Metamorphosis
Metamorphosis
Translated by David Wyllie.
Book Excerpt
lerk, while
his father continued to speak through the door. "He isn't
well, please believe me. Why else would Gregor have missed
a train! The lad only ever thinks about the business. It
nearly makes me cross the way he never goes out in the
evenings; he's been in town for a week now but stayed home
every evening. He sits with us in the kitchen and just
reads the paper or studies train timetables. His idea of
relaxation is working with his fretsaw. He's made a little
frame, for instance, it only took him two or three evenings,
you'll be amazed how nice it is; it's hanging up in his
room; you'll see it as soon as Gregor opens the door.
Anyway, I'm glad you're here; we wouldn't have been able to
get Gregor to open the door by ourselves; he's so stubborn;
and I'm sure he isn't well, he said this morning that he is,
but he isn't."
"I'll be there in a moment", said Gregor slowly and thoughtfully, but without moving so that he would not miss any word of the conversation. "Well I can't think of any other wa
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This is one of the few nightmarish books that have not much "story stuff," but can leave you quite puzzled and startled once you've finished them, trying to understand what is what, and why did who.. etc
But to me, I've never read such a book. Just the first few lines, and I couldn't help finishing the book the same night. The thing that really got me mad was the thoughts of the main character, Gregor.
It's a real nightmare I wish I never go through, especially how it ends. Really as weird as it is loathsome.
Read it at your own peril...
But to me, I've never read such a book. Just the first few lines, and I couldn't help finishing the book the same night. The thing that really got me mad was the thoughts of the main character, Gregor.
It's a real nightmare I wish I never go through, especially how it ends. Really as weird as it is loathsome.
Read it at your own peril...
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I can't help but agree with Kurt on what's happening not just in Britain but across the pond. Metamorphosis is such a strange and perfect story that you are guaranteed to never forget it. An intellectual nightmare.
03/24/2006
A true literary genius. Read as many of Kafka's short stories and books as you can, especially The Trial, which, in light of the way Britain seems to be heading into a kind of bureaucratic-manic state these days, is in many ways a more prophetic book than Orwell's 1984.
03/21/2006
This book, to me, seems to represent the ongoing struggle between man and pest.
06/07/2005