The Metamorphosis

I am sure we've all had one of those mornings where nothing worked out right: Your alarm doesn't go off, your car won't start, and your breakfast ends up on your only clean outfit. (Please tell me it's not just me with the crazy mornings!) Well, as crappy as all of our days can be on occasion, we can at least take solace in the fact that we've never awakened to discover that we've turned into a gigantic beetle overnight (or at least I hope we can take solace in this), which is exactly what happens to Gregor Samsa, the protagonist of Franz Kafka's eerie classic The Metamorphosis.

I adore Kafka's work, especially his short stories, and this novella is one of my favorites. As a reader, his recurring theme of alienation has always struck a chord with me; as a writer, his superb craftsmanship has always been an inspiration to me. I also find his personal story one of literature's most quietly tragic (Poor lonely Franz...), but that's a story for another post. I love the way Kafka combines mundane reality with out-of-this world fantasy, which is certainly showcased in The Metamorphosis. One of the main reasons I love this story is that Kafka never explains why Gregor is turned into a bug. I think that would have ruined this story, because, really, the fact that he is a bug is one of the least of his problems, though it does complicate things. Kafka, instead, focuses his attention on the fall-out from Gregor's change, and the result is a tragic, absurd, disturbing allegory, though exactly what Kafka is allegorizing is fodder for endless debate.

Gregor is a somewhat pathetic character that I can't help pitying, but his dysfunctional family and their reactions to his state are also key components of this story--ones that are both amusing and heartbreaking. Their vain attempts to cope with Gregor's transformation forms a vital crux of this novel, particularly the ever-present alienation theme. The tragicomic interactions between Gregor and his relatives, and the world around him in general, are the highlight of this story, precisely because they ring true. I also love the surreal atmosphere that Kafka creates with his droll, meticulous style. This novella amuses me, saddens me, and creeps me out all at once. I never can read it without getting that creepy-crawly feeling I get when a bug crawls on me. (I have to read this several times this week for lit. to prepare for quizzes. This is making my homework sessions memorable...)

Though I love this story, I will admit: It's weird. It may be a bit too weird for everyone's personal taste. (I once read a comment on Sparklife that said certain things just should not be thought up. And Kafka's The Metamorphosis was one of them.) I disagree with the aforementioned sentiment--obviously. I love the originality of Kafka and think the uniqueness of his work is the point. But I can't deny that his work, and this story in particular, won't freak you out.

I highly recommend Kafka's The Metamorphosis, if only because the premise is so innovative and the execution of it is so masterful. Kafka is one of the premier voices in modernist literature...and for good reason. If you've never read Kafka before, this thirty page novella is the perfect introduction.

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Next Week: Not sure. My schedule is going to get crazy. Maybe a review. Maybe a list. We'll see. If it is a list, it will probably be a list of the books I'd want with me if I were shipwrecked.

However, as busy as I will be, you can catch up with me at my second blog: Grammatically Motivated. I have been meaning to start a second blog, to post non-book related articles, but haven't had time. My faulty logic is that now that I am going to have limited time, it may be easier to write articles that don't require me to read ahead of time. Tis the theory, anyway...

Also, I am thinking about ending "The Unblogged Chronicles". I have been disappointed with this series. I think they're too long without being in-depth enough and lack a unifying theme. Therefore, I am considering halting that series. Any thoughts? Want me to kill the "Chronicles" or do you request mercy?

Don't forget: I can pester you on Twitter now. :D　

All Quiet on the Western Front

Paul Bäumer and his classmates were impressionable teenagers when they signed up to serve in the German army during WWI. They enter the military as idealistic young soldiers, but years of brutal trench combat hardens Paul and his comrades into disillusioned cynics. As the war drags on, Paul begins to question the war's purpose, yet he finds himself incapable of imagining himself in a world without the war which he has come to despise.

All Quiet on the Western Front is a stunning novel. This is one of the most moving novels I've ever read. Author Erich Maria Remarque served in the German military during WWI, and the remarkable amount of detail he uses to describe battle scenes and military life in general adds an exceptional layer of realism to this novel. I have never read more gut wrenching descriptions of battle - several scenes left me teary-eyed and physically ill. I also adored the characters. The sensitive, perceptive Paul is an endearing narrator and his friends, including the resourceful Kat, vindictive Tjaden, and bullheaded Muller are memorable. I always have read that All Quiet on the Western Front is a biting condemnation of war, so I expected to find a lot of blatant pacifistic philosophizing. I don't mind this in a book, (I actually enjoy it), but I do not enjoy being beaten over the head with it. I was relieved that Remarque didn't resort to such heavy-handed tactics. A lesser author would have blatantly told the reader that war was terrible; Remarque, on the other hand, shows the reader the horror of war and his book is all the more compelling because of it.

I watched the classic 1930 film adaptation of this book before I read it. I loved the movie and that's why I became interested in this book. When it comes to films vs. movies, I am usually biased in favor of whichever I encountered first. Not this time. The movie is excellent, but the book is much, much better. The movie stays with the story, for the most part, but the book has so many touching vignettes, which range from amusing to heartbreaking, that add atmosphere, humor, and character development that a film just cannot achieve. I do like the film's striking, famous end scene over the novel's more anticlimatic ending, but it's two entirely different mediums, so a comparision is a bit unfair.

All Quiet on The Western Front is an intense, powerful tale about courage and camaraderie. I highly recommend this excellent novel. I wish I would've read it sooner.

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Next Time: Welllll, it depends. I want to open up the new year with that list of book links and updates to my blog that I have been promising forever. I also want to review Gary Paulsen's Hatchet, which comes highly recommended to me by my dear friend Bev. If I can get Hatchet read before Friday, I will post the review and then do a post on the book links over the weekend. If I don't get it finished in time, my post on my new blog look will be the first one of the new year and then Hatchet will follow.