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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Abandonment
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Deportation
Minor: Confinement, Mental illness, Abandonment
Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis is not a story about a cockroach. It's a devastating, surreal allegory about dehumanization, familial rejection, and the cruelty of a utilitarian society. When Gregor Samsa wakes up as a giant bug (or Ungeziefer—a German term for "vermin" as the vagueness was intentional), he’s not just physically transformed; it is symbolic but socially erased. His worth, once tied to his ability to provide for his family, disintegrates as quickly as their tolerance for his existence.
Gregor worked a miserable, soul-crushing job as a traveling salesman, not because he liked it, but to pay off his family’s debts. He had no life, no joy, no choices. His existence was pure obligation. And the moment he can no longer perform? The moment he literally can't go to work? They all recoil. They shut the door. They let him rot.
Gregor’s family didn't love him — they loved what he did for them. He was loved in proportion to his productivity. Once that was gone, he became disposable. A burden. A thing to be hidden, like a dirty secret crawling under the bed. Gregor was socially and emotionally erased, little by little, once he stopped being “functional.” The moment he couldn’t, he became disposable.
That’s what hit me the hardest.
What makes Kafka’s story timeless is its ability to reflect our own fears: the fear of becoming a burden, of being seen as monstrous when we can no longer “perform” or “contribute.” Through Gregor, Kafka paints the alienation that many feel when they’re no longer deemed useful—whether due to illness, burnout, neurodivergence, or emotional exhaustion.
This isn’t a horror story about bugs, it's about dehumanization, familial neglect, the brutality of productivity culture, and what happens when your worth is measured by how useful you are
As kids we read it like, “oh nooo, he can’t go to work, lol.”
As adults, we realize: we are Gregor Samsa.
We’ve burned ourselves out. We've stayed in awful jobs because we had no choice. We've been erased by systems that reward us only when we’re “useful.” We’ve been abandoned the moment we couldn't perform.
This story doesn't scare you because it’s fantasy. It scares you because it’s true. And because it reminds us of how easy it is to be reduced to nothing in the eyes of those who once claimed to care.
Gregor worked a miserable, soul-crushing job as a traveling salesman, not because he liked it, but to pay off his family’s debts. He had no life, no joy, no choices. His existence was pure obligation. And the moment he can no longer perform? The moment he literally can't go to work? They all recoil. They shut the door. They let him rot.
Gregor’s family didn't love him — they loved what he did for them. He was loved in proportion to his productivity. Once that was gone, he became disposable. A burden. A thing to be hidden, like a dirty secret crawling under the bed. Gregor was socially and emotionally erased, little by little, once he stopped being “functional.” The moment he couldn’t, he became disposable.
That’s what hit me the hardest.
What makes Kafka’s story timeless is its ability to reflect our own fears: the fear of becoming a burden, of being seen as monstrous when we can no longer “perform” or “contribute.” Through Gregor, Kafka paints the alienation that many feel when they’re no longer deemed useful—whether due to illness, burnout, neurodivergence, or emotional exhaustion.
This isn’t a horror story about bugs, it's about dehumanization, familial neglect, the brutality of productivity culture, and what happens when your worth is measured by how useful you are
As kids we read it like, “oh nooo, he can’t go to work, lol.”
As adults, we realize: we are Gregor Samsa.
We’ve burned ourselves out. We've stayed in awful jobs because we had no choice. We've been erased by systems that reward us only when we’re “useful.” We’ve been abandoned the moment we couldn't perform.
This story doesn't scare you because it’s fantasy. It scares you because it’s true. And because it reminds us of how easy it is to be reduced to nothing in the eyes of those who once claimed to care.
dark
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I read this book as a unique depiction of grief, whether sickness or disability. The writing is simple and understandable while painting a portrait of a family changes after losing their main breadwinner. It’s sad how quickly they are relieved after being unburdened by Gregor, not realizing how they burdened him and he willingly took it. I also thought the bug concept would be weird, but, although my interpretation may be off, Kafka fully committed to the idea and made it a valuable device to relay the story’s meaning. There is an overall sinister tone in what Gregor endures at the neglect of his family that really hits home with the improved attitudes of the characters at the end of the book.
He never really transformed into a bug did he? No, he was just a man. Cue the bucket of tears.
É difícil imaginar que um livro sobre um homem que acorda metamorfoseado num inseto seria capaz de prender sua atenção, mas ele é capaz não só de te fazer prestar atenção em cada página, como também sentir todo tipo de sentimento com a narrativa.
Primeiramente, a conformidade de Gregor com sua situação, tão preso na sua rotina de trabalhar para a família, que não conseguia realmente pensar na sua situação, apenas que precisava pegar o trem para o trabalho, ou então não teria como continuar sustentando seus pais e a irmã mais nova.
Em segundo, temos a transformação nas relações da família dele com ele diante sua transformação. Ele havia deixado de ser um membro da família, um filho, um irmão, e se tornou um monstro, uma aberração, um fardo que precisa ter seu fim logo.
Por fim, foi de quebrar o coração ver o Gregor passar por tudo que ele passou no espaço de poucos meses. Muitas vezes quando coisas ruins acontecem à personagens ruins a leitura se torna mais fácil, mas Gregor Samsa era um bom personagem, entregue à abnegação que sua situação o submetia, que aos poucos foi definhando em seu novo corpo, sua nova forma.
Um livro brilhante que nos mostra a genialidade de Kafka na sua narração crua e cruel, te imergindo na história sem que perceba. Com certeza merecedor de cinco estrelas.
Primeiramente, a conformidade de Gregor com sua situação, tão preso na sua rotina de trabalhar para a família, que não conseguia realmente pensar na sua situação, apenas que precisava pegar o trem para o trabalho, ou então não teria como continuar sustentando seus pais e a irmã mais nova.
Em segundo, temos a transformação nas relações da família dele com ele diante sua transformação. Ele havia deixado de ser um membro da família, um filho, um irmão, e se tornou um monstro, uma aberração, um fardo que precisa ter seu fim logo.
Por fim, foi de quebrar o coração ver o Gregor passar por tudo que ele passou no espaço de poucos meses. Muitas vezes quando coisas ruins acontecem à personagens ruins a leitura se torna mais fácil, mas Gregor Samsa era um bom personagem, entregue à abnegação que sua situação o submetia, que aos poucos foi definhando em seu novo corpo, sua nova forma.
Um livro brilhante que nos mostra a genialidade de Kafka na sua narração crua e cruel, te imergindo na história sem que perceba. Com certeza merecedor de cinco estrelas.
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
short. sombre. utility. extrinsic value. provider. communication barrier. disgust. burden.
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
hate
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Fave character:
Gregor was of course my favorite. He was incredibly relatable.
Fave scene:
It is tough to have a favorite scene because the whole book is so sad but the most impactful for me was when the family at the end didn’t bother doing anything for his death at the end. It also seemed to imply that the maid disposed of his body in an uncaring manner. That really pushes things over the edge for me. Be kind to his bug body!!
Review:
This bug book is so incredibly sad and makes me want to cry.
I feel so bad for Gregor, how his family failed to try to understand him, eventually left him, and didn’t care for him after his death. Seeing Gregory slowly lose parts of his former self to being an insect and being unable to stop it was heartbreaking.
I think this book can be relatable to everyone in some way, feeling like an insect because of unexpected and unwanted changes. I personally think of mental health or becoming in some way disabled and needing to rely on others who may not understand.
I am amazed by how emotional this short novel is, only 44 pages! This is definitely one of my favorite books and would recommend it to everyone.
Gregor was of course my favorite. He was incredibly relatable.
Fave scene:
It is tough to have a favorite scene because the whole book is so sad but the most impactful for me was when the family at the end didn’t bother doing anything for his death at the end. It also seemed to imply that the maid disposed of his body in an uncaring manner. That really pushes things over the edge for me. Be kind to his bug body!!
Review:
This bug book is so incredibly sad and makes me want to cry.
I feel so bad for Gregor, how his family failed to try to understand him, eventually left him, and didn’t care for him after his death. Seeing Gregory slowly lose parts of his former self to being an insect and being unable to stop it was heartbreaking.
I think this book can be relatable to everyone in some way, feeling like an insect because of unexpected and unwanted changes. I personally think of mental health or becoming in some way disabled and needing to rely on others who may not understand.
I am amazed by how emotional this short novel is, only 44 pages! This is definitely one of my favorite books and would recommend it to everyone.
• Re-read.
• Kafka's wish not to put a bug on the cover.
• Kafka's wish not to put a bug on the cover.
IN THE MEANTIME, each release:
• RATING: ★★★½