The Metamorphosis

Highly recommended

A man wakes up one day to find he has been changed into a large insect/beetle. The story follows his efforts to deal with this, and his family's reaction to the change. But it's not just a story about a man turning into a beetle, it's a clever way of writing about how a family would deal with the main breadwinner in the house becoming unable to work, and also on a wider scope, the way a family (and the world at large) reacts to someone who is disabled, or terminally ill. It could also be an analogy for how a family treats a member of the family who is now old and needs to be cared for. The man who is now a beetle, is forced to live in his room, shut away from the world, for fear that he will frighten anyone who enters the house. The man who once provided for the family, and thought of them above himself, has now become a burden on them, as they are now short of money, and have to find employment. The once able and hard-working man, transformed into a beetle, is now rejected, and his family blame him for their financial situation and the fact that they cannot move to a smaller house, because they need to have a room to keep him in.
The descriptive quality of the writing is excellent, and although it is a sad and gruesome tale, it is also very funny in parts; I couldn't help laughing out loud a couple of times.
The main thing that struck me, was that even though this story is nearly 100 years old, it is still totally relevant to today's world (and I'm not sure that's something we should be proud of).

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Doesn't deserve all the acclaim.

My sister loved this book, and evidently so did online reviewers and critics. In fact, the book version I read is full of critical essays at the back: how the story relates to religion, resurrection, liberation, tragedy, allegory, how "Kafka" is an anagram, etc. But I just don't see how this story deserves all that attention. It wasn't very realistic, even disregarding the main theme that a man turns into a beetle, the allegorical intent wasn't clear, unlike say "Animal Farm," the ending was unrealistic, disappointing, and prolonged, the story wasn't very interesting compared to movies like "The Fly" or "Sssssss" or "Thinner", and the writing wasn't particularly clever or appealing. It's just a story about a young man named Gregor who turns into some unspecified beetle/vermin, generally considered to be a cockroach, and about the effect this has on his family as his family locks him away in his bedroom. The whole story takes place in a single house, so it would be suitable for a play, but lacks some interest as a result. It is not clear if Gregor is merely imagining his voice as being intelligible or if it really is, it's not clear if Gregor's metamorphosis is making him progressively insect-like or if his state is stable, it's not clear why he's not hungry at the end, or whether he's becoming weak through lack of nutrition or rather laziness, and so on. Obviously the book is full of symbolism, but the meaning and nature of Gregor's situation is never very clear, which I regard as a result of a poor, sketchy writing style, rather than an intentional allegory. We clearly perceive that Gregor's condition brings about an improvement in everyone in his family, that Gregor was working himself to death for no reason, there are stabs at conventional working life and at nasty bosses who rule their employees' lives, but what this all means is never clear. So I guess all a writer has to do to universally elicit the interest of critics is to write a weak, simplistic story with a preposterous theme and make it vague enough that nobody understands it. To me that is not good writing.

2 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Must Love Kafka

I recently read this story for a class and I can honestly say it is the first thing I have actually read this semester. I loved this book, despite the fact it made me ¿absurdly sad¿. Kafka is a genius and the story is a testament to the power that the horrific, weird, funny and tragic elements of being human effect us all. The bottom line is READ THIS STORY!

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Enjoyably Different!

This story is definitely very original and makes you think about its messages.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

My Own Synopsis

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka starts off with the climax of the book when Gregor Samsa ¿woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin¿. The book deals with the family¿s reaction with the traumatizing transformation of their son and brother. The family, who was always taken care of by Gregor, now has to do the same for him. They soon fall under their own metamorphosis as time goes on. The book is heavy in symbolism and has many themes: ranging from learning to let go, living for your soul, proletariats being suppressed by the bourgeoisie, and etc.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

This was a really weird book.Is Gregor really a beetle? or Is hi

This was a really weird book.Is Gregor really a beetle? or Is his metamorphosis metaphorical?

Poor organisation for this version

Worth 95cents for a copy of Kafka's text, but there is little in the way of analysis or interpretation.

Entertaining

I absolutely LOVE the original story. I have to admit, this version is a LOT easier to read. It was fun to see this illustrated for sure!

****Great Book! Highly recommended ***

Franz Kafka uses brilliant symbolism, hilarious tone, and unique characterizations to exemplify the plight and transformation of this unfortunate salesman and it is through these tools that Kafka creates an absurd experience that any reader can relate to. The symbolism throughout this story is for the reader to understand and appreciate Gregor's view towards independence. Gregor was changed over night into a gaint insect, but Kafka uses this change as a symbol for Gregor's metamorphosis towards humanity. Before Gregor's transformation, he only lived life to serve others, but through his metamorphosis Gregor slowly comes to meet his own desires, seeking a more personal independence and even coming to appreciate music and art more.I found this book extremely entertaining. I would recommend it to anyone who likes suspense and drama.In order to see life as it really is, is to see that life is not worth living without people who love you and whom you can love.

Strange but compelling

I felt compelled to continue reading to see what would happen. I might never look at bugs the same way again.

Wonderful

This is a great short but powerful novel metaphorically tackling issues in our lives. How do we react when someyhing changes, and what if we cannot handle it? Everyone should read.

Not sure of the hype

I read the book, which started out great, and then it changed direction. My understanding of the book . . . he supported them (his family and Manager) while he had human legs and everyone was happy. Once he changed, they were supportive of him for a little while. Anyway, it force the other family members to start working. This could have been a good book, but the middle and the ending was not up to par.

recommended

"The Metamorphosis" is a story of unconditional love from the breadwinner of a family towards his family. It shows. how sometimes, closest relative even parents turn their back on when any misfortune happens in a family. It is a sad story and has very touchy subject. everyone should check it out in order to know the realities of life closely...

Great Story!

This is a touching, sad, and disturbing story of a boy who wakes up and has transformed into a cockroach. It's about how his family reacts to his transformation and what Gregor must do to get through this creepy state. The book The Metamorphosis is captivating.

MUST READ!!

I'm not much of a reader, but I cant honestly enjoyed the book. Kafka really made me feel bad for Gregor, the main character. Metamorphosis is a story about a man who one day wakes up and is a roach! and how his family treats him. It's a very interesting story, kept me tuning the page even though I'm not much of a reader. Makes you rethink your life, change something for the better.

One of the amazing and interesting story

I read this book in my English 1B class and I found out that it includes many different kind of symbolization to describe life.
Moreover, this book points out how people change, including family, when they face difficult situation. Somehow I feel this is a pretty sad story. The main character work so hard for his family,but he did not get any supports from his parents and sister. At the end of the story, the author writes something about the sister, who has a beauty figure. A very huge comparison between the main character and his sister.

Its a good book to read, but different! thumbs up!

Metamorphosis was written by Franz Kafka! I personally think it was a good book, i found it interesting how the author used a working family mans everyday functions, and turned him into a insect over time! The main character was a guy name Gregor! Once i began to read the story it began to be very long and dragged out, and i thought this author has a lot of times on his hands and obviously liked to write! As i read on it caught my attention to read on! In the end it (bugged) me in the way that time can literally (fly) by if u keep your head down and bot make time for yourself!

It's an alright book..

Im not much of a fictional reader but this story was a little interesting.The main character Gregory wakes up one day and suddenly he realizes that he has turned into a roach. Gegory is a successful sales man & once he woke up like this he was scared at what was to come going to work as an insect.His family had a hard time accepting the fact that he looked different and not normal. The sister tried to put things aside and act like he looked normal. I thought it was pretty funny how all of a sudden he turned into this insect. All in all, it was an okay story but I personally wouldnt read it again.

Something different to digest

Gregor, a typical young salesman wakes up one morning to find out that he is transforming into a disgusting and disturbing cockroach. Many would see it that way but Gregor is not disturbed one bit, the only thing that is disturbing, is that he's missing his day at work. The Metamorphosis brings a new twist to what most people would call fantasy. Gregor, being a giant insect, disturbs everyone around him but himself. This short story shows that unconditional love doesn't always apply, especially for this family. This story makes people think of how far a family is willing to go for a loved one, even in the most bizarre situations. Metamorphosis is an interesting short story that people should really consider reading.

Intentional Story !

After finished 3/5 of the story, in my opinion, people would receive what they gave - some sort of karma.
He had struggled to worked hard in order pay off his parents' debts, yet he did not receive any kind of real true love from them- his family.