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The Metamorphosis

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The Metamorphosis

By: Franz Kafka
Narrated by: Ralph Cosham
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About this listen

 “One morning, as Gregor Samsa was waking up from anxious dreams, he discovered that in bed he had been changed into a monstrous verminous bug.”

With this startling, bizarre, yet surprisingly funny first sentence, Kafka begins his masterpiece, The Metamorphosis. It is the story of a young traveling salesman who, transformed overnight into a giant, beetle-like insect, becomes an object of disgrace to his family, an outsider in his own home, a quintessentially alienated man. Rather than being surprised at the transformation, the members of his family despise it as an impending burden upon themselves.

A harrowing - though absurdly comic - meditation on human feelings of inadequacy, guilt, and isolation, The Metamorphosis has taken its place as one of the most widely read and influential works of 20th-century fiction. As W. H. Auden wrote, “Kafka is important to us because his predicament is the predicament of modern man.”

FRANZ KAFKA (1883–1924), one of the major fiction writers of the twentieth century, was born to a middle-class German-speaking Jewish family in Prague. His unique body of writing, much of which is incomplete and was mainly published posthumously, is considered by some people to be among the most influential in Western literature, inspiring such writers as Albert Camus, Rex Warner, and Samuel Beckett.

©Public Domain (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc. Fantasy Fiction Genre Fiction Jewish Heritage Metaphysics Movie, TV & Video Game Tie-Ins Philosophy Political Science Fiction Funny Short Stories

Critic Reviews

“In The Metamorphosis Kafka reached the height of his mastery: he wrote something which he could never surpass, because there is nothing which The Metamorphosis could be surpassed by - one of the few great, perfect poetic works of this century.” (Elias Canetti, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1981)
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Really quite a fascinating story. This reminded me of the South African movie, District 9.
Quite an interesting look into what life was like early 20th century.

Science Fiction

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i loved it. the book started out comedic then got deep and quite dark. im curious to know if the lack of communication between gregor and his family is at all a cometary on the family structure of the day.

a great short read

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an incredible classic everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime. I've read it multiple times now, and listened once on audiobook

incredible

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Such a kind heart and always acting in the best of intentions. He was still their son and brother but because of his difference he was cast out for the good of the family. He just needed a kind soul to understand and reach out and not throw apples.

Poor dear Gregor

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My first hearing of this story, I found it quite funny at first and then it became a tragedy as Gregory's family's attitudes change. Narration was great too, quite subdued but well suited to the narration style the book is written in. Moral of the story: bugs have feelings too.

Great story read well

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5 star concept, and definitely some 5 star moments, just not enough opportunity to expand on the story being so short. powerful message for its length though.

The Metamorphosis Review

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this was a story I've been meaning to read for many years and it did not disappoint. what an amazing novella and the eloquent performance enhanced my experience. yes, the story is weird, but I like that. it is also strangely affecting and made me quite emotional. I must read everything Kafka ever wrote!

fantastic story and perfect performance

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This is the first of Kafka’s major works that I have consumed. It is so difficult to take seriously a story about some man who one day is transformed into a giant repellant insect, but this work makes it realistic and convincing.

It appears that Kafka’s major works such as The Trial, The Castle, and The Metamorphosis all follow a central theme: about some lonely and persecuted individual facing absurdity and tragedy, who struggles on all the way to death. This book is certainly great literature but very bleak- the narrator does a fine job of delivering it by audio.

great but grim

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I can only inadequately drescribe my joy at discovering this gem. I was only vaguely aware of Kafka and had no real knowledge of his writing A vague idea that his writing was to clever for me.

But this is a masterpiece so well written and get so surreal that even though over 100 years paints a picture amazingly.

It is a great read. I will not write another else as my literary skills can not adequately describe this short story or its exquisite writing

Wow!

Wow! Complex and simple.

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On its exterior, Kafka’s Metamorphosis is an initially amusing, and eventually depressing, absurdist short-story about a man’s inexplicable transformation into a giant insect. As that alone, it is alright, though perhaps doesn’t explore the breadth of its premise.

But much like its protagonist: there is more to Metamorphosis than its exterior. The true value of the tale lies in the remarkable brevity with which it raises existential questions.

What does it mean to be human? How are we valued in modern society? How should we adapt to and overcome adversity, and how deferential should we be to others who are?

Unique, poignant and brief: the Metamorphosis is a tale that all should read.

More complex than it appears

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