Book Review: The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

Book Review: The Metamorphosis 

by Franz Kafka

Classix Press Edition (2009)

pp 44

It has been so long since I read “The Hunger Artist” or “The Trial” that I cannot remember why Kafka’s work is important. And, admittedly, I have never read anything among his vast collection of essays. I know Franz Kafka has long been the literary darling of notable authors such as W.H. Auden, Vladimir Nabokov, and Gabriel Garcia Marquez, all of whom have had no impact at all on my work as a writer. In fact, I rather detest these writers, which is fodder for another type of writing that I might indulge in but would rather not waste my time. 

On to The Metamorphosis….

Gregor is an ordinary man, burdened by his role as chief breadwinner for his family. He’d rather be doing other things in life, but alas, he must tend to the needs of his sister and parents who offer him little affection in return for his steadfast loyalty and sacrifice. Hardworking, long-suffering, uber-responsible, Gregor goes to bed on an ordinary night like any other, but when he wakes in the morning, he is a bug. Even getting out of bed is hard for a bug! 

As a bug, it is difficult for Gregor to move; then, he discovers his beetle body is more supple than he had thought. He is able to loll about the house on his little legs. His sister’s reaction is complete shock, and she cries, “Why?!” His mother knocks into a table and unleashes a gush of coffee from the pot. The mother, father and chief clerk panic and hysteria reigns. Gregor’s father drives him back into his bedroom, a pitiful sight because Gregor the bug has not yet learned to navigate going backward. Poor Gregor lives forevermore in his room, cursed and reviled, an object of pity and scorn. His family slowly empties his room and eventually tire of feeding him. His father launches into a tirade, throwing apples at him, ready to bombard him. 

His sister played the violin, while he was living out his sentence in bug hell. He yearned to meet his sister’s eye; he yearned to be recognized; he yearned to be human. Gregor’s inability to fulfill his role as the glue that held the family together results in a greater transformation, unfortunately not his own. Each member of his family grows to become strong and independent, taking new jobs and finding new pursuits in life. It is plain as day that they no longer need him. Eventually, Gregor dies, but we do not know if it is due to his injuries sustained from his family’s abuse and neglect, or if he dies of a broken heart. Upon Gregor’s death, his family live happily ever after.

Why is “The Metamorphosis” considered to be a short novel, or sometimes called a novella, when it more aptly conforms to being a short story?  Why is this deemed to be a seminal work of fiction that is studied worldwide? Why is Kafka considered a genius? Why? Cast any doubts aside, this is a story about alienation and the need for human emotional connection. But why has it become a cult classic, an expression of existential angst, societal punishment, psychological brutality, nihilism and a cowardly world where there is no God? Why? Why? I can ask countless times. I share the same sentiment as Gregor’s sister, when she cries out, “Why?!” The bug! Okay, I get it!