Reviews with content warning for Animal cruelty - La Métamorphose

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La Métamorphose by Franz Kafka

74 reviews

annapox's review against another edition

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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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goemonxiii's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.5

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.

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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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not_another_ana's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional 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

3.25

I cannot make you understand. I cannot make anyone understand what is happening inside me. I cannot even explain it to myself.

It's the oldest story in the world, one morning Gregor Samsa wakes up to find that he has been turned into a giant insect. It's not funny he has a job to get to! What if he gets fired? What will his elderly parents and younger sister do now? And so begins the rest of Gregor Samsa's life where he's stuck in an implausible situation while the world around him continues to turn.

I think there's a lot that could be said about this book. In this day and age, I see what happens to him immediately after his transformation as a metaphor for how we're all replaceable labor and your work doesn't care about you. It could also be about chronic illness or mental illness and how it affects not only the person suffering from it but their loved ones. Hell, we could even interpret the family as moochers who jumped ship the second Gregor couldn't provide them his all. I will let all these interpretations and analysis to others smarter than me, and I will say that I enjoyed reading this and it's a classic that has a lot of worth.

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claudiashelf's review against another edition

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dark reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

❝ I cannot make anyone understand what is happening inside me. I cannot even explain it to myself. ❞

Before jumping to the story, the first thing I noticed was how the ‘most’ publisher decided to put bugs on the cover, despite Franz Kafka’s opposition to the idea. He believed that the book represented how humans feel their insignificance, so it’s upsetting that his request was ignored, which was quite disappointing.

Back to the topic, “The Metamorphosis” is a thought-provoking exploration of human nature and relationships, as well as a critique of capitalism. The emotional impact of the story resonated deeply with me, even bringing me to tears. Kafka’s ability lies in seamlessly blending the absurd with the profoundly human, creating a narrative that is impossible to forget.

And what struck me the most about “The Metamorphosis” was its ability to evoke both empathy and unease simultaneously. I’ve read other work from Kafka, and I believe, Kafka’s work forces readers to confront uncomfortable truths about the human experience and consider their roles within society.

Despite its peculiarity, this book is worth reading because of its originality and uniqueness. Although most of the stories are not my cup of tea, I still found them compelling and It’s a type of literary journey that stays with me long after I’ve finished reading, inspiring introspection and leaving a haunting impression.

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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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jsuispoesie's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-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

4.0

Entrato nell'immaginario comune come un libro bizzarro e grottesco, La metamorfosi nasconde in realtà una serie di metafore personali e universali. Gregor Samsa si risveglia un giorno trasformato in un enorme insetto (un insetto parassita ad essere precisi), ma il suo primo pensiero non è verso sé stesso, bensì verso il suo lavoro, assolutamente indispensabile per il mantenimento della famiglia. Il padre, la madre e la sorella infatti dipendono economicamente da lui.
La metamorfosi di Gregor non termina al momento del risveglio, ma continua per tutta la durata del racconto. Gregor si renderà lentamente conto di non riuscire più a parlare, a mangiare i cibi che consumava abitualmente, a guardare lontano alla finestra; con il tempo inizia a dimenticare cosa significava essere un essere umano e la cosa lo spaventa molto. Secondo me questo è dovuto allo stato di abbandono emotivo in cui viene lasciato: nonostante i tentativi della sorella di mantenere la camera pulita, nessuno ha davvero a che fare con lui, tanto che i suoi parenti stessi finiscono con non considerarlo più un (fu) essere umano. La metamorfosi però è anche quella che si presenta nell'animo e nelle azioni dei suoi parenti: da accoglienti, ma nullafacenti, diventano rabbiosi e impauriti. Dai discorsi che fanno si capisce perfettamente che essi non facevano nulla, facendo ricadere su Gregor tutto il peso del mantenimento famigliare, nonostante essi fossero in grado di contribuire economicamente.
Il gran numero di metafore che possono essere rintracciate hanno a che fare sia con la vita di Kafka (il complicato rapporto con il padre, l'impossibilità di esprimersi artisticamente...), che con una situazione più universale. Il racconto scritto nel 1912 anticipa sui tempi gli orrori della Grande Guerra, dalla quale moltissimi soldati tornano sfigurati. La metamorfosi può quindi essere vista come metafora della disabilità, del cambiamento che questi uomini conoscevano sia dal punto di vista fisico che dal punto di vista affettivo, nel momento in cui non potendo essere più "utili" (economicamente) diventavano semplicemente "mostri", guardati con sospetto e risentimento per una condizione che non potevano controllare.
Non nascondo che il racconto mi ha fatto parecchio impressione in certi passaggi, specialmente nelle parti dove vengono descritte le pene provate da Gregor, la forza della narrazione sta proprio qui: nonostante il lettore sia ripugnato da quanto legge, non può fare a meno di provare simpatia e pena per il protagonista, mettendo il lettore in una posizione molto scomoda. Come conciliare sentimenti così contrastanti? Cosa avremmo fatto noi? Siamo forse meglio dei famigliari di Gregor?

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