The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What would you do if you woke up in the shell of a beetle? Maybe you would panic, immediately call for help, and doom yourself to a short-lived life when you are crushed as soon as your transformation is revealed. Maybe you would remain calm, try to survive, scuttle out into the world, and live the rest of your life as a bug, surviving by the skin of your teeth. In Kafka’s novella The Metamorphosis, Gregor Samsa is placed in this uncomfortable dilemma. In part due to the engaging foreword by David Cronenberg (a prominent movie director whose focus is, fittingly, body horror) and the exceptional new translation by Susan Bernofsky, Kafka’s gruesome story comes to life.

While often considered just another ‘boring’ classic, this novella is engagingly tragic. One morning, Gregor Samsa wakes up in a beetle body. What does he do? Nothing. However, in his frankly unbothered reaction, there is a deep-rooted commentary on the harsh monotony of life, the need to maintain a constant routine throughout tragic events, and the obligation to maintain a constant image and projection of normalcy in fear of alienation and disregard. Even with this underlying theme, Kafka and Bernofsky retain the ironic humor that is a trademark of Kafka’s works. Interwoven within the sorrowful tragedy is an ironic sense of acceptance.

In Gregor’s search for acceptance, and in his futile attempts to communicate and reveal his true nature, he further separates himself from “normal” people. Once severed from a human appearance, he cannot renew the relationships that he lost. Now that he is different from the others, attempts to reach out are seen as attempts to harm, providing more material for other people to convince themselves that they are the ones in the right and that Samsa has been replaced with a monster.

Translations, as a whole, are quite hit-or-miss. When translating a work from another language, one often obscures the style and clarity of the original work. In this translation, however, the eccentric style of Kafka still shines through. Bernofsky does an outstanding job of conveying the obscure, and sometimes vague, descriptions and metaphors. Although some concepts are hard to preserve, her afterword, entitled “The Death of a Salesman”, explains the historical context and some of the more difficult ideas exceptionally well.

Overall, I really enjoyed the concept and writing style of this novella. For such an odd concept, Kafka manages to write a humorous and engaging piece of literature. The wording and prose are especially striking. In the confluence of Kafka and Bernofsky, a beautiful piece of writing emerges. I would highly recommend this piece to anybody looking for a work that is humorous yet saddening at the same time. —Review by Urvi S. ‘27

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