The Metamorphosis and other stories

by Franz Kafka

Hardcover, 1996

Status

Available

Call number

833.912

Collection

Publication

Barnes & Noble Books (1996), Edition: First Edition, 218 pages

Description

"When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin." With this startling, bizarre, yet surprisingly funny first sentence, Kafka begins his masterpiece, The Metamorphosis. It is the story of a young man who, transformed overnight into a giant beetlelike insect, becomes an object of disgrace to his family, an outsider in his own home, a quintessentially alienated man. A harrowing -- though absurdly comic -- meditation on human feelings of inadequecy, guilt, and isolation, The Metamorphosis has taken its place as one of the mosst widely read and influential works of twentieth-century fiction. As W.H. Auden wrote, "Kafka is important to us because his predicament is the predicament of modern man."… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member Elizabeth.Michele
I've always been a Kafka fan. This was a nice edition since it contained several stories. Personally I think everyone should read "The Metamorphosis" it gives and interesting perspective on what can happen to a man who has no life.
LibraryThing member TakeItOrLeaveIt
Many of the stories I found deplorable, but a select few were so incredibly glorious that they made up for the trifles. A report to an Academy is a triumphant account of an ape turned intellect. Jackals and Arabs is the most prolific story on the war between Jews and Muslims ever written, and
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Eleven Sons is an interesting account by a father observing his offspring in an analysis only Kafka could bring to life. Some stories of note with a rating out of ten:

The Judgment 9/10
The Stoker 3/10
Metamorphosis 5/10
A Country Doctor 6/10
Jackals and Arabs 10/10
The Next Village 6/10
Eleven Sons 8/10
A Dream 7/10
A Report to an Academy 10/10
A Fasting-artist 9/10
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Language

Physical description

218 p.; 8.5 inches

ISBN

1566199700 / 9781566199704
Page: 0.3894 seconds