The Metamorphosis (Dover Thrift)

Struggling to hold his family together, the weirdness and fierceness of this story is now made apparent. Gregor's father attacks him - causing a turning point within the story as we now see Gregor's family resent his condition.

We never find out why or how Gregor has transformed but again, like in The Trial it simply doesn't matter. Using little direct speech, Kafka has woven Gregor's horror and disgust with his family's despair and fright to make a totally impossible situation seem almost real. The fact the only setting is Samsa family's apartment makes the atmosphere disturbing and creepy(very isolated and tense).

Gregor's family depended on him for money and therefore, as I think Kafka is trying to say, a bearable life. Gregor has to witness his family's downfall silently (literally, as he has lost the ability to talk), his only communication being indirect (I mean, with no speech) with his sister and the cleaner who visits him room ocassionally to clean and bring food. We see the Samsa family fall rapidly and become unable to cope with Gregor any longer.

The ending is no surprise, but I don't want to give it away simple because it significantly affects the ending - however, I feel that Kafka struggles to make his point stand-out - even though his ending paragraphs are brilliantly profound. Obviously, the plot in a child's nutshell is about a man who has turned into an insect and, seemingly without being able to help it, causes his family's downfall because of their dependence on him financially and emotionally - however, I think the novel should have been longer and therefore fleshing-out Kafka's point further.

I enjoyed this book very much, a classic - read it for the amazing language if nothing else. A brilliant story and message, Franz, but... a bit more material and it'd be perfect!

Final impression is that Kafka is a truly fantastic author. His use of language and tone is perfect (I noticed this in both Metamorphosis and The Trial). Buy and see for yourself!


Strange yet brilliant in ways   September 18, 2003
 5 out of 12 found this review helpful

It was not my choice to read this book - it is a set book for an English course. If it hadn't have been for the course, I may not have ever read it. However, having now read the majority of the book, I have enjoyed it more than I thought I would.
This was the first book by Kafka that I have read. I was struck by how different his writing style is compared to writers I usually read. There is little dialogue in most of his stories, instead there are long sections of prose, which is highly punctuated.
The collection of stories in this volume are very weird. "Metamorphosis" for example is about a young man who awakens to find that he has changed into a "monstrous insect". It is a really surreal story, because of the absurdity of the situation, yet it is thought-provoking and quite insightful.
My only criticism of this volume is that, at times, his stories are a little too surreal. There are some included in the section entitled "The Country Doctor", which I have no ides what is trying to be said.
If, like me, you have never read a book by Kafka before, try reading this first. There are moments of tragedy, comedy and horror - what more could you really want?