The Metamorphosis (Bantam Classics (Pb))

Kafka, Franz

ISBN 10: 0808509721 ISBN 13: 9780808509721

Publisher: Turtleback Books, 1999

Synopsis

"When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin." With this startling, bizarre, yet surprisingly funny first sentence, Kafka begins his masterpiece, "The Metamorphosis." It is the story of a young man who, transformed overnight into a giant beetlelike insect, becomes an object of disgrace to his family, an outsider in his own home, a quintessentially alienated man. A harrowing -- though absurdly comic -- meditation on human feelings of inadequecy, guilt, and isolation, "The Metamorphosis" has taken its place as one of the mosst widely read and influential works of twentieth-century fiction. As W.H. Auden wrote, "Kafka is important to us because his predicament is the predicament of modern man."

About this title

Review

" Kafka' s stoic Euro-alienation meets and merges with Kuper' s thoroughly American rock and roll alienation." -- Jules Feiffer
" The ride from book to comic can be bumpy. Mr. Kuper navigates the transition with precision." -- New York Times
" Kafka' s anguished archetypal characters are easily rendered into visual equivalents and given new life in Kuper' s raw, expressionistic graphic style." -- Publishers Weekly
" Darkly appropriate . . . Kuper' s work rivals that of Art Spiegelman." -- Chicago Sun-Times
" Bubbling beneath the surface is a caustic batch of black humor that is as much unsettling as it is absurd. This is the magic of Kafka. And Kuper gives it a postmodern edge here, with an intriguing dance of picture and text." -- Gannett News Service
" Kuper' s scratchboard style . . . is reminiscent of the German expressionist artists . . . and his cartoony approach accentuates Kafka' s dark humor." -- Booklist

"From the Hardcover edition."

Kafka s stoic Euro-alienation meets and merges with Kuper s thoroughly American rock and roll alienation. Jules Feiffer
The ride from book to comic can be bumpy. Mr. Kuper navigates the transition with precision. New York Times
Kafka s anguished archetypal characters are easily rendered into visual equivalents and given new life in Kuper s raw, expressionistic graphic style. Publishers Weekly
Darkly appropriate . . . Kuper s work rivals that of Art Spiegelman. Chicago Sun-Times
Bubbling beneath the surface is a caustic batch of black humor that is as much unsettling as it is absurd. This is the magic of Kafka. And Kuper gives it a postmodern edge here, with an intriguing dance of picture and text. Gannett News Service
Kuper s scratchboard style . . . is reminiscent of the German expressionist artists . . . and his cartoony approach accentuates Kafka s dark humor. Booklist

From the Hardcover edition."

"Kafka's stoic Euro-alienation meets and merges with Kuper's thoroughly American rock and roll alienation."--Jules Feiffer

"The ride from book to comic can be bumpy. Mr. Kuper navigates the transition with precision."--New York Times

"Kafka's anguished archetypal characters are easily rendered into visual equivalents and given new life in Kuper's raw, expressionistic graphic style."--Publishers Weekly

"Darkly appropriate . . . Kuper's work rivals that of Art Spiegelman."--Chicago Sun-Times

"Bubbling beneath the surface is a caustic batch of black humor that is as much unsettling as it is absurd. This is the magic of Kafka. And Kuper gives it a postmodern edge here, with an intriguing dance of picture and text."--Gannett News Service

"Kuper's scratchboard style . . . is reminiscent of the German expressionist artists . . . and his cartoony approach accentuates Kafka's dark humor."--Booklist

From the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-language novelist and short story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work, which fuses elements of realism and the fantastic, typically features isolated protagonists faced by bizarre or surrealistic predicaments and incomprehensible social-bureaucratic powers, and has been interpreted as exploring themes of alienation, existential anxiety, guilt, and absurdity His best known works include "Die Verwandlung" ("The Metamorphosis"), Der Process (The Trial), and Das Schloss (The Castle). The term Kafkaesque has entered the English language to describe situations like those in his writing.

Edition details

• Publisher: Turtleback Books
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0808509721
• ISBN 13: 9780808509721
• Binding: School & Library Binding
• Number of pages: 224