Classic Books Store
The Metamorphosis, In the Penal Colony, and Other Stories (Schocken Kafka Library)
RRP: $13.00
Our Price: $10.40
You Save: $ 2.60 ( 20% )
Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Schocken
Author: Franz Kafka
Publisher: Schocken
Average Customer Rating:
Our Price: $10.40
You Save: $ 2.60 ( 20% )
Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Schocken
Author: Franz Kafka
Publisher: Schocken
Average Customer Rating:
Experimental feature: Order The Metamorphosis, In the Penal Colony, and Other Stories (Schocken Kafka Library) from the UK, Canada, Germany or France by clicking an appropriate flag below.
Some items available at Amazon.com are not available in all countries.
Some items available at Amazon.com are not available in all countries.
The Metamorphosis, In the Penal Colony, and Other Stories (Schocken Kafka Library) Description
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 833.912
EAN: 9780805210576
ISBN: 0805210571
Label: Schocken
Manufacturer: Schocken
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 328
Publication Date: 1995-11-14
Publisher: Schocken
Product Release Date: 1995-11-14
Studio: Schocken
Dewey Decimal Number: 833.912
EAN: 9780805210576
ISBN: 0805210571
Label: Schocken
Manufacturer: Schocken
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 328
Publication Date: 1995-11-14
Publisher: Schocken
Product Release Date: 1995-11-14
Studio: Schocken
Editorial Review of The Metamorphosis, In the Penal Colony, and Other Stories (Schocken Kafka Library)
The best-known novellas and stories of one of the seminal writers of the twentieth century. Included are "The Judgment, " "A Country Doctor, " and "A Hunger Artist." New Foreword by Anne Rice.
Customer Reviews of The Metamorphosis, In the Penal Colony, and Other Stories (Schocken Kafka Library)
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: When an Unlocked Door Remains Closed
Review: The most poignant moment of Franz Kafka's 1915 novella The Metamorphosis occurs when the narrator remarks that nobody thought to open Gregor's bedroom door to see him, though the door was now unlocked. In time, Gregor no longer wishes to emerge from his room, to be seen. All connection with his family and his former self is lost.
Gregor the travelling salesman had gotten into the habit of keeping his door locked, even at home. He became private to the point of being paranoid. Gregor the absentee member of the Samsa household--albeit the breadwinner--is unknown to his sister Grete and to his parents. The loss doesn't quite register with them.
This is the story of the man who wakes up as a bug. He literally embodies his emotional and psychological perception of himself: that he is vermin. He has become his own self-loathing. As this reality settles into his mind, he hopes his family will in some way respond to his need, to feed the unnameable hunger that gnaws at him throughout this ordeal.
Instead, they turn away. He is the dirty secret, the problem child, the social stigma they could do without, thank you very much. The father beats him back into his room every time he emerges. His mother lacks the emotional fortitude to face the situation and faints instead. Grete, his sister, feeds him and cleans his room until he reaches out for her in his buggy way--by creeping toward her while she is playing the violin for lodgers.
Gregor's financial control of the family plays a role in the neurosis that afflicts each member. Not until he is free of their control can they realize their potential. That control cannot buy Gregor the food he requires--some form of emotional and spiritual nourishment in the form of genuine relationships--though he does somewhat sadistically enjoy being the center of their fleeting attention for a little while. The door had been locked for a little too long. Family connection lost its relevance. Here is the tragedy of modern life: we're all so busy getting and doing that we lose track of what it means simply to be.
The verb "to be," I learned as a young girl in English class, is not a very strong one. It's boring and should be replaced with verbs that sugget activity and emotion.
I've come to realize that being isn't so bad; it's being alone that can kill you. This is the kind of starvation that killed Gregor. The Metamorphosis (Bantam Classics)
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Still important 100 years later.
Review: This collection of short stories was my first introduction to Kafka and I highly recommend picking this up for anyone thinking about reading his works. The short stories range in length from many pages to single paragraphs. Most of the stories shorter than 2 pages seemed pointless to me but the lengthier entries were excellent in their content and writing style.
Kafka's writing style is unique and really needs to be read to be understood. The word Kafkaesque now means something to me. I look forward to reading some of his novels to see if they match the power of and imagery of The Metamorphosis.
Bottom Line: Kafka is hip again and this is a good sampling of his short stories.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: The definition of a Kafka story
Review: Kafka is one of the unique geniuses of world - literature.
His stories are parables that have an uncanny quality about them, and so defy our simple understanding.
As Camus pointed out Kafka's stories demand rereading and reinterpreting again and again, without one ever having conviction that one has truly grasped the true meaning.
The beauty of this uncanniness, the strange power of these stories is the genius of Kafka.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: The Metamorphosis
Review: I am german. I have never read the english translation of "The Metamorphosis" and so I don't know how it is and how it sounds in english. I can only say that it is a really deep, intensive and wonderful story in german language. "Die Verwandlung" has really changed my way of thinking! It is a book like a mirror, you can lay your own feelings in it. Some think it is too dark, i think it is "life and life only".
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: refreshing
Review: Frankly, I have only read the Metamorphosis and the Penal Colony. I will admit that both were a bit unusual, but I fell in love with the Penal Colony. It's laconic, but extremely well-written (kudos to the translator). Given it's length, I'd suggest it to anyone looking for a shortcut to one of literature's masterpieces. As for the Metamorphosis, I cannot say the same. God only knows (as Kafka cannot tell us) what he meant with the transformation of Gregor into a vermin. I found that story simply bizarre, devoid of any blatant parallel.
Review Summary: When an Unlocked Door Remains Closed
Review: The most poignant moment of Franz Kafka's 1915 novella The Metamorphosis occurs when the narrator remarks that nobody thought to open Gregor's bedroom door to see him, though the door was now unlocked. In time, Gregor no longer wishes to emerge from his room, to be seen. All connection with his family and his former self is lost.
Gregor the travelling salesman had gotten into the habit of keeping his door locked, even at home. He became private to the point of being paranoid. Gregor the absentee member of the Samsa household--albeit the breadwinner--is unknown to his sister Grete and to his parents. The loss doesn't quite register with them.
This is the story of the man who wakes up as a bug. He literally embodies his emotional and psychological perception of himself: that he is vermin. He has become his own self-loathing. As this reality settles into his mind, he hopes his family will in some way respond to his need, to feed the unnameable hunger that gnaws at him throughout this ordeal.
Instead, they turn away. He is the dirty secret, the problem child, the social stigma they could do without, thank you very much. The father beats him back into his room every time he emerges. His mother lacks the emotional fortitude to face the situation and faints instead. Grete, his sister, feeds him and cleans his room until he reaches out for her in his buggy way--by creeping toward her while she is playing the violin for lodgers.
Gregor's financial control of the family plays a role in the neurosis that afflicts each member. Not until he is free of their control can they realize their potential. That control cannot buy Gregor the food he requires--some form of emotional and spiritual nourishment in the form of genuine relationships--though he does somewhat sadistically enjoy being the center of their fleeting attention for a little while. The door had been locked for a little too long. Family connection lost its relevance. Here is the tragedy of modern life: we're all so busy getting and doing that we lose track of what it means simply to be.
The verb "to be," I learned as a young girl in English class, is not a very strong one. It's boring and should be replaced with verbs that sugget activity and emotion.
I've come to realize that being isn't so bad; it's being alone that can kill you. This is the kind of starvation that killed Gregor. The Metamorphosis (Bantam Classics)
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Still important 100 years later.
Review: This collection of short stories was my first introduction to Kafka and I highly recommend picking this up for anyone thinking about reading his works. The short stories range in length from many pages to single paragraphs. Most of the stories shorter than 2 pages seemed pointless to me but the lengthier entries were excellent in their content and writing style.
Kafka's writing style is unique and really needs to be read to be understood. The word Kafkaesque now means something to me. I look forward to reading some of his novels to see if they match the power of and imagery of The Metamorphosis.
Bottom Line: Kafka is hip again and this is a good sampling of his short stories.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: The definition of a Kafka story
Review: Kafka is one of the unique geniuses of world - literature.
His stories are parables that have an uncanny quality about them, and so defy our simple understanding.
As Camus pointed out Kafka's stories demand rereading and reinterpreting again and again, without one ever having conviction that one has truly grasped the true meaning.
The beauty of this uncanniness, the strange power of these stories is the genius of Kafka.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: The Metamorphosis
Review: I am german. I have never read the english translation of "The Metamorphosis" and so I don't know how it is and how it sounds in english. I can only say that it is a really deep, intensive and wonderful story in german language. "Die Verwandlung" has really changed my way of thinking! It is a book like a mirror, you can lay your own feelings in it. Some think it is too dark, i think it is "life and life only".
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: refreshing
Review: Frankly, I have only read the Metamorphosis and the Penal Colony. I will admit that both were a bit unusual, but I fell in love with the Penal Colony. It's laconic, but extremely well-written (kudos to the translator). Given it's length, I'd suggest it to anyone looking for a shortcut to one of literature's masterpieces. As for the Metamorphosis, I cannot say the same. God only knows (as Kafka cannot tell us) what he meant with the transformation of Gregor into a vermin. I found that story simply bizarre, devoid of any blatant parallel.