Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Metamorphosis and Other Stories (Barnes & Noble Classics Series) by Franz Kafka

31 reviews

annapox's review against another edition

challenging sad medium-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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Incest and Alcohol

buzzinfly's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-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

5.0

A fairly conceptually challenging novella from Kafka, though it's one of his shorter and easier reads. Ha.

The story famously opens up with our protagonist, Gregor Samsa, waking up from "troubled dreams" to discover that he has transformed into a "kind of giant bug" or "monstrous vermin."
This creates an image of something like a beetle, centipede, or cockroach in the reader's mind.

Samsa's first thought, unlike I would have thought, was not how to adapt to his transformation or how to somehow reverse it, but how he is going to manage to get to his work, which, implied by the narrator, Samsa hates. Further into the book, it is also revealed that his father went bankrupt before the events of the story, and Gregor took the role of the breadwinner to support his parents and teenage sister Grete.

After contemplating on his current situation for several hours, Gregor's boss comes to the house in person to either scold Samsa, or - the less likely option - simply to see if he was okay. After panicking, Gregor forces himself out of bed, and uses his teeth to unlock the door. His new appearance surprises his family and boss,

though instead of showing sympathy, his family gradually begin to ungratefully complain that he is a burden, despite the fact that Gregor in fact provided the family with food and a roof under their heads;

he was clearly

struggling with this pressure already,

as implied by the

flashbacks and reminiscing

at the start of the book. 

The family begins to rent out rooms in their house to earn more money, and after the charlady neglects to close Gregor's door,

(nobody ever goes in there anymore, and Gregor had been surviving on miniscule amounts of rotten food given to him by his sweet younger sister) Gregor travels to the room where his family are watching Grete play violin. The tenants catch sight of Gregor, and immediately leave, complaining that the house is unsanitary and not fit for them to stay in.

This causes Grete to

lose her patience, and tell her parents to get rid of "it" or they will all be "ruined."

Gregor,

realising he is not wanted, returns to his room

and

commits suicide by starving himself;

he is

dead when the charlady enters his room the next day.

The family

travels to the countryside

after

disposing of Gregor's corpse, and think about moving to a smaller apartment.

The book ends on a

sardonic note, with Mr and Mrs Samsa noticing that Grete has grown into a beautiful young woman, and they must find her a husband.

And what an end to the book that was. Was Gregor's metamorphosis literal, or was it something to be understood much deeper? Was it all a metaphor for work, stress, finance, or something else? Despite the novella's message being quite a mystery, Gregor's burdens and struggles seem to be pretty relatable to most readers.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, and Abandonment

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: War

lovorka's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.5

So sad

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Bullying

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

dua_liepard's review against another edition

dark 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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, and Abandonment

heidy_re's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse

Minor: Xenophobia

cat12345's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Eating disorder, Torture, and Violence

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Incest, Grief, and Alcohol

wuthrinheights's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I first read this story for my class and I read it again almost immediately. Today I reread it after years of not coming in contact with it, and I think it was better when I first read it.

The Metamorphosis was a strange, sad and almost funny (in a way that you pity him so much, you almost want to laugh at its absurdity) story. 

I couldn't help but feel that it was more than just a nonsensical fictional story, that it was symbolic of his own life. It felt a bit too personal, as if Kafka himself woke up one day feeling like a monster who disappointed his family, in which their confusion, fear, and worries quickly turned to resentment. My heart goes out to Kafka, I hope he's resting peacefully.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

mathildemroy's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

newratic's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse and Physical abuse

Minor: Animal death

:(

lunar_witch's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Excrement, Grief, and Abandonment