Metamorphosis, Penal Co

by Franz Kafka

Book Overview

Including his most widely recognized short works, as well as two new stories, this translation of Franz Kafka's writings illuminate one of the century's most controversial writers. Translated by PEN... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0805208496
• ISBN13: 9780805208498
• Release Date: March 1988
• Publisher: Schocken Books Inc
• Length: 317 Pages
• Weight: 0.38 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Excellent Translation, Excellent Stories, Excellent Author

The Metamorphosis is the book that started me off on a full blown love affair with Franz Kafka. The darkness he portrays has a touch of humor and it is hard not to be drawn to it. I found myself not only wanting to read every single thing he ever wrote in his short-lived life, but everything about him. Kafka was not really well known until after his death, however, I am glad that his work has stood the test of time for so long that I have been able to read it. Truly a great author.

When an Unlocked Door Remains Closed

The most poignant moment of Franz Kafka's 1915 novella The Metamorphosis occurs when the narrator remarks that nobody thought to open Gregor's bedroom door to see him, though the door was now unlocked. In time, Gregor no longer wishes to emerge from his room, to be seen. All connection with his family and his former self is lost. Gregor the travelling salesman had gotten into the habit of keeping his door locked, even at home. He became private to the point of being paranoid. Gregor the absentee member of the Samsa household--albeit the breadwinner--is unknown to his sister Grete and to his parents. The loss doesn't quite register with them. This is the story of the man who wakes up as a bug. He literally embodies his emotional and psychological perception of himself: that he is vermin. He has become his own self-loathing. As this reality settles into his mind, he hopes his family will in some way respond to his need, to feed the unnameable hunger that gnaws at him throughout this ordeal. Instead, they turn away. He is the dirty secret, the problem child, the social stigma they could do without, thank you very much. The father beats him back into his room every time he emerges. His mother lacks the emotional fortitude to face the situation and faints instead. Grete, his sister, feeds him and cleans his room until he reaches out for her in his buggy way--by creeping toward her while she is playing the violin for lodgers. Gregor's financial control of the family plays a role in the neurosis that afflicts each member. Not until he is free of their control can they realize their potential. That control cannot buy Gregor the food he requires--some form of emotional and spiritual nourishment in the form of genuine relationships--though he does somewhat sadistically enjoy being the center of their fleeting attention for a little while. The door had been locked for a little too long. Family connection lost its relevance. Here is the tragedy of modern life: we're all so busy getting and doing that we lose track of what it means simply to be. The verb "to be," I learned as a young girl in English class, is not a very strong one. It's boring and should be replaced with verbs that sugget activity and emotion. I've come to realize that being isn't so bad; it's being alone that can kill you. This is the kind of starvation that killed Gregor. The Metamorphosis (Bantam Classics)

A great introduction to Kafka

This is a splendid initiation into the warped imagination of Franz Kafka. In one swoop the reader gets the infamous Freudian "Metamorphosis" as well as some of Kafka's other macabre short stories.Perhaps the best of these is "In the Penal Colony." It reads like Michel Foucault's "Discipline And Punish" on acid. It is almost like a satire on what Hegel liked to refer to as the "slaughterhouse of history." The story is at once terrifying and grotesquely comical. The rest of the stories are typical Kafka; perverse but fascinating. For those who have a morose fascination with ghastly world of this author's literary fantasy, this is an exceptional book to begin with.

A perfect balance of satire and philosophy

I will keep this relatively short. Through his short stories, kafka shows the brilliance of including his twisted existential philosophy while at the same time providing humor in a satirical way. Whether he is slyly critisizing right winged fanatics in "in the penal colony" or man's obsession with appearance in "the metamorphosis", all of his stories maintain a great deal of integrity. This is a must read.

Kafka's humor shines through in this new translation

Few translators can capture the sly humor of Kafka's "Metamorphosis" in the manner of Neugrol. Grimness becomes hilarious in the most modern fashion. Kafka has never been more accessible