Kafka’s short novel Metamorphosis was first published in 1915 in an edition whose cover was illustrated with a picture of a man clutching his head in front of a half opened door. The famous story is about a man who wakes up to find that he has transformed into a beetle, although Kafka never uses the word ‘beetle’ in the book. In fact Kafka, who wrote in German, never even uses the German word for ‘insect’. He instead describes it as a Ungeziefer, the literal translation of which is "unclean animal not suitable for sacrifice". Colloquially it was used to mean a bug or vermin - a pretty vague word. The idea that it is a beetle probably derives from Kafka’s description of what Gregor Samsa, his hero, gets up to after his transformation – particularly his ability to scuttle up walls and under furniture. But at one point his father flings an apple at him which sinks into a soft part of his back and gets stuck there – something which does not entirely fit in with what might be expected to happen to a giant beetle with a hard exoskeleton. Kafka himself did use the word ‘insect’ when writing to his publisher – but this was in a letter in which he begged them not to illustrate the cover with a picture of the creature. In fact it is clear from the letter that this idea really horrified him. I think the point is that Kafka was experimenting with the amazing magical power of the written word. Yes the story is about alienation (and it certainly spoke to me as an angst-ridden teenager) but it is also about how, in writing, you can say the impossible and somehow the impossible happens inside the mind of the reader. What is more the reader will fill in the blanks. The creature that Gregor Samsa turns into is the right creature for each individual reader. For me it was a lesser stag beetle because that was something I was familiar with. For a lot of people it is a cockroach, although Nabokov, who was an expert on insects, declared that Kafka's creature could not be a cockroach as it doesn't fit in with his description. A quick glance at Amazon reveals five editions of the book on the first page – each of which ignores Kafka’s pleading by showing a picture of a beetle – some of which are very specific breeds. http://tinyurl.com/cpn3age So much for the wishes of the author – although you can sympathise with publishers – a man clutching his head does not really cut it either. Bizarrely, Metamorphosis has been adapted into a successful play as well – something which I feel Kafka would have also hated. I once saw a production in Prague, which I found arse-numbingly dull. Very little happens in the book in terms of action and character development and the vast majority of what we read constitutes the interior monologue of Gregor as he lies, locked in his room, contemplating his horrifying predicament. I won’t reveal what happens in case you have not read it. It is one of my favourite books of all time and I highly recommend it. I suggest you avoid looking at the cover if you want the authentic Kafka-approved experience – and avoid the play as you would a plague of cockroaches.
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