Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    The Metamorphosis (Diversion Classics)
    Unavailable
    The Metamorphosis (Diversion Classics)
    Unavailable
    The Metamorphosis (Diversion Classics)
    Ebook74 pages1 hour

    The Metamorphosis (Diversion Classics)

    By Franz Kafka

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    Featuring an appendix of discussion questions, the Diversion Classics edition is ideal for use in book groups and classrooms.

    From its iconic opening scene, in which Gregor Samsa awakens to find himself transformed into an insect, to its heartbreaking conclusion, Kafka's novella remains a seminal work of magical realism. As Gregor navigates his new world, he begins to question the very meaning of his existence. One of the world's most widely read pieces of literature, THE METAMORPHOSIS is a tale of identity that continues to resonate with modern readers.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDiversion Books
    Release dateOct 27, 2015
    ISBN9781682301692
    Unavailable
    The Metamorphosis (Diversion Classics)
    Author

    Franz Kafka

    Franz Kafka (Praga, 1883 - Kierling, Austria, 1924). Escritor checo en lengua alemana. Nacido en el seno de una familia de comerciantes judíos, se formó en un ambiente cultural alemán y se doctoró en Derecho. Su obra, que nos ha llegado en contra de su voluntad expresa, pues ordenó a su íntimo amigo y consejero literario Max Brod que, a su muerte, quemara todos sus manuscritos, constituye una de las cumbres de la literatura alemana y se cuenta entre las más influyentes e innovadoras del siglo xx. Entre 1913 y 1919 escribió El proceso, La metamorfosis y publicó «El fogonero». Además de las obras mencionadas, en Nórdica hemos publicado Cartas a Felice.

    Read more from Franz Kafka

    Related to The Metamorphosis (Diversion Classics)

    Related ebooks

    Classics For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Jim Moore

      Jun 8, 2021

      A man in a mask and wearing a fat tank on his back is bent to the door of the parking garage.He is spraying and wiping, wiping and spraying. Another man with no mask and no hair shuffle-dances around him,gives a wave, crosses the street, tries to ope

      1 min read

    • Article

      Metamorphosis

      Oct 28, 2019

      Metamorphosis
      5 min read

    • Article

      Editor’s Letter

      Oct 9, 2019

      We all know what a bad night’s sleep feels like… foggy brain in the morning, endless cups of coffee trying to stop yourself from crumpling in a heap throughout the following day, and an overwhelming feeling of grumpiness at the world and those around

      2 min read

    • Article

      Chouette

      Nov 12, 2021

      Chouette
      16 min read

    • Article

      Partners

      Sep 15, 2018

      Enter,” she says, and is obeyed. He’s taller than before, or perhaps he only seems taller now that he’s here, in the house. She walks behind him, moving toward the living room, and wonders if he might be too tall for her house. It soon dawns on her t

      8 min read

    • Article

      The Joke

      Sep 1, 2020

      Although best known for his 1953 novel Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury was also a prolific writer of short stories, having published his first while still a teenager. This previously unpublished story likely dates to 1950, the year The Martian Chronicle

      5 min read

    • Article

      Choice

      Mar 10, 2024

      It was the whine of the mosquito that woke Ellen, but the slamming of the front door that made her get out of bed. Normally, the twenty-three-year-old would simply bat the pest away from her face, then dig herself under the covers so as to avoid gett

      9 min read

    • Article

      Sorry, Dada

      Dec 15, 2020

      Sorry, Dada
      4 min read

    • Article

      Love & Care

      Nov 26, 2019

      Love & Care
      6 min read

    • Article

      Ben Marcus

      Jun 15, 2018

      My wife, Gin, once knocked gently on my head, as if it were a door. “Hello,” she kept saying. “Hello. Who’s in there?” She and our therapist, Dr. Sherby, laughed a little about this, so I did, too. What fun. Keep knocking on my head like that, like i

      23 min read

    • Article

      An Unspeakable Life

      Jan 10, 2022

      It was a perfect fall afternoon when Muriel found out she was pregnant. Tourists snatched up apple cider by the gallon at farm stands. Leaf peepers stood on the side of the road with their cameras aimed in all directions; wherever you looked, a quint

      12 min read

    • Article

      Sleepwalk On The Wild Side!

      Mar 7, 2024

      Sleepwalk On The Wild Side!
      9 min read

    • Article

      So long AND NO THANKS FOR ALL THE FISH

      Jun 17, 2022

      IN the minor alterations we did to this house so we could all live and work here over lockdown without actually killing each other, some pretty major shifts happened in the family hierarchy. It’s not that I’m complaining, your honour, but it turns ou

      2 min read

    • Article

      Haunted House Whodunnit

      Sep 20, 2023

      Haunted House Whodunnit
      2 min read

    • Article

      The Wolf

      Nov 6, 2018

      The Wolf
      12 min read

    • Article

      The Gnome

      Oct 1, 2019

      The Gnome
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Professor’s Wife

      Sep 1, 2020

      The Professor’s Wife
      8 min read

    • Article

      Six Stories

      Sep 8, 2020

      I’m on the train, traveling alone, with two seats to myself. I have to use the restroom. Without thinking about it carefully, I ask a couple across the aisle if they would please watch my things for me for a moment. Then I take a closer look at them

      8 min read

    • Article

      Sleeping Beauty

      May 7, 2020

      Sleeping Beauty
      4 min read

    • Article

      To Live a Little

      Oct 3, 2022

      To Live a Little
      13 min read

    • Article

      A Little About Why

      Jun 1, 2023

      A Little About Why
      15 min read

    • Article

      Spice up Your Life

      Feb 5, 2024

      Spice up Your Life
      2 min read

    • Article

      Slipping Away

      Jul 29, 2019

      Slipping Away
      6 min read

    Reviews for The Metamorphosis (Diversion Classics)

    4/5

    1,770 ratings42 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      REVIEWED: The Metamorphosis
      WRITTEN BY: Franz Kafka
      PUBLISHED: MONTH, YEAR

      “The Metamorphosis” is an enjoyable read, not difficult (as is often the expectation of classic literature), and interesting, in a unique, quiet way. It’s also overrated and, in my opinion, unsatisfying. The publisher’s overview is: “Gregor Samsa, a young man who, transformed overnight into a monstrous verminous bug, becomes an essentially alienated man.” That essentially sums up the entire story. There’s no more plot or build-up than that. Gregor hides in his room all day, as a bug, much to his and his family’s dismay. There’s no explanation as to what occurred to transform him as such, nor any great closing revelation; the story is simply Gregor caught up in his thoughts. It’s a book of interior voice, analogy, philosophy, satire, but not much “story.” There are many themes to contemplate, and if you are searching for a better understanding to man’s lot in life, this book may be for you. However, in terms of entertainment, it’s insufficient. Extra points allotted, however, for originality and for being the inspiration to numerous authors and genre movements such as satire and the more-recent bizarro.

      Three-and-a-half out of Five stars
    • 4/5
      I loved this! It was heart-breaking, but still good, nonetheless. I love how it starts out with Gregor waking up as a "bug" and then just mildly taking notice, more concerned about how he needs to get up because he is late for work. I also love how Kafka doesn't try to explain how Gregor woke up this way; he just takes the idea and runs with it. Absolutely wonderful.
    • 3/5
      What an odd short novel. If you have never read this before, it is basically about a guy who wakes up as a giant bug. He can't leave his house or communicate with his family. We read his thoughts and he is very optimistic that his family will help him out. Then we see his family repulsed by him in every possible way. That is really all there is to the story and I found it to be really bizarre. Good to have read, but I am not sure I was in the right frame of mind to deeply analyze its meaning.
    • 5/5
      Kafka's famous novella is a quick and lively read, able to be consumed in a single sitting. A story about a man who awakens one morning to find himself morphed into a giant insect and the reaction of his family and other acquaintances. It is a tragic story, a story of what happens when someone no longer conforms to societal expectations and finds himself an outsider in a world where he used to belong. It's also an interesting study in the changes that have occurred in literature over the past century. Any editor or creative writing instructor today would refuse to accept this classic work because it doesn't fit the "rules" of writing. Perhaps that should be a lesson to those who would impose arbitrary rules; Kafka has written a masterpiece.
    • 4/5
      I loved this! It was heart-breaking, but still good, nonetheless. I love how it starts out with Gregor waking up as a "bug" and then just mildly taking notice, more concerned about how he needs to get up because he is late for work. I also love how Kafka doesn't try to explain how Gregor woke up this way; he just takes the idea and runs with it. Absolutely wonderful.
    • 4/5
      When I read the first line of this book I was amused. I instantly thought of the image of a giant beetle lying on a bed and almost laughed. This book was absurd and well-written. Kafka expertly wrote Gregor's downward mental spiral from human into insect. He kept the story familair with adding a strong sense of the unkown because no one can really relate to the book. The family felt odd and detached as they delt with Gregor and ending up letting him die. Also the description of the guests the family had stay with them made me view them as two of the members of ZZ Top. This book was good and the images it made me think of kept it moving along nicely.
    • 3/5
      The title was truly apt. When Gregor metamorphosed, so did everyone around him. People are expendable, that is what I took from this story.
    • 5/5
      Kafka's stories are in a league of their own. Underlying the anecdotical content itself, are subconscious emotions and motivations, that stirr up every now and then, leading to a kind of electrical shock in the reader, a shock of recognition without immediate understanding. In this story guilt and revolt are such underlying emotions, Gregor having been used by his immediate family to provide for their income. By turning into a kind of cockroach he refuses to go on any longer, but this provokes an intense feeling of guilt in him as well. It is typical of the unspoken emotions in this family that he has to choose this absurd, perverse method of revolt.The weirdness of the tale does not prevent the intense sadness the reader experiences about the fate of Gregor.
    • 3/5
      I read this in high school and saw it as a story about a guy turning into a bug. Rereading it as an adult I see it as a story of family obligations, dreams deferred, codependency, and losing yourself in service to others. I definitely got so much more out of it this time. It's a good reminder for me to give books a second look at different stages of life.
    • 5/5
      I was disgusted and riveted.
    • 5/5
      Loved it. I can't really put it any better than that. I grabbed it as a public domain ebook and read the thing on my lunch break. Darkly humorous, absurd yet relatable, and almost painfully mundane.
    • 5/5
      What a great story! Kafka's symbolism is absolutely fantastic. A master. I hope to read more of his work soon.
    • 3/5
      Very interesting first half, wondering what would happen next, but the ending was not a satisfying resolution for me.
    • 4/5
      Probably the first thing you learn when you start a creative writing program is that you never ever start a novel with: "When I woke up this morning ...". Kafka's Metamorphosis starts with essentially that, but not in first person perspective. A clerk/office worker/ salesman wakes up one morning transformed into a bug. Most likely a cockroach, but whichever insect he transformed into isn't mentioned, and isn't important. His entire life Gregor Samsa has worked hard to support his mother, father and younger sister. He diligently accepts any task his office assigns to him and he does not spend a single penny of his earnings on himself. His first thought after waking up isn't: what the hell just happened to me, instead his first source of panic is the fact that he can't take care of his family anymore and that he can't fulfill his assigned social role. From the beginning of the novel the main character's reaction gives the text a humorous overtone, which does slowly dissipates as you get towards the ending. During the reading of the novel I felt that Kafka teases those who pick up the book to come up with possible conclusions, none of which are as depressing or as surprising as the one actually featured.The Metamorphosis is a novel that many scholars have studied for a long time and for which they have given many explanations and analyses. Granted the short story is written as a tease for intellectuals. But I'm not sure the text warrants this. One glaring piece of evidence comes from the edition of the book I read, in which scholars argue that the main character's name Gregor Samsa is an anagram for Kafka. In the same edition we find an account of Kafka in dialog with a friend who asked him about this idea upon which the great author responded: don't be absurd that's utter nonsense.Some argue that the novel is a form of social criticism in which Kafka magnifies roles and stereotypes to show the absurd expectations of the cultural atmosphere at the time. Gregor is a hard worker who does not question the tyranny and unrealistic expectations of his family and colleagues, a battle he can not win. For his blindness he is punished by being transformed into the physical incarnation of his family's already existing scorn. His eventual lot is to succumb to his unquestioned acceptance of his role and live out the lifeline laid out for vermin.
    • 4/5
      I loved this! It was heart-breaking, but still good, nonetheless. I love how it starts out with Gregor waking up as a "bug" and then just mildly taking notice, more concerned about how he needs to get up because he is late for work. I also love how Kafka doesn't try to explain how Gregor woke up this way; he just takes the idea and runs with it. Absolutely wonderful.
    • 5/5
      This is an abstract piece about a man who wakes up andrealizes he is a bug, however, this does not concern him. He is more worried about being late for work. This is a sad tale of a man, who, after an unfortunate event, loses the love of his family, as they think he is an awful disgusting creature. He has to learn to live with the things he cannot change and accept himself for who he is.
    • 5/5
      great novella. Amazing how you can develop such empathy for an insect!
    • 4/5
      I read the Bantam classic edition. It's 200 pages long, with only 60 being the actual story, and the rest being essays and critical analysis. I have to say that the analysis made me respect the novella so much more. When you read something casually you don't pick up on repetitions and elements, but the critical analysis opened my eyes to the repition of 3 occurring in the book, as well as the possible religious or devil connotations, etc etc.Kafka did not intend this to be a story of a man who turned into a beetle. He had much more in mind while he wrote it and so if you pick this one up, try to find a copy with analysis, it'll make you appreciate it so much more.
    • 5/5
      Although Kafka isn't considered an existentialist author to the extent that Camus is, this novella is about a million times more compelling than 'The Stranger' could ever hope to be, and does what the 'The Stranger' was supposed to do: portray how terrifying the world is if there is no rhyme, reason, or fairness.
    • 4/5
      I find myself sort of going back and forth between a 3.5 and 4 star rating, what we have here is a brilliant little novella... but it would help if it were longer. I can't help but feel it would have benefited greatly from a little more material, would have made it feel far more complete. I still enjoyed this book tremendously, it was an incredibly interesting read. I also recommend picking up the edition with essays and analysis on the book, it really helps you better understand The Metamorphosis.
    • 5/5
      A story that is short enough to read in a couple of hours, yet interesting and bizarre enough to stay with you for a lifetime. Amount gained from reading is incredible when compared to the short amount of time it takes to read.
    • 5/5
      There are many layers to The Metamorphosis, revealing the book's symbolism and complexity. What I enjoyed most was Kafka's writing style. Short, simple yet tremendously engaging. While no doubt odd, the storyline was captivating. Interestingly, few reviewers have noted the subtle humor which permeated the book, some of the best I have ever read (perhaps along with Dostoyevsky's novella Notes From the Underground).While many classic works can require effort, this book flowed seamlessly and left me wanting more. A true classic and a must read.
    • 3/5
      I know exactly how Grete feels. I have a bug for a brother, too. =_=

      Writers from Prague tend to leave indelible impressions on my mind. I'll admit it, I have a pro-Prague bias, I love all things European with the intimacy only a foreigner can achieve. Kafka and Kundera, they are inevitably infused with some of the magic of Prague. Their works are steeped in nuance, they play with overtones and instil their words with ambiguity. All stories are so inherently beautiful in their own right, the act of writing reviews often consist of little more than the cherry-picking of a few choice adjectives, and private, fragmentary reflections on the impotency of words that stubbornly refuse to convey to others the very emotions they provoke in us. The job of the modern writer, then, is to capture that elusive, transient feeling with their words, to bottle it and sell it. Kafka sells despair, but a subtle form of hopelessness that uses the theme of alienation from the rest of the world to express itself. Leaves you just as, if not more, utterly devastated by the end.




    • 2/5
      This is the story where a successful man found himself turned into a huge monstrous vermin. Because of it, he lost his job and he became totally reliant upon his family who had become reliant on him prior his transformation. While his mother can't bare the sight and the smell of him and his father's emotional and physical abuse, his sister somehow provide him an anchor and at times he pondered about the significance of his existence the entirety of his fate as a giant insect stuck inside a house.

      I am not quite sure how to respond to this overanalyzed book without being repetitive. I understood the symbolism of the text and the psychology of the author while he was writing this because soon it became more apparent that this is getting too personal. I also didn't think that Kafka had any prior knowledge in entomology at the time of writing. He was quite specific about his reaction as an insect which probably from observance since his mirrored character's conducts are too unspecific to be taken literally other than as a symbolic way to portray his issues in literal form.

      In some strange way, I do think "Metamorphosis" is a come-of-age book. His transformation is a symbolism for puberty. His cocooned stage and avoidance of the world told a story about himself and by including his family's disappointment throughout the whole novel, it does make sense how the Japanese are more inspired by him than I ever was. There were countless of J-drama, manga and anime seemingly dedicated on the nature of this book which told much about the culture itself. Junji Ito and Kaori Yuuki made a good deal Kafka-esque influence in their work.

      I do wish I could read the original untranslated work as some meanings can be lost in between since I do think the translation made the book unseemingly bland. I felt it became too passive and monotonous and weirdly predictable. Probably because I've been indirectly influenced by Kafka but psychologically speaking, this guy was obviously depressed that he had to stoop into empathising with an insect to express his feeling and downright emotionally-scarred by his family and I think he even lost his sense and his faith in humanity just by writing this.

      In a sense, I do think he is hollow in the inside. Alone and disappointed in the world and severely disappointed in himself. He detailed how his family didn't care about him as their son. How can anybody be more severe on himself like that. This is a story of a confused boy who sees the world through an injured mind and became so frightened by it that he even became too afraid to be free and found death as welcome instead.

      I don't love this book. I don't hate it either. I only felt this monotonous depth of sadness and pity. If this isn't an academical reading, I don't think I would revel in the work of an unhappy childhood and emotionally abusive family for the sake of reading literature pretentiously.
    • 4/5
      Strange, but he is such a good writer.
    • 5/5
      Kafka's famous novella is a quick and lively read, able to be consumed in a single sitting. A story about a man who awakens one morning to find himself morphed into a giant insect and the reaction of his family and other acquaintances. It is a tragic story, a story of what happens when someone no longer conforms to societal expectations and finds himself an outsider in a world where he used to belong. It's also an interesting study in the changes that have occurred in literature over the past century. Any editor or creative writing instructor today would refuse to accept this classic work because it doesn't fit the "rules" of writing. Perhaps that should be a lesson to those who would impose arbitrary rules; Kafka has written a masterpiece.
    • 5/5
      I really did enjoy "The Metamorphosis." I found it packed a lot of power for a such a short story, but it's so open for interpretation I recommend you read it before you read reviews hinting at what to think of it.On face value 'The Metamorphosis' just seems bizarre, and, like another reviewer said, the more you read and think about the story the more you begin to appreciate it. I have admit I cried- but only a few tears escaped while I was actually reading it. What was odd was that I really cried while I was answering a few questions on it for school (I choose it - so reading it didn't feel like a chore) and began to interpret it for myself.I was touched by Gregor's amazing devotion to his family, and felt as if his metamorphosis was some sort of catalyst for change in his family. I see it as story of sacrifice, a brother and son giving up on his on well-being to benefit the family he loves. The family that cannot overcome his "monsterous" form. It was almost like a fairy tale with an ending both happy and sad. I read most of the story in the hope that Gregor would wake one day to find it was all a dream, I even nurtured a suspicion that the heartless charwomen was some sort of witch which had imprisoned Gregor in this creature's body, and would release one day with a snap of her fingers.I actually read the Minerva edition "Metamorphosis and other stories," so haven't read the essays in this Classics edition (which- as a note... I really don't think there should be a picture on the cover. I agree with Kafka, let the reader decide). But it some ways I don't want to read a whole lot of crictical material. I think Metamorphosis is just so open to interpretation, so whether I'm academically wrong or right, it would be nice for my own thoughts on it not to be fused with others that I may not understand. Post-modernism?
    • 4/5
      When I first read this book in high school my impression of it was "What terrible drivel! And this guy is a literary heavyweight!?", which is just more proof that what is considered literature was not written for children and therefore children are not the best audience for these works. They're just not equipped to understand the nuances of the story and to read between the lines. Of course there's always the option that my teacher wasn't all that good or that I was a particularly dense teenager, but I prefer the first theory. If you read up on Metamorphosis you'll see the opinion that Gregor's transformation into an insect was just a physical manifestation of what he already was. Another commonly-accepted view is that the more important metamorphosis was that of the Samsa family as a result of Gregor's transformation. These interpretations made me think about the significance of Gregor changing into a creature that is revolting, a creature the family tries to accept but at the end cannot, and I wonder, for what is that a metaphor? What kind of person is Kafka writing about, what is it about him that is so unacceptable to his family? There is a passage toward the beginning of the book that indicates that there's something wrong with the lower abdomen of the insect Gregor, that it's diseased in some way. Then toward the end there is a passage about Gregor wanting to kiss his sister's neck. Do these passages reveal something about the nature of this character that overnight makes him a pariah in his own family? I think they do, and maybe I'm over-thinking it, but when viewed through that prism the story makes more sense than when it's not. I'm pleased to say that this re-reading confirmed for me that Kafka's work deserves every bit of its exalted reputation. He really was a master of weaving stories that feel very close when you read them, despite the fantastical nature. Reading this book you can see the Samsas' apartment, them, and their issues. You even somewhat understand why the family feel about Gregor the way they do, regardless of his present state. After all, you know the man who dreams about kissing his sister's neck was odd even before his transformation into a gigantic insect. In fact, Metamorphosis is full of such implied revelations, but you have to be paying attention to see them. I would definitely recommend reading closely to get the most of out this book, and indeed any other of Kafka's work, because it seems that the boldest ideas are the closest to the truth with this author. Just bear in mind that often his imagery is far from innocent. I'm curious to read more of Kafka's work now and I'm fully prepared to take my time with every piece, because his writing is just not something you should breeze through. Should you decide to pick up anything he's written I recommend you prepare yourself to take your time as well.
    • 4/5
      So, is it like if he died but had to watch his family cope afterward? Or is it just cause I was thinking about The Sixth Sense before I started?
    • 4/5
      Long short story, read countless times. I have analyzed it in class, online, in my Mother-in-laws kitchen, until I am dulled by the whole thing. Did he become a butterfly or a moth? I forget.