wendythecatwitch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Chronic illness, Ableism, Body horror, Violence, Death, and Animal cruelty
spineofthesaurus's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Confinement, Body horror, Ableism, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Chronic illness, Abandonment, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Eating disorder
Minor: Misogyny and Sexism
katethecatlady's review against another edition
- 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
2.5
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Confinement, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism and Chronic illness
pitedavid's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Detta är ett intresant perspektiv med många olika tolkningar. Översattarna verkar respektera Kafkas visiob för boken och den läses så.
Graphic: Abandonment, Cursing, Death, Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Confinement, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Classism, and Chronic illness
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Ableism
bookish_bry's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Spoiler
I like the way we saw three different ways someone could react to a situation like this.Gregor's sister becomes his main caregiver. She is young and both seems to resent her role as caretaker and at times relishes it. She wants to be the only one caring for Gregor and for him to depend on her often more than he already does.
Gregor's mother treats him like he's dead and talks about him "coming back" even though this is clearly a permanent change. The sight of him sickens her and scares her. She still has some affection for him, enough to defend him from his father sometimes, but is a horrific affection to her. Like loving a urn filled with his remains.
Then, Gregor's father of course hates him. He resorts to physical violence almost immediately. Despite the fact that Gregor had spent his life trying to pay off his father's debts (who in the end really... did not seem as invalid as Gregor had thought of him considering he was able to get a job to pay his own debts), he held no regard for Gregor once he was useless to him.
I found the extended metaphor intriguing and well done. As someone who just got off crutches after a knee injury and who at times was a sickly, but overachieving, child, I can sympathize with Gregor a lot. Especially in the first chapter, he continued to try to get up and go to work even though something was clearly very, very wrong. These thoughts that he should be able to do things like he used to for his family continued to crop up to the end.
Overall, I thought it was a very solid book and a great metaphor. Though I do think you have to make sure to keep the fact that it is a metaphor in mind while reading. 5/5
Graphic: Chronic illness, Mental illness, Body horror, and Death
This book is about a man turning into an insect and acting like one.tbrunlimited's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, and Excrement