Rating: 
Summary: Absurd, funny, frightening
Review: You wake up one day to find yourself a giant vermin. Great idea, right? What would you do? An absurd question, but belief and rationale must be suspended. The answer is simple, you'd do nothing. You'd submit your fate into the hands of other people with a sigh. After the shocking introductory statement, Kafka's hero comes down off his initial excitement and is isolated from the outside world inside his room. This is probably the proper decision to keep the book from becoming a mere comic fantasy. I won't comment on the interpretations that the author opens to the reader - that is the fun of reading it. Gregor Samsa can be an existential hero, a victim of the modern industrial order, a hollow character who achieves depth with his transformation. You might even call this magical realism. Literally, that's what it is.
Rating: 
Summary: book of the 20th century!
Review: I like it very much. I think, it's written in a typical german style: mysthic, black, absurd, romantic, fantastic!
Rating:
Summary: Great Book...
Review: I love this book, the first time I read it I was amazed by the power the words had in describing not only the story of the characters but also the absurd moments of life we all face. This book has made an impact on my life; I was going through a very hard period and becoming a cockroach did not feel that unimaginable. In any case it brought a perspective into my life, I needed desperately at that time. I do not want to give away the story, but I recommend this book to all those who do like reading Kafka, Sartre, Camus etc.
Rating:
Summary: Magnificent!
Review: One of the few times that a work has really "blown me away!" What an amazing story!Don't be fooled, it is not much of a "story" in terms of what actually occurs (the infamous first sentence is the highpoint of the book in terms of turns of events), but metaphorically, the work is mind-blowing! For once I am truly speechless. I guess the first thing to do is forewarn the reader (as any intelligent person would surmise from the first sentence) that this isn't a "happy" tale. It's about as "light-hearted" as Mein Kampf. However its power and poignency and symbolic pertinence are more than enough to earn this novella the adjective "Kafkaesque!"
Rating:
Summary: Odd and Agreeable
Review: Most of my reading time is consummed in the world of non-fiction, but I picked this book up on advice of a friend, and found it to be most enjoyable. A reading group or a college instructor would have been helpful to ellucidate upon the symbols in this novella, but I believe it fits well with other books, works of art, and ballets produced during this time that grapple with the modern world, and its dehumanizing qualities. Indeed, the discomfort of Gregor's transformation seems indicative of the discomfort felt when the human heart is wedged into a world of machines, numbers, and efficiency standards. However, apart from this symbolism, I most enjoyed the lucidity of Kafka's prose and the structure and design of his story. Metamorphosis is the perfect form of a short story.
Rating:
Summary: Only a great writer could make me feel sorry for a "vermin"
Review: Kafka stuns me. In the time it takes most writers to write a chapter, introduce a character, or illustrate a setting, Kafka lucidly conveys the sincere emotions associated with 20th century dissolutionment--and writes a damn good story. In 60 pages! This book is even quicker than it's 60 pages implies. The words flow and you will be drawn in. I truly felt sorry for Gregor, I wanted his sister to recognize him. This book begins weird and I was not sure about it. Even as it progressed, I was wary of its path. When Gregor first retreated to under the couch and put the sheet over him, it hit me hard. This poor, helpless man was hated by everyone, for being who he was. This book told me as much about the human condition as books ten times it's length. ADVICE: Spend 2 hours of your life and read this book. Then think for 2 days about it. milo
Rating:
Summary: A bona fide classic
Review: A key theme of Kafka's The Metamorphosis is mental isolation. Gregory was always a bit isolated from his family; he locked his door at night and was often away on business trips. After his metamorphosis, Gregory's life changes dramatically (much like a person suffering from a chronic or disfiguring disease). Gregory tries futilely to communicate with his family and boss, but is unable to reach them. His family reacts to his condition by withdrawing from him, hiding him, and eventually discarding him. Gregory's death at the end is coincident with two important events: his sister's refusal to put up with him and his own capitulation. Grete had been the beacon of hope for Gregory, and a vital connection to his former self. When her hope died, so did he. Gregory escaped from his room into the freedom of the living room three times in the narrative. The third time, he turned around and limped back into his room on his own accord, signaling a loss of hope. Again, as his hope died, so did he. What did Grete and Gregory 'hope' for? Gregory's recovery might be the simple answer, but I don't think that's it. They hoped to reach out to each other, to connect. When Gregory gave up on trying to reach other people, he quickly died.
Rating: 
Summary: lifes changes
Review: i thought the metamorphisis by franz kakfa although a beautiful written story which is a story about a man who goes to bed one night and wakes up the next morning and finds that he has turned into a fly was very bring and long and i found it very difficult to understand but i feel the story deals with the problem in real life that if some drastic change were occur in your life some day how would would you deal with it. How would your family deal with it. Could you rely on your family for support as in the case with gregor who turns into a fly one morning and his family wants to have nothing to do with him they try and shut him out from the real world and keep him locked him in room.
Rating:
Summary: Loved it
Review: This is the type of story no one would set out to read, yet when read, the fruits of the book are bountiful. The story is layered with meanings that anyone can relate to. It is about a traveling salesman alienated by his own family when they found him transformed into a large bug. It can be taken in so many ways, I recommend it to anyone who is willing to relate to a bug!
Rating:
Summary: An Insect
Review: Perhaps the first writer, or at least the first effectivewriter, to express the anxieties and alienation of 20th-century societies, Franz Kafka was born July 3, 1883 in Prague into a middle-class Jewish family. His father -- an ambitious, materialistic tyrant --overshadowed much of Kafka's work as well as his existence. Kafka was a charming, intelligent, and humorous individual, but he found his routine office job and the exhausting double life into which it forced him (for his nights were frequently consumed in writing) to be excruciating torture, and his deeper personal relationships were neurotically disturbed. First published in 1915, this is the story of Gregor Samsa, a young traveling salesman who lives with and financially supports his parents and younger sister. One morning he wakes up to discover that during the night he has been transformed into a "monstrous vermin" or insect. At first he is preoccupied with practical, everyday concerns: How to get out of bed and walk with his numerous legs? Can he still make it to the office on time? Soon his abilities, tastes, and interests begin to change. No one can understand his insect-speech. He likes to scurry under the furniture and eat rotten scraps of food. Gregor's family, horrified that Gregor has become an enormous insect, keep him in his bedroom and refuse to interact with him. This is a great short story representing modern man and the modern life... END
| 
