luisa447's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ayla_derammelaere's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Spoiler
In all of Kafka's works, we discover the same themes : the main character thinks and feels and acts the way it feels logical to us (the readers). However, for the world that he lives in, his behaviour and thoughts are strange. K. (this is often the name of the main character) needs to figure out how this world and the people in it, work and act and then try to fit in.
In 'the trial' he's not able to do this : the wants to know what he is charged with and it starts consuming his life : he can no longer work, eat, have fun, .. the idea of the world is that the law is attracted to those who act against it, so there is no need to know what someone did, the fact that the law is interested in someone, means they are guilty of something. In the end of the story, he gets shot by the guards and can only think that they treated him 'like a dog' by killing him behind a building.
'Metamorfoses' is an amazing piece of art. I am still in awe with how Kafka was able to create a story like this.
This story is about Gregor Samsa, he is a sales-representative who wakes up one morning and finds himself being transmorfed into a bug. He tries to make the best out of it but graduallly looses a lot of his human traits : he can no longer speak, crawls around, prefers the dark and loves staying underneath a couch, climbs the walls and the ceiling, loves rotten food,.. however, the more his external behaviour changes into that of a bug, the more human his internal thought become : he tries his best to take care of his family, makes up excuses for their behaviour, feels sorry for them (for how he changed their lives), loves them more every single day.
His family has a shift the other way around : they start out being very worried about him, hoping he will change back, trying to keep his stuff for the future but the longer he remains a bug, the more bestial they become : they don't want to see nor hear him, they hit him and treat him as an unwanted beast, ..
In the end, the last act of kindness and love Gregor can think of, is to die so he can release his family of this burden.
Spoiler
panicpillow's review against another edition
5.0
Kafka is de reden dat ik weer begonnen ben met lezen. Zijn verstoorde personages, geworpen in onverschillige (kapitalistische) werelden waren enerzijds onnavolgbaar en anderzijds ontzettend herkenbaar. Nu ook zijn korte verhalen te hebben gelezen is mijn liefde voor Kafka's stijl alleen maar gegroeid.
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