The Metamorphosis in Never too Late to Read Classics

Apr 18, 2016 Sara rated it it was amazing

Shelves: classics

Hard to really say I "liked" this story, although it was a short and easy read. Kafka's penchant for absurdity is presented at its height in this story of Gregor Samsa, a salesman, who awakens changed overnight into a huge insect. No one questions how this happens or why, only what effect it will have on their circumstances. Any sympathy the family feel for Gregor dissipates almost immediately and he becomes a burden to the family that he has singlehandedly provided for up until the change. I mu ...more

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Jan 20, 2023 Delirious Disquisitions rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: literature-required-reading, classics

I quite like this edition of Metamorphosis despite the very ugly cover. Apart from the main text, it also has notes on the translation, excerpts from some of Kafka's contemporary writers that might have inspired his work, some letters from Kafka (I especially adore the ones he wrote to his fiance), and some critical essays. This edition is very beginner friendly and does well enough to provide the reader with some context and starting research material, although I do wish footnotes were included I quite like this edition of Metamorphosis despite the very ugly cover. Apart from the main text, it also has notes on the translation, excerpts from some of Kafka's contemporary writers that might have inspired his work, some letters from Kafka (I especially adore the ones he wrote to his fiance), and some critical essays. This edition is very beginner friendly and does well enough to provide the reader with some context and starting research material, although I do wish footnotes were included for the actual text.

Reading Metamorphosis was an incredibly sad experience and one that I wasn't quite prepared for. It is the story of a man, Gregor Samsa, who wakes up one day to find that he’s turned into an insect of some sort. In the midst of his growing horror at the absurdity of the situation Gregor attempts to re-configure his life as he is transformed from the primary breadwinner to an invalid who is entirely dependent on his family for sustenance. As time goes on, Gregor becomes an object of disgrace to his family, an outsider in his own home, a quintessentially alienated man.

Metamorphosis is a harrowing—though absurdly comic—meditation on human feelings of inadequacy, guilt, and isolation. Gregor is the embodiment of Eldest Child and I might have projected a lot of myself onto him. He struggles to handle the financial burdens of his family, working as a salesman in an increasingly capitalistic society. In the midst of the horror and confusion of his physical transformation, Gregor is also driven by guilt and anxiety at his inability to work and be a “productive member of society” and the gradual alienation of his family as he quickly turns from an object of sympathy to a burden.

Despite the seemingly absurd and humorous nature of story, Metamorphosis is a rumination on much heavier themes such as alienation, the disconnect between mind and body, the stark reality of capitalism, alienation/ forced isolation from society, loss of identity, disability and the limits of sympathy, the yearning for freedom in escapism, etc. As we see the world through Gregor’s discombobulated perspective, we are witness to his spiraling anxiety, his fear and confusion at his inability to communicate with his family, his anguish at their growing resentment towards him and eventual cruel treatment leading to forced starvation, isolation, and neglect. The vague and sometimes contradictory descriptions of the house, where much of the action takes place, and the surroundings add to the sense of claustrophobia, anxiety, and unease.

It is quite incredible how much of what Kafka has written still resonates with readers today. Everything from his journal entries to his letter display a kind of vulnerability and doubt that are still very much relatable. I wasn’t quite in the right headspace reading this when I did, but if nothing else, it has convinced me to read more of Kafka's letters and diaries. I've actually grown quite fond of him.

5 stars for these wretched feelings.
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I just found this to be so incredibly sad. Gregor is the embodiment of the Oldest Child Syndrome and I might have projected a lot of myself onto him. 4 stars for these wretched feelings. P.s. I need to find time to read up on some of the critical essays on this. ...more

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Dec 04, 2018 Jen from Quebec :0) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2018-horror, books-i-ve-been-putting-off, 2018-tbr-challenge, foreign-authors, books-read-in-2018, school, aty-challenge, disney-challenge, classics-i-ve-read, science-fiction-y

Is it wrong that I often thought that this book was really quite....funny? --Jen from Quebec :0)

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Sep 14, 2015 Alexander rated it liked it

This is one of those novellas where if Kafka had prescribed specific reasoning behind the metamorphosis it would have lost a lot of it's value. I feel like doing so would turn it into a cheap piece of 'anti this' or 'anti that' propaganda. Fortunately he had had the foresight to produce a simple, yet powerful piece that is laden with suggestion and interpretative potential. ...more

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Jul 10, 2020 Sam Shah rated it liked it

That's limitless and bizarre imagination entwined into a novella. Gregor Samsa changing into a giant bug, his family, and sister, specifically coping up with the financial and emotional turmoil, eventually leading them to become more and more indifferent towards his existence overtime. Gregor's death by hunger or due to lack of attention/ love by his family; later his sister transformation into a glowing lady turned Metamorphosis more about Grete than Gregor himself. On the whole a good read. 3. ...more

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