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cheuksin's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
At first I thought this book was silly and goofy until I realised how depressingly relatable it was then I cried
Gregor only worked as hard as he did to support his family and their nice large apartment, even wanting to send his sister to the conservatory. But as soon as he turns into a cockroach they strip him of all humanity. Even when they’re abusing him he still loves them.
a requirement of family duty to suppress one’s aversion and to endure—nothing else, just endure.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, and Violence
ran_sophia's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This book contains only some stories that I liked, but otherwise I can say that the book did not interest me very much.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, and Violence
halfpricessword's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Abandonment
Moderate: Body horror, Physical abuse, and Violence
Minor: Animal death, Death, and Eating disorder
scruffie's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I found Crick's translation to be excellent, preserving much of the language ambiguity and other eccentricities that Kafka is known for. A pretty dark read overall, and very much to my liking. Quite slow-paced, especially if you also read the explanatory notes (which I recommend).
From the stories in this book "Meditation" didn't really work for me; I really liked all the others ("The Judgement", "The Metamorphosis", "In the Penal Colony", "Letter to his Father") though. I'm curious to read the remaining works of Kafka.
From the stories in this book "Meditation" didn't really work for me; I really liked all the others ("The Judgement", "The Metamorphosis", "In the Penal Colony", "Letter to his Father") though. I'm curious to read the remaining works of Kafka.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Violence
zephirus's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Domestic abuse
linsophie's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, and Excrement
seawarrior's review against another edition
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Weird, engaging and written with ironic seriousness, The Metamorphosis is an entertaining story on its own, but even more so when analyzed as an allegory for the ridiculousness and cruelty of human social and economic structure. When Gregor first awakens, not as a man, but an insect, paragraph after paragraph of his immediate thoughts concern the economic peril of his situation over his obviously more pressing biological one. His transformation is left unexplained, and the novel primarily focuses on his guilt over the financial and emotional strain his new form causes to his family, and his increasing alienation as they grow to regard him as inhuman.
In many ways I felt this story serves as an allegory for the disabled experience of being neglected, as terrible as that may sound. Gregor's metamorphosis does not disrupt his devotion to his family, or his want to provide for them, though his new body has made holding down a job impossible. His mind is still intact but since he is unable to communicate through speech, his parents disregard him entirely and his sister makes little effort to understand him, instead treating him more like an infantile pet. The directionless Grete seems to take a sort of selfish pride in being the sole person helping to maintain her brother's life, and refuses any help from her mother. Yet once she starts working outside her home and realizing other wants Gregor's mutation stands in the way of, she resentfully puts lesser effort into providing for him until quitting altogether and proposing that the family discard of him entirely. This betrayal is made even more harrowing by knowing that Gregor still deeply loves his sister and fantasizes about being able to express to her that before his transformation he was saving up to send her to the conservatory she dreamed of attending. The humanity of Gregor's thoughts and feelings is rarely in question, and he remains selfless and understanding towards his family despite their severe neglect and disgust of his new body. Tragically, there are some people with physical and speech disabilities who are treated in a similar manner to Gregor by their family members, who first revel in their virtue for assisting this disabled relative they have little true respect for, and then spiral into vengeful neglect they justify by dehumanizing their victim and asserting that they are an economic strain on the family.
Whether or not my view of this story is what Kafka intended to write a metaphor about is a question we don't have the opportunity to answer over hundred years later, but that doesn't really matter. This book is a classic because it speaks to anxieties and experiences that have plagued humans for generations. It's also not a difficult read, at least with the translation I had access to, so I would highly recommend it to other readers. You will likely identify your own symbols and meanings in the text of this odd tale.
In many ways I felt this story serves as an allegory for the disabled experience of being neglected, as terrible as that may sound. Gregor's metamorphosis does not disrupt his devotion to his family, or his want to provide for them, though his new body has made holding down a job impossible. His mind is still intact but since he is unable to communicate through speech, his parents disregard him entirely and his sister makes little effort to understand him, instead treating him more like an infantile pet. The directionless Grete seems to take a sort of selfish pride in being the sole person helping to maintain her brother's life, and refuses any help from her mother. Yet once she starts working outside her home and realizing other wants Gregor's mutation stands in the way of, she resentfully puts lesser effort into providing for him until quitting altogether and proposing that the family discard of him entirely. This betrayal is made even more harrowing by knowing that Gregor still deeply loves his sister and fantasizes about being able to express to her that before his transformation he was saving up to send her to the conservatory she dreamed of attending. The humanity of Gregor's thoughts and feelings is rarely in question, and he remains selfless and understanding towards his family despite their severe neglect and disgust of his new body. Tragically, there are some people with physical and speech disabilities who are treated in a similar manner to Gregor by their family members, who first revel in their virtue for assisting this disabled relative they have little true respect for, and then spiral into vengeful neglect they justify by dehumanizing their victim and asserting that they are an economic strain on the family.
Whether or not my view of this story is what Kafka intended to write a metaphor about is a question we don't have the opportunity to answer over hundred years later, but that doesn't really matter. This book is a classic because it speaks to anxieties and experiences that have plagued humans for generations. It's also not a difficult read, at least with the translation I had access to, so I would highly recommend it to other readers. You will likely identify your own symbols and meanings in the text of this odd tale.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, and Domestic abuse