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blizleahy 's review for:
Metamorphosis
by Franz Kafka
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
“Was he an animal, that music could move him so? He felt as if the way to the unknown nourishment he longed for were coming to light.”
Wow. This was my first Kafka book and in spite of the time it took to finish it (and it being such a short novel), I found it to be devastatingly painful in terms of facing a saddening fact — the people you love most could betray you at any moment, at anytime. Some, not all, will only view you as a shiny shovel digging at their bucket of dreams they never went for. Also, life can change in an instant. All that you thankfully acknowledged on the darkened, late hours before rest could disappear. Confusingly, without reason… because that’s how life is. It provides more of an “explanation” for the view that everything is coincidental and unfortunately being a good person won’t change what happens to you (when it comes to luck and nature).
It was simply horrifying to see how Gregor’s family abandoned him & managed to move on like he never existed. I dived into a view perspectives on this book and found some beautiful ones - somebody expressed how they felt that Gregors sister replaced him (as they mention her youthfulness & ability to work) at the end, and that she will experience a metamorphosis at some point too. Somebody else explained they feel Gregor was never really a beetle, but a man who was simply depressed or mentally ill of some sort. I absolutely agree with this possibility.
I am fairly new to more philosophical classics & am excited to dive into them. I did some research on Kafka and his life; I understood from the beginning that Kafka’s work has no happy endings but I don’t mind. Realism can feel frightening, however, as a recent adult, I know I must face it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Violence, Abandonment