The Metamorphosis and other stories

English language

Published June 11, 1996

ISBN:: 978-1-56619-969-8

(1 review)

The Metamorphosis (German: Die Verwandlung) is a novella written by Franz Kafka which was first published in 1915. One of Kafka's best-known works, The Metamorphosis tells the story of salesman Gregor Samsa, who wakes one morning to find himself inexplicably transformed into a huge insect (German ungeheures Ungeziefer, literally "monstrous vermin") and subsequently struggles to adjust to this new condition. The novella has been widely discussed among literary critics, with differing interpretations being offered.

36 editions

kieranimo reviewed The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

Ruined by weird sexism at the end

3 stars

Content warning Brief mention of a couple of plot points

I was enjoying this, in parts. Gregor's insect thoughts are funny, but there's a blatant difference between how the mother and sister are talked about compared to the father which was always a bit off-putting.

Then, in the last few sentences, a sudden fixation on the sister's "young body" ruins it. Gross, weird, and unnecessary.