I read a little on Franz Kafka and Metamorphosis before cracking open the book to get some background. I realized it’s a shame that I can’t read the original. If Franz Kafka was a de facto genius/influential writer, I haven’t been able to see that for myself – perhaps due to my lack of depth. But I do see how he differed from writers of his time (perhaps) and of our time. He was blunt and straightforward. Most of his characters truly revealed the ugly in us. He was so morbid it was funny at times.

I wasn’t really surprised by the plot. From the moment his sister turned her back on Gregor – or maybe even before that – I had the feeling that the readers will never get the catharsis they hope for. The boulder kept rolling downhill eventually rolled off a cliff. I wasn’t surprised by the way Gregor’s father treated him either. Kafka based Gregor’s father on his own to some degree, so I’m sure there are many Gregor’s Fathers out there. Fathers that take their children for granted; fathers that don’t really care all that much about their children; fathers that would leave their children to die if they turned into vermin.

No. What really didn’t sit well with me was Gregor. It’s really hard to believe that a guy like him can exist in real life. We know that Gregor was also based on Kafka to some degree. My mind took a wild leap and concluded that deep down, Kafka wanted to make Gregor as good as he possibly can be to the very end. Kafka was unhappy with his life and himself; he probably found many flaws within himself. Gregor’s altruism was his greatest strength and weakness. And Kafka played this to the point where Gregor just seemed out of this world. Either that, or Gregor had mental issues.

The strange thing is, the only music that played through my mind throughout this book was Nat King Cole’s “Smile.” This is cheesy, but I’m sure that many of us just really wished happiness for poor Gregor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN8oLGBNXpE