the end
3 stars
Content warning Brief mention of a couple of plot points
I was enjoying this, in parts. Gregor's insect thoughts are funny, but there's a blatant difference between how the mother and sister are talked about compared to the father which was always a bit off-putting.
Then, in the last few sentences, a sudden fixation on the sister's "young body" ruins it. Gross, weird, and unnecessary.
Court reviewed The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
Enjoyable, interesting, curious
4 stars
I'm not sure what to make of this other than perhaps the futility of life. Will need to let it marinade.
acidman reviewed The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
Review of 'The Metamorphosis' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
7/10
aperalesf reviewed La metamorfosis by Franz Kafka
Espectacular
5 stars
Un análisis social muy incisivo en pocas páginas. Imprescindible.
VaishaliP reviewed The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
Review of 'The Metamorphosis' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
It is a classic.
It left me feeling sad and bewildered about how society gives so much importance to work, development and status that you loose yourself. World moves on and you are easily replaceable.
Dee reviewed The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
Review of 'The Metamorphosis' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Finally came round to giving this a read, lived up to its expectations as this is one of those books you get recommended a dozen times by a dozen different people.
As a Miller fan I greatly appreciated the parallels between Gregor Samsa and Willy Loman... 5/5 would recommend!
paven reviewed The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
Review of 'The Metamorphosis' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
Great classic
Ian Channing reviewed The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
Review of 'The Metamorphosis' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Such stark visuals that can only exist in words and in your head as you read it, no film will ever do this book justice
Benjamin Hollon reviewed The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
Review of 'The Metamorphosis' on 'Goodreads'
1 star
This book really made no sense. A man turns into a bug for no apparent reason. The rest of the book is about how he lives shut in his room and the rest of the family hates him. Finally, he dies.. That's it. There did not seem to be any deeper meaning.
essteeyou reviewed The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
Review of 'The Metamorphosis' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
That was short, but also repetitive. It was entertaining, but a bit depressing.
It seems like there are numerous ways of handling the situation better than the characters did, but none of them tried anything. There wasn't much explanation about why Gregor's condition kept worsening, or why an apple couldn't just be removed from his shell or whatever.
Really strange.
Martijn Reintjes reviewed The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
Review of 'The Metamorphosis' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
Short funny book.
It was a bit bizar, especially as I didn't knew the setting of the book.
I expected it to be placed in India, but later on I realised it was in the Germany of the 1930's
Kirk Moodey reviewed The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
Review of 'The Metamorphosis' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
A heartwarming story about a man who is turned into a giant bug and loses his family, realizing at last that they don't need him and he is free to go. Unfortunately, he doesn't find a giant bug girlfriend, nor does he eat anyone alive.
edit: More seriously, this is a difficult short story to understand if you don't read very, very carefully. I'm usually not one for hidden meaning in texts as I like bluntness, but there are all sorts of details that will go over the average reader's head, such as the meaning of the woman in fur being a reference to the guy who the word 'masochism' is coined after. You also have to keep in mind the transformation of society's view of animal life - Darwin was still a relatively 'new' and big deal in philosophical circles, and metamorphosis was one of the ways of referring …
A heartwarming story about a man who is turned into a giant bug and loses his family, realizing at last that they don't need him and he is free to go. Unfortunately, he doesn't find a giant bug girlfriend, nor does he eat anyone alive.
edit: More seriously, this is a difficult short story to understand if you don't read very, very carefully. I'm usually not one for hidden meaning in texts as I like bluntness, but there are all sorts of details that will go over the average reader's head, such as the meaning of the woman in fur being a reference to the guy who the word 'masochism' is coined after. You also have to keep in mind the transformation of society's view of animal life - Darwin was still a relatively 'new' and big deal in philosophical circles, and metamorphosis was one of the ways of referring to evolution. The apple his father tosses at him is also a likely biblical reference, but in the most absurd and parodyic fashion - it is used as a weapon. The short story is full of satire - the way as a giant bug he insists he just wants to convince the manager to let him keep his job, while anyone could see chasing after him is terrifying and aggressive, the desire to 'protect' his sister after she plays music by keeping her locked in a room with a giant smelly and hideous insect, or the way it's implied that at his death he is literately as 2 dimensional as the page he is on and has become artwork , the one thing he cared about beyond work (if you can call a sexy image artwork), or a cartoon like the joke that this is... It's funny. Reading it with only in-text knowledge, there is quite a bit of depth here, but it requires you to have a dark sense of humor and the ability to imagine how much being a salesman/worker beholden to an abusive boss sucks and how society expects men to be the sole caregivers of their entire family even though their family could actually survive without them by taking on jobs themselves. If you don't get this, you likely won't understand a single thing. It's no wonder so many people gave it a poor review, it can be difficult to understand and it is incredibly dark humor. My absolute favorite part is how when he dies from what is essentially suicide, he doesn't resent his family in the slightest, while they resented him horribly. It's the perfect touch and very unique, you don't see too many novels that capture that kind of misery or aspect of the human condition (ironic since he is a bug, but I digress). It is the kind of thing that if you don't get it, the novel absolutely won't explain it to you at all, but if you do get it, it means a lot. In fact, that's what edged over to being my favorite work of fiction. There is a secondary metamorphosis, which the very end paragraph makes clear by being solely about it: that of the female character Greta, who becomes a bread winner. Greta, coincidentally, is very close to the name Gregor. It is very easy to make a trans reading of this story, but just as easy to read it in a half dozen other ways: twisted biblical, political satire, Darwinian sympathy for other creatures, horror, the craving for the warmth and comfort of one's bed and a life idle and free of gravity and the tiring effort of having to get out of it to bath and eat and dress and go to work. So in short, it's something short that speaks a lot in a multitude of ways, often about things that are usually forbidden to speak about and can in some societies only be alluded to by metaphor. This is a story about a man turning into a bug. But it also really isn't at all. But to be honest if it were only about turning into a bug and dying near-happily, bitter-sweetly, I would still like it. Like Kafka, I, too, have daydreamed of transformation into a giant insect.
