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The Metamorphosis and Other Stories (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)
 
 
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The Metamorphosis and Other Stories (Barnes & Noble Classics Series) [Hardcover]

Franz Kafka (Author), Donna Freed (Author), Jason Baker (Introduction)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)


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Book Description

September 20, 2004 Barnes & Noble Classics
The Metamorphosis and Other Stories, by Franz Kafka, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics:
New introductions commissioned from today's top writers and scholars Biographies of the authors Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events Footnotes and endnotes Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work Comments by other famous authors Study questions to challenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations Bibliographies for further reading Indices & Glossaries, when appropriateAll editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. Barnes & Noble Classics pulls together a constellation of influences—biographical, historical, and literary—to enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works.

 
Virtually unknown during his lifetime, Franz Kafka is now one of the world’s most widely read and discussed authors. His nightmarish novels and short stories have come to symbolize modern man’s anxiety and alienation in a bizarre, hostile, and dehumanized world. This vision is most fully realized in Kafka’s masterpiece, “The Metamorphosis,” a story that is both harrowing and amusing, and a landmark of modern literature.

Bringing together some of Kafka’s finest work, this collection demonstrates the richness and variety of the author’s artistry. “The Judgment,” which Kafka considered to be his decisive breakthrough, and “The Stoker,” which became the first chapter of his novel Amerika, are here included. These two, along with “The Metamorphosis,” form a suite of stories Kafka referred to as “The Sons,” and they collectively present a devastating portrait of the modern family.



Also included are “In the Penal Colony,” a story of a torture machine and its operators and victims, and “A Hunger Artist,” about the absurdity of an artist trying to communicate with a misunderstanding public. Kafka’s lucid, succinct writing chronicles the labyrinthine complexities, the futility-laden horror, and the stifling oppressiveness that permeate his vision of modern life.

Jason Baker is a writer of short stories living in Brooklyn, New York.



Editorial Reviews

Review

aI think of a Kafka story as a perfect work of literary art, as approachable as it is strange, and as strange as it is approachable.a
aMichael Hofmann --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: German --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 224 pages
  • Publisher: Barnes & Noble Classics (September 20, 2004)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1593081804
  • ISBN-13: 978-1593081805
  • Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,181,517 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

31 Reviews
5 star:
 (14)
4 star:
 (9)
3 star:
 (4)
2 star:
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1 star:
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Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (31 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Kindle edition not the translation advertised, August 25, 2010
I'm sure you will be shocked to learn the Kindle edition is NOT the Michael Hofmann translation. Amazon, do a better job.
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23 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Look, I'm a Bug!, June 13, 2002
"Look, I'm a Bug!" No, no, no... the plight of Gregor Samsa as he awoke as a beetle is no laughing matter. In this tidy little Dover edition, Kafka's famous short story breathes of the futility and alienation men face, and the fear in the midst of it all.

"The Metamorphosis and Other Stories" is worth every penny.

The beauty of the Dover edition is the ability to sample Kafka, rather than indulge in a complete works. He is not for everyone, but at such an inexpensive price, you'll get to taste his style and complex ideas.

Note that there are several stories here, including the oddly-styled one paragraph "A Country Doctor," which effectively challenges the view of common man of the almost godlike pedestal we put doctors on.

Stories include:
The Judgment
The Metamorphosis
In a Penal Colony
A Country Doctor
A Report to an Academy

I fully recommend "The Metamorphosis and Other Stories" by Franz Kafka. The price can't be beat, and would make a great addition to a larger Amazon purchase.

Anthony Trendl

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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Bewilderingly blunt and terrifying. Sizzling in frustration., May 9, 1999
By A Customer
Kafka presents to the reader a shockingly horrific account of a man, subservient to his aging parents' financial needs, awakening one morning to find himself a bug. Readers are awestruck by his response to this, as Gregor's immediate thoughts shift to fear of missing the train and the "five or six years of debts" he must pay to his employer on behalf of his parents. Struggling with such "arbitrary confusion", Gregor's journey through several months of living with his disastrous calamity is horrific to his audience in it's disgusting truth in the thrill of the routine and thus we see that this metamorphosis is really strictly a physical one, as Gregor has always been an "insect" and object of income to the household. Splendidly executed, Kafka provokes otherwise dormant sentiments of passiveness and futility in his reader and ultimately elicits bewildering feelings of helplessly gradual servility and suppression in one's environment.
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