Paperback, 144 pages
German language
Published June 11, 1997 by FISCHER Taschenbuch.
»Der Reisende Gregor Samsa erwacht eines Morgens in seinem Bett als riesiges Ungeziefer. Das Wunder kommt als Qual. Die Qual existiert mit Eintritt der Erzählung. Sie braucht keine Motivation. Sie ist da. Die Spannung ist gegeben und weicht nicht bis zum letzten Augenblick ... Niemand erstaunt über das Ereignis, man faßt es, man schweigt, man leidet, die Familie zieht sich in sich selbst zurück. Das Tier bleibt in seinem Zim-mer, niemand darf es sehen ...« (Kasimir Edschmid) ›Die Verwandlung‹ ist ein Kernstück des erzählerischen Werkes von Franz Kafka. Einer der wichtigsten, weil wirklich scharfsin-nig analysierenden Interpretationsversuche ist der von VIadimir Nabokov. Sein zusammenfassendes Urteil: »Gegensatz und Einheitlichkeit, Stil und Dargestelltes, Darstellung und Fabel sind in vollkommener Weise ineinander verwoben.«
I'm not sure what to make of this other than perhaps the futility of life. Will need to let it marinade.
Un análisis social muy incisivo en pocas páginas. Imprescindible.
I will freely admit that this isn't my kind of book and that I mainly read it in order to understand what people mean when they say "Kafka-esque"
So really my enjoyment of this story was about a 3/5 but I give it extra points for its originality and clearly very good writing. The ending was a little anticlimactic though.
I also really enjoyed it as an audiobook which kept the tone light. Otherwise there was a chance I may have interpreted it more as a horror. That said, that speaks to how interesting this is to read more as literary art than merely something to be enjoyed (even if it still to an extent can certainly be just enjoyed and not analysed).
I think this is a short but rich story to be used for book clubs or other literary analysis. Or just read it as a quirky magical …
I will freely admit that this isn't my kind of book and that I mainly read it in order to understand what people mean when they say "Kafka-esque"
So really my enjoyment of this story was about a 3/5 but I give it extra points for its originality and clearly very good writing. The ending was a little anticlimactic though.
I also really enjoyed it as an audiobook which kept the tone light. Otherwise there was a chance I may have interpreted it more as a horror. That said, that speaks to how interesting this is to read more as literary art than merely something to be enjoyed (even if it still to an extent can certainly be just enjoyed and not analysed).
I think this is a short but rich story to be used for book clubs or other literary analysis. Or just read it as a quirky magical realism short story!
