La metamorfosis

Por Franz Kafka

Gregor Samsa despierta una mañana transformado en un bicho monstruoso. No se trata de una pesadilla: este viajante de comercio no volverá a recuperar nunca más su identidad humana. La familia le margina en su cuarto por miedo y vergüenza, y a partir de ese momento todo cambia en sus vidas... El protagonista, convertido en bestia y sumido en la más absoluta incomunicación, se ve reducido a la nada y arrastrado inexorablemente a la muerte. Expresión sublime del "hombre kafkiano", La metamorfosis, escrita en 1912 y publicada por primera vez en 1916, está considerada una obra maestra y es ya un texto primordial de la literatura universal del siglo XX.

• Idioma: Español
• Editorial: CASTALIA
• Fecha de lanzamiento: 1 oct 2012
• ISBN: 9788497405539

Franz Kafka

Franz Kafka (1883-1924) was a primarily German-speaking Bohemian author, known for his impressive fusion of realism and fantasy in his work. Despite his commendable writing abilities, Kafka worked as a lawyer for most of his life and wrote in his free time. Though most of Kafka’s literary acclaim was gained postmortem, he earned a respected legacy and now is regarded as a major literary figure of the 20th century.

Vista previa del libro

Franz Kafka

La metamorfosis

Director de la colección

Fernando Carratalá

Franz Kafka

La metamorfosis

Traducción de

Esperanza San León

Edición de

Esperanza San León

Carmen Bueno

6.jpg

En nuestra página web www.castalia.es encontrará el catálogo completo de Castalia comentado.

Primera edición impresa: julio 2011

Primera edición en e-book: septiembre 2012

Edición en ePub: febrero de 2013

© de la edición: Esperanza San León y Carmen Bueno

© de la traducción: Esperanza San León

© de la presente edición: Edhasa (Castalia), 2012

www.edhasa.es

ISBN 978-84-9740-553-9

Depósito legal: B.25485-2012

Diseño gráfico: RQ

Quedan rigurosamente prohibidas, sin la autorización escrita de los titulares del Copyright, bajo la sanción establecida en las leyes, la reproducción parcial o total de esta obra por cualquier medio o procedimiento, comprendidos la reprografía y el tratamiento informático, y la distribución de ejemplares de ella mediante alquiler o préstamo público.

Diríjase a CEDRO (Centro Español de Derechos Reprográficos, www.cedro.org ) descargarse o hacer copias digitales de algún fragmento de esta obra (www.conlicencia.com ; 917021970 / 932720447).

9788497405539_Page_06_Image_0001.jpg

RETRATO DE KAFKA A LOS 31 AÑOS, CON AUTÓGRAFO SUPERPUESTO.

Presentación

El autor

Franz Kafka nace en Praga el 3 de julio de 1883 en el seno de una familia judía. Debido a la intención de su padre de pertenecer a la clase elitista de su ciudad, es educado en el colegio alemán. Desde entonces, su entorno será germanófilo. Debemos destacar que Kafka plasmó en sus escritos muchas de sus inquietudes y conflictos familiares, especialmente la mala relación con su padre. Alto y fornido, Hermann Kafka había prosperado en el negocio de la mercería al por mayor. Había llegado a Praga procedente de un pueblo del sur de Bohemia y se había casado con la hija de un cervecero[1]. Aunque Kafka prefería la compañía de su madre, de la que había heredado «la obstinación, la sensibilidad, el sentido de la justicia y el nerviosismo», tanto ella como su padre le incomodaban: «siempre he visto a mis padres como perseguidores», decía en una carta a Felice. Parece que lo que más le intimidaba de la figura paterna era su volumen físico y su energía inagotable así como su «voluntad de vivir y hacer negocios», características éstas muy alejadas de la personalidad de nuestro autor.

9788497405539_Page_08_Image_0002.jpg

CASA NATAL DE KAFKA (PRAGA, h.1898).

9788497405539_Page_08_Image_0003.jpg

LOS PADRES. HERMAN (1852-1931) Y JULIE, DE SOLTERA LÖWY (1856-1934), h.1930.

9788497405539_Page_08_Image_0001.jpg

FRANZ KAFKA AL ENTRAR AL INSTITUTO.

Se doctoró en Derecho y entró a trabajar en una compañía de Seguros en 1907. Debido a su educación en leyes, Kafka estaba muy versado en el lenguaje burocrático de militares y ministros. Este lenguaje especial en tercera persona, riguroso e impersonal, permite al juez comunicarse con el acusado mediante un vacío total de emoción. Kafka evoca estas voces totalitarias en El proceso, El castillo y En la colonia penitenciaria.

En relación con su trabajo, Kafka debía sentirse fuera de lugar como funcionario menor en las oficinas del Instituto de Seguros contra Accidentes de los «Trabajadores del Reino de Bohemia». En su Diario se refiere constantemente a la monotonía del trabajo burocrático y al empobrecimiento que suponía para una persona de vocación literaria. Su pasión siempre fue la literatura y tuvo que escribir en sus ratos libres y durante las noches para poder compaginarlo con un trabajo que no le satisfacía en absoluto. Sin embargo, el jefe de su departamento recordaba más tarde que era un modelo de probidad, con una gran devoción al deber. Su amigo íntimo Max Brod testifica, por su parte, que casi todo lo que Kafka sabía de la vida y del mundo lo había aprendido en sus experiencias diarias en la oficina, porque estaba en contacto con trabajadores que sufrían por la injusticia y por los largos procesos burocráticos.

Podemos apreciar a partir de su Diario y de sus Cartas que Kafka fue una persona muy atormentada. No se encontraba a gusto ni en su entorno laboral burocratizado y frío, ni en el personal en el que comenzaba a florecer la antipatía hacia los judíos. Kafka conocía la anormalidad de su situación mientras Bohemia formara parte del reino de los Habsburgo.

Los judíos vivían como checos pero estaban plenamente ligados a la cultura alemana: hablando alemán, leyendo a Schiller y Goethe, tenían la sensación de pertenecer a una especie de nobleza. Los judíos eran mal vistos tanto por los nacionalistas checos —que los identificaban con los alemanes— como por los alemanes «Sudeten», que ponían carteles en las tabernas de sus pueblos declarando: «Prohibida la entrada a checos, judíos y perros». En este contexto, la imagen que usaba el propio Kafka para reflejar su situación social era la de un jinete de circo sobre dos caballos o la más espeluznante de un puente humano colgado entre dos picos.

1.jpg

1: MAX BROD, EL AMIGO DE KAFKA AL QUE DEBEMOS LA CONSERVACIÓN DE GRAN CANTIDAD DE MANUSCRITOS DEL ESCRITOR.

2.jpg

2: MILENA JESENSKÁ CON SU MARIDO ERNST POLAK.

ESTUDIANTE DE MEDICINA EN VIENA, MOSTRÓ SIEMPRE UN GRAN INTERÉS POR LA OBRA DE KAFKA, CON QUIEN MANTUVO UNA APASIONADA RELACIÓN.

3.jpg

3a/3b:

ANVERSO Y REVERSO DE UNA POSTAL MANUSCRITA ENVIADA POR KAFKA A LA EDITORIAL KURT WOLFF, DONDE SE PUBLICÓ POR PRIMERA VEZ LA METAMORFOSIS

–DEUTSCHE NATIONAL BIBLIOTHEK

Ya de adulto se interesó por el teatro en lengua judía. Cuando en 1911 llegó a Praga un grupo de teatro yiddish se sintió cautivado; nunca había visto a judíos tan ágiles: bailaban y saltaban por los aires. Esto contrastaba con la estrechez de miras burguesas que había conocido en su casa. El encuentro de Kafka con el teatro yiddish le llevó a estudiar hebreo y a tomar parte activa en los asuntos judíos.

Para

Comentarios para La metamorfosis

[librolindsay · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

This--WHACK!--is a bug.

Only Julie would get this.

------------------------------

I forgot how funny this book is. Tragic, too, of course...but tragically funny!

[lgcullens · Calificación: 3 de 5 estrellas]

Read many years ago, so I'm recalling my thoughts having refreshed my memory.
Three, three and a half, four stars, depending on what aspect I view the story from.

The writing, as with all Kafka works that I've read, is arresting.
The story in this case, weirdly imaginative, catching one up in its absurdity while at the same time invoking repulsion and empathy.
The gist, to my mind, is a depiction of role transitions we go through in life.

I don't remember actually enjoying this work, and consider Kafka's The Castle superior in the lingering impressions that play in one's mind. From the latter, I still use the word Kafkaesque where applicable ;-)

[sarahlh-41506 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

An unsettling, psychological story with an ending that had me stunned completely. See, this is the book that should have ended with "ah, humanity!" - like Bartleby the Scrivener did. Also, my first Kindle read! Am I finally a 21st century reader now?

[tonifgmamtc · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

This short story is beyond weird. I mean it super is, but it really kept my attention. It's like nothing I remember reading before. I won't soon forget it.

[fence_2 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

Most people are probably somewhat familiar with Franz Kafka. When we hear that something is Kafkaesque we think of the surreal and the absurd, but with a darkness. The Metamorphosis is possibly his most well known story. The tale of a travelling salesman who wakes one morning and finds that he is a giant beetle or cockroach. How many of us know the rough outline without ever having read the actual work?

I do have a vague memory of reading it at some point in the past. But years and years ago. I know I didn’t appreciate it then. Reading it now I was left with an overwhelming sense of sadness. Gregor is a pitiable person even before he is transformed into vermin. His family are even worse. For a while the reader may hold out some hope for his sister, but that never comes to pass.

Why and how Gregor became an insect is never discussed, never explained. That is not the point of the book, it isn’t even vaguely important to the characters. What is important is how it changes Gregor’s relationship with his family. Up until his transformation he had been the sole bread-winner, he can no longer support even himself. He has become a burden on the rest of the Samsa’s, but his thoughts and memories seem to suggest that even while he was supporting them his parents never truly valued him.

This, supposedly, is a worry that Kafka himself had, that he was disgusting and a drain on his family. In some ways it seems like a analogy of someone suffering from depression, but it could also be about modern life and the alienation of capitalism and the city, or even about ageing. There are many many interpretations, and all, I would think, valid in their own way.

[drfuriosa · Calificación: 2 de 5 estrellas]

Philosophy, animal studies, etc., etc. This was not my cuppa.

[magonistarevo-625111 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

This is a wonderfully absurd comedy (really? The main character starves himself to death because his family is in economic despair and no one loves him). Or perhaps a heavy tragedy (really? The man wakes up as a huge bug and then skitters around the house trying not to scare his mother). Either way it's genius. A quick read that accurately conveys the awkwardness that one would feel if s/he woke up to realize that s/he was a bug.

[linyarai · Calificación: 2 de 5 estrellas]

A great classic.

[indrit-76 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

This has to one of the most unique stories ever written and is testament to Kafka's genius in conjuring up such powerful nightmarish, weird, absurd and enigmatic, but ultimately deeply moving and human in few pages.

[kristelh_15 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

read this twice, once in college and again in 2009. It is a creepy book but that is not the point. The point is that it examines identity and alienation. It is a classic of existential literature.

[rose999-383069 · Calificación: 3 de 5 estrellas]

I sincerely don't know what to say, I didn't like it, I found it boring and predictable, didn't find it sad or funny, in fact I felt no emotion at all while reading it, I could not empathize with Gregor at all.

I must admit I'm giving it a 3 out of respect alone, if it weren't such a classic story I probably would remember nothing about it by tomorrow, but given that it is a classic I'll give my opinion on it.

Maybe the only reason it didn't have any impact on me it's because it was such a revolutionary story that by now it's overdone, I can't feel the newlyness of it anymore, maybe that's all, but at the same time a classic should stand by its own merit not based only on originality.

The first part is much more about capitalism, about nowadays (thenadays) work ethics, no matter the seriousness and strangeness the situation that Gregor finds himself in, the most important thing that passes through his mind is going to work, not losing his work, how is he going to sustain his family without work? He is afraid that even seeing his present state his manager won't find it worthy of a few days leave, again and again is repeated how bosses exploit the workers, making them work through sickness and calling them lazy if they aren't up to it.

He also finds himself thinking that if no one takes notice of his new body then he will act like he doesn't either, that attitude of just going by the motions, feigning that nothing is wrong.

Also we are shown how his family doesn't really value the effort he makes for them, they take him for granted, his sacrifice is just how things are and no one is too keen on changing that status quo.

By part 2 we are shown that the family instead of dealing with Gregor and trying to find help they decide on hiding, trying not to bring shame to the family, putting their own "dignity" above Gregor's wellbeing, that's not only a take on them but on society as well, who on their right mind could shame the family entire for something so out of their control like one for its member becoming a giant bug? But we do, not with bugs but with sickness, it's not that weird to blame parents if a son has mental health problems, and the reasoning behind this is too complicated and I won't go into it now.

By now I'm not sure what happened in part 2 and what in 3 so it doesn't really matter.

The sister takes on herself the task of caring for her brother and at first she is very into it, she cooks for him, she cleans the room, even then she can't find the will power to see him or try to interact with him in any way, in fact at almost the end of the book the father complains about Gregor's inability to comprehend them and ask consequence being unable to make some rules or help the situation in any way, even though this isn't true and Gregor has been able to comprehend them all this time and at times even tried to make himself heard but to no avail.

With the passing of time the family starts to tire of the emotional burden that Gregor puts them through, understandably if you ask me, they now have to work all the day and then care for him, they are stressed because they hurt for him and by this time they have no hope he'll get better (he's a giant bug for God's sake!), they are under much pressure.

At some point the father admits that he has been saving money from what Gregor gave them for food and other expenses, so they do have some if there is need for it, Gregor thinks about how cunning this was of his father since that money could have been used to pay the debt that chained him to his job but given the circumstances his father decision to save it without telling anybody ended up being for the best, showing us again how selfless Gregor is, and taking the story as a whole as an allegory of mental illness it shows how the family pushed him into this state, if he had been able to use this money to escape his soul sucking job and get another one he wouldn't have become a giant bug and there won't be any need of those savings, Gregor even now can't see this. (Of course this is just an interpretation, I have read not even one analysis of this story so there may be some other wild interpretations for this that I'm missing)

AAnother point is the apple that the father hits Gregor with and ends up embedded in his caparace, he can't take it on his own and nobody tries to help him neither, with the passing of time the apple rots, the area becomes inflamed and festers, it hurts, an analogy of how certain things that are said or done while on emotionally charged moods and then never talked about again can fuck individuals up festering all the while everyone tries to ignore it even happened.

At this point Gregor doesn't care much about others, he does stuff that he knows will make others uncomfortable but he can't stop himself anymore, he longs for human contact, for some love.

At last in the end of the book Gregor dies, thinking himself a burden on his family, and the family feels liberated, they realize their new jobs aren't that bad, they can now go on with their lives, it's their new beginning.

So yeah I guess it's a good analogy of how families treat sick members, even more at that time.

[michaeladams1979 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

A truly strange story. I actually found it more sad than anything else, people stuck in impossible situations just trying to find some sense of normalcy again, forever out-of-reach. I read it a bit as a metaphor for having an chronically ill or disabled member of the family, someone who suddenly is not the active, capable breadwinner they once were, presenting a double-burden to the family which had built its lifestyle around their contributions. A really thought-provoking weird tragedy.

[arkrayder · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

This was a dark little fable. The genius of the author is to totally leave it to the reader as to whether Gregor has become a vile animal or is suffering mentally and as a consequence is shunned by his family. The tale has its funny moments, but its overall a dark story.

[henrimoreaux · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

Metamorphosis is an intriguing book, in a way it seems to be about Kafka's life, like George Samsa, he was unable to run away from the room he was trapped within, that room being circumstances & depression. Yet at the same time, the book is also about isolation and society. It takes place in an undated time and an unspecified place with the vast majority of the story taking place in the Samsa apartment. It's well worth reading.

[pepperwings · Calificación: 3 de 5 estrellas]

Such a weird story. It's completely unclear, he's changed into another creature and he's still absorbed in his day to day.

[benuathanasia · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

A perennial favorite. Frustrating, sad, and fascinating. It begs to be dissected and analyzed, while at the same time, it just needs to be accepted as is.

[ashishg_50 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

I came across this book by accident, having learned that it was considered classic, and having missed it during my schooling days, and on whim finding it free on Project Gutenberg, and realizing that it's small story worth reading in few sittings.Opening premise in first line sends a shock wave. It's strange, mildly amusing, and not yet clear where the story will go. However, story is captivating from get-go. For once, this classic lives up to its such designation. For another, despite my surprise at myself, I wasn't bothered about reason of this metamorphosis nor did absence of that took anything away from the story. Usually, ridiculous hypothetical premise of story which is not resolved till end is buzz-kill for me, but Kafka's work transcends that feeling, perhaps by not pretending to be anywhere close to science fiction and by tugging heart at right places. It is science fiction in its premise, but it is not, otherwise.Of course, somethings in story bother you. I am amazed that rest of world wasn't throbbing Samsas' house to see the transformation, and that they could keep it as mildly horrifying novelty, despite their maid, Gregor's senior clerk, and their tenants having observed themselves. How could neighbors, police, scientists, and crowd be kept at abeyance from such rare happenstance? Another convenient coincidence was Gregor's end, brought out without much premonition.What's most amazing is that while story isn't really fast paced, it just seems to keep you on hook. Story from perspective of vermin, of course, helps a lot. Challenges of adjusting to new life, phases of grief displayed by family in handling him, poignancy of whole situation tugs your heart and brought tear drops in my eyes near the end. I am tempted to be angry at his family, but I cannot be seeing what they did under such extraordinary circumstances. I cannot be unsympathetic to Gregor though, for he is such a gentle soul, struggling himself yet always keeping his virtues and noble character to guide his actions.It's simple story, with multiple interpretations, all likely wrong, but which will keep you haunting long after you have read it.

[etxgardener · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

I've had nightmares because of work, but I''ve never had Gregor's out of body exxperience where he wakes up one morning and finds that he's become a giant beetle. Kafka's surreal novel - perhaps the first to employ magical realism - .is a tour du force. Gregor, who has been supporting his family (why is left unclear), now must remain locked in his room because his appearance is too unsettling to everyone. Faced with the necessity of survival, his parents and sister now find employment and gradually become more self-suffcient. As this happens, Gregor finds his life draining away. When he finally dies, his family becomes fully actualized.

[revslick_1 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

perfect read for late at night creepy and a great allegory for those in 12-step recovery (AA, NA, Alanon, etc.).

[mamzel_1 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

Gregor Samsa lives with his parents and younger sister and lives a perfectly normal life until one morning when he wakes up and finds he is now a human-sized roach. The story is an examination of how a family might react to such an event and how one might feel if this happened to him. I loved trying to imagine life as a roach.

[sparrowlicious · Calificación: 3 de 5 estrellas]

"Die Verwandlung" ist wohl eines der meistinterpretierten Bücher im deutschsprachigen, als auch im englischsprachigen Schulwesen. Hier entführt uns Kafka in eine Geschichte, in der der Handelsreisende Gregor Samsa, der alleine für seine Familie sorgen muss, sich plötzlich in einen Riesenkäfer verwandelt, sodass die Familie auf sich selbst gestellt ist. Von allen Interpretationen gefällt mir immer noch die am besten, dass sich Gregors "Inneres" nach "außen" gekehrt habe. Kafka hat gerne lange Sätze geschrieben, sodass es für ungeübte Leser am Anfang schwierig erscheint, der Geschichte zu folgen. Man kann über "Die Verwandlung" denken, was man möchte, aber diese Geschichte lässt einem aufgrund ihrer Surrealität äußerst viel Raum für Interpretationen und das allein zeugt von einer gewissen Qualität.

[aliceanna-1 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

Having not read this since college, I found it much more meaningful this time around. Whatever Kafka's intent, I found the tale to be symbolic of the family dynamic when a once integral part of the family becomes helpless or worthless through illness, dishonor, etc. The death of Gregor restored life to the family.

[edgeworth_1 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

When Gregor Samsa woke one morning from uneasy dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a monstrous insect.This is one of the most famous opening lines in literature, and the general concept of The Metamorphosis, which hovers on the borderline of being a short story or a novella, is one of literature’s most famous and fascinating stories. No explanation is given for Gregor Samsa’s terrible fate; he and his family must simply endure it. Almost the entire novella takes place within the Samsa family’s apartment, and over a mere 61 pages Kafka develops an overwhelming sense of claustrophobia, alienation and sheer misery at the unjustness of the world.This is a book many students are forced to read in high school, probably because of its short length, like The Great Gatsby, with no consideration for the fact that high school students probably aren’t yet equipped to appreciate the themes it explores (again like The Great Gatsby). There are dozens if not hundreds of scholarly interpretations as to what The Metamorphosis is allegorising; mental illness and depression are popular ideas. If I had to throw my hat into the ring I’d suggest it’s about the struggles of adulthood, the sometimes crushing sense of responsibility, the loss of innocence; much is made of the fact that Gregor, in his early twenties, has been working as a salesman to support his recently impoverished family, and following his transformation his inability to work and provide for them leaves him with a terrible sense of guilt. On the very morning of the metamorphosis the head clerk arrives from his office, demanding to know why he has not turned up for work, and it’s almost a scene of black comedy as Gregor attempts to leave the bed and open the door, to reassure his superior that he is fit and able and enthusiastic. The fact that he has turned into a monster is of secondary concern to his job security.This particular edition has a couple of Kafka’s other short stories at the back, presumably because the publisher wanted to pad the length out. None of them struck me as particularly memorable. The Metamorphosis, on the other hand, deserves its status as a literary classic – an enduring symbol of alienation in human society.

[laurenbdavis · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

One of the most famous opening lines in literature: "As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect." Well, this will certainly be a day unlike all others.A classic work of expressionism. A metaphor for what happens to an individual when he lives a life he loathes, for extreme alienation and rebellion. What the reader brings to the text will inform his or her interpretation, and that makes the work all the more extraordinary.

[lisamaria_c · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

This is a hard book to nail down. That despite the fact that the basic (infamous) premise is revealed in the first sentence. It was about all I knew about Kafka or The Metamorphosis when I started the book--that the "hero" wakes up as a cockroach: As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect. He was lying on his hard, as it were armor-plated, back and when he lifted his head a little he could see his domelike brown belly divided into stiff arched segments on top of which the bed quilt could hardly stay in place and was about to slide off completely. His numerous legs, which were pitifully thin compared to the rest of his bulk, waved helplessly before his eyes.I'd read this work published in 1915 was a seminal work of the early 20th century. I'd read it was important to the Existentialist movement, surreal and absurdest and despairing. So what surprised me about this short novella--it's only about 22 thousand words--is how funny it is. I just found this all pretty hilarious. Is that bad, and wrong? It has been described as horror--but I mean, just the way Kafka describes poor Gregor trying to get around on his little legs--or trying to squeak out explanations to his supervisor or his family... I found nothing very heavy in this--or anything all that philosophical--at least not in any ponderous or pedantic way. It felt more light humor than anything--and really, an engaging introduction for me to this writer who'd I'd definitely read again.

[bonniemarjorie · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

My rating: 4.5 of 5 starsSource: BBC Radio 4 Extra'I cannot make you understand. I cannot make anyone understand what is happening inside me. I cannot even explain it to myself.'Imagine you go to bed one night with nothing out of the ordinary occurring only to wake up to find you have transformed into a monstrous insect overnight. Your family can no longer communicate with you, they no longer can even stand to look at you. You've become repulsive and abhorrent for seemingly no apparent reason. What do you do?Everyone has heard of The Metamorphosis, Kafka's literary masterpiece, a book that is obviously more than meets the eye. The story possessed a dream-like quality where nothing is ever considered appropriately, as Gregor accepted his transformation into insect form a lot more readily than one might normally. Many have attempted to form their own interpretations of the story but I personally can't see it being anything other than a metaphor. While there are bound to be several different opinions on this, this is what I came up with:Up until that life altering morning Gregor led an uneventful life where he worked constantly to support his family and in turn they steadily grew unproductive the more they began to depend on him. Gregor travels so often for work that communication between him and his family begins to cease and most importantly his family stops being appreciative of all he does for them and instead begins to simply expect it. That fateful morning he woke and began to contemplate his job and how terrible he finds it and if he didn't have his parents to worry about he would have "given in my notice a long time ago, I'd have gone up to the boss and told him just what I think, tell him everything I would, let him know just what I feel." The more and more he dwells on this the more he realizes what he does for them, what they don't do and how his work ethic in order to support his family has in turn alienated them from him. By becoming the sole breadwinner of the family he transformed himself into an outsider, the transformation only becoming a physical interpretation when he realizes that himself.I've never read Kafka before having always found myself intimidated by his works. When I discovered that the BBC Radio had produced a recording of this being read by Benedict Cumberbatch I jumped on the opportunity and I am so glad I did. I had listened to a clip of the audiobook that was released by Blackstone Audio and narrated by Ralph Cosham... that audiobook sat on my phone for so long I forgot about it because it sounded dreadfully dull. Benedict Cumberbatch truly brought this story to life and made this a real treat for me.

[krizia_lazaro_3 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

At first, I can't bear reading this book. It was about a person who turned into a bug. It was disgusting. I hate bugs. But towards the middle and end part you begin to feel sympathy for Gregor. Who wants to be a bug? It was something he did not choose. i just felt bad for him and how his family treated him. It actually made me cry in the end. This one classic book everyone should read.

[benjamin.duffy · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

I’ve spent the last couple of years catching up on famous pieces of literature that, for whatever reason, I never got around to before, especially those that are ubiquitous cultural touchstones. A lifetime of making casual references to Sherlock Holmes, Jekyll and Hyde, The Last of the Mohicans, and so forth, without actually having read the works in question, always left me feeling like a bit of a poser each time I caught myself doing so. And for some reason, that guilty feeling was never stronger than when I would refer to something as "Kafka-esque," knowing I had never read any Kafka. It made me feel like such a huge poser that I actually crossed over into being a poseur, which, as everyone knows, is far worse.

So I finally sat down to read Kafka’s most famous work, the short novel Metamorphosis, and it’s everything I had ever meant to express by invoking the man's name: absurd, dark, grotesque, and humorous only in the blackest possible sense of the word.

I was, of course, already familiar with the very famous first line of the book, translated in my edition as, "One morning, when Gregor Samsa woke from troubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a horrible vermin." I think I had imagined, before reading, that the book would jump from that absurd beginning immediately in some other direction, but it doesn’t. It’s a good 10% of the way into the book (I read it on the Kindle; no page numbers) before Brundle-fly - sorry, Gregor-roach - even manages to flip over and get out of his bed, and it sets the tone for the rest of the book: unflinching, matter-of-fact in its depiction of surreal things, and compulsively readable at the same time that it’s psychologically uncomfortable and viscerally repelling.

I won’t spoil the ending for anyone reading this who is as big a poseur as I was, but I will say this: if Dan Savage woke from troubled dreams one morning to find himself transformed in his bed into Franz Kafka, he’d have started a viral video campaign called "It Gets Worse."

[ricardob-1 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

Metamorphosis is a novella written by Franz Kafka. It's a tragic parable about a man who wakes up as an insect and the subsequent exclusion from society and eventually, his family.
This is so wonderfully written and paced and the message, so strong in its dark tones, is very balanced with the narrative, making it a pleasure to read.
In trying to find a similar work, I can think only of Orwell's "Animal Farm", with its strong message also perfectly intertwined with it's narrative. The difference is I find Kafka's writing style more alluring, more poignant.

I opened it, planning to read only a bit of the beginning and ended up reading all of it without getting up from the chair.
I suspect I'll be reading this many more times.

[britt84 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

A very realistic story about a completely unrealistic event. I love how Kafka describes an absurd occurrence like it's a very natural thing and nothing to be surprised at, and how he gives a completely realistic account of the consequences and behaviour of the people involved.