Reviews with content warning for Death - La Métamorphose

Metamorphosis may not be for everybody in the sense that it's slow, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and needed to hear its message at the time. The best way I can describe the "point" of this book is that you can't wait around for people to save you regardless of your relationship with them, and in order to get better you have to take matters into your own hands and save yourself. I read this as a teenager while I was struggling with personal and family problems, and as difficult and hard as the message was, I needed to hear it. I was like Gregor Samsa in the sense that I was struggling yet wasn't getting the help I needed from my family, and it was this book that taught me that I had to be the one to take the initiative and help myself instead of waiting around for someone else to save me.

Content Warnings

buzzinfly's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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? Yes

4.75

A fairly conceptually challenging novella from Kafka. 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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katharina90's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad medium-paced

Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

I suspect this novella is a classic because each reader will draw a different conclusion as to what the story is about.

What stood out to me was the utter lack of care and compassion displayed by virtually all characters.

For the most part I found it heartbreaking, but there are also comical moments early on that I really appreciated. Like Georg worrying about being late to work rather than worrying about his sudden physical transformation.

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woolgathering_jane's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

3.0

I can see why is this a celebrated story, but it wasn't for me unfortunately :/

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flamesocks's review against another edition

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dark funny reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

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wends_nblw's review against another edition

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reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.25

I'm very indifferent about this book. I enjoyed hearing Gregor's thoughts, but I wasn't fond of the writing. I wouldn't say it was a depressing read, but it was very melancholy.

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matcha_cat's review against another edition

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reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

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lovorka's review against another edition

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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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