- Paperback: 85 pages
- Publisher: Lulu.com (Jun 28 2008)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1435726197
- ISBN-13: 978-1435726192
- Product Dimensions: 22.9 x 15.2 x 0.6 cm
- Shipping Weight: 181 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Kuper has adapted short works by Kafka into comics before, but here he tackles the most famous one of all: the jet-black comedy that ensues after the luckless Gregor Samsa turns into a gigantic bug. The story loses a bit in translation (and the typeset text looks awkward in the context of Kuper's distinctly handmade drawings). A lot of the humor in the original comes from the way Kafka plays the story's absurdities absolutely deadpan, and the visuals oversell the joke, especially since Kuper draws all the human characters as broad caricatures. Even so, he works up a suitably creepy frisson, mostly thanks to his drawing style. Executed on scratchboard, it's a jittery, woodcut-inspired mass of sharp angles that owes a debt to both Frans Masereel (a Belgian woodcut artist who worked around Kafka's time) and MAD magazine's Will Elder. The knotty walls and floors of the Samsas' house look like they're about to dissolve into dust. In the book's best moments, Kuper lets his unerring design sense and command of visual shorthand carry the story. The jagged forms on the huge insect's belly are mirrored by folds in business clothes; thinking about the debt his parents owe his employer, Gregor imagines his insectoid body turning into money slipping through an hourglass. Every thing and person in this Metamorphosis seems silhouetted and carved, an effect that meshes neatly with Kafka's sense of nightmarish unreality.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From School Library Journal
Adult/High School-Gregor Samsa wakes up and discovers he has been changed into a giant cockroach. Thus begins "The Metamorphosis," and Kuper translates this story masterfully with his scratchboard illustrations. The text is more spare, but the visuals are so strongly rendered that little of the original is changed or omitted. Though the story remains set in Kafka's time, Kuper has added some present-day touches, such as fast-food restaurants, that do not detract from the tale. He has used the medium creatively, employing unusual perspectives and panel shapes, and text that even crawls on the walls and ceilings, as Gregor does. The roach has an insect body but human facial expressions. Once he is pelted with the apple, readers can watch his rapid decline, as his body becomes more wizened and his face more gaunt. This is a faithful rendition rather than an illustrated abridgment.
Jamie Watson, Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Jamie Watson, Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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First Sentence
One morning, as Gregor Samsa was waking up from anxious dreams, he discovered that in bed he had been changed into a monstrous verminous bug. Read the first page
Front Cover | Table of Contents | Excerpt
One morning, as Gregor Samsa was waking up from anxious dreams, he discovered that in bed he had been changed into a monstrous verminous bug. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | Excerpt
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gripping introspective drama,
By
This review is from: The Metamorphosis (Hardcover)
First of all, I have to admit that I have never read Kafka's original story, although I did have a passing familiarity with it prior to picking up this graphic novel. I had never heard of Peter Kuper before.To say the least, I was pleasantly surprised by this graphic novel. To say a bit more, it was astoundingly good, full of gripping yet understated human drama... The story is that of a traveling salesman who awakens to find he has been transformed into a bug. The story deals with his family's reaction to this, and the course of his life afterward. Although the story is very subdued in many ways, it drew me in in a way that few graphic novels have been able to accomplish. Kuper is heavily influenced by many of Will Eisner's visual storytelling techniques, which he uses to great effect here. (IMHO, I feel he uses the techniques more effectively than Eisner did most of the time.) The artwork reminds me of some underground comics I've seen, and perfectly complements the character-based story. Bravo to the Mr. Kuper: He has visualized Kafka's story in a way that makes it feel as if this is the way the story was meant to be told. Now, I only have to pick up the original story to find out for sure...
3.0 out of 5 stars
WARNING: Review of the graphic novel version only,
By
This review is from: The Metamorphosis (Hardcover)
When I first saw this graphic novel in the store, my first reaction was confusion. I already owned the print version of the Metamorphosis and I remember reading that Kafka pleaded with the editor that Gregor-as-insect never be drawn (something that's been honored since then. The closest thing I ever saw was one book that's cover had antennae poking up from behind a bed). So now Kuper makes a graphic novel version? It struck me as disrespectful in a way, but then again Kafka also wanted his best friend to burn his works, and his friend never did. So why should we hold Kuper to a higher standard?In the meantime, after browsing through the book (I didn't read it word for word... or buy the book. I mean, I've read the story before and own it.) I was struck by how powerful it was. Kuper does a wonderful job of conveying Gregor's pain and lonliness, and the flashbacks to his life before the transformation make his struggle all the more heartbreaking. So all in all, it's a wonderful creation. But I don't give it five stars because I'm still wondering if it should have been made at all.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.4 out of 5 stars (45 customer reviews) 37 of 38 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A recommended read,
By Maria Savva - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Metamorphosis (Paperback)
A man wakes up one day to find he has been changed into a large insect/beetle. The story follows his efforts to deal with this, and his family's reaction to the change. But it's not just a story about a man turning into a beetle, it's a clever way of writing about how a family would deal with the main breadwinner in the house becoming unable to work, and also on a wider scope, the way a family (and the world at large) reacts to someone who is disabled, or terminally ill. It could also be an analogy for how a family treats a member of the family who is now old and needs to be cared for. The man who is now a beetle, is forced to live in his room, shut away from the world, for fear that he will frighten anyone who enters the house. The man who once provided for the family, and thought of them above himself, has now become a burden on them, as they are now short of money, and have to find employment. The once able and hard-working man, transformed into a beetle, is now rejected, and his family blame him for their financial situation and the fact that they cannot move to a smaller house, because they need to have a room to keep him in.The descriptive quality of the writing is excellent, and although it is a sad and gruesome tale, it is also very funny in parts; I couldn't help laughing out loud a couple of times. The main thing that struck me, was that even though this story is nearly 100 years old, it is still totally relevant to today's world (and I'm not sure that's something we should be proud of) 8 of 10 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is a review for the CD audiobook ! ! !,
By John J. Martinez - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Metamorphosis (Audio CD)
It seems EVERYONE has an opinion about the BOOK, but I came here to read reviews about THE CD AUDIOBOOK, and there aren't any. So, for those of you who want to wade through all the high-horse critiques about what it meant to them yadda-yadda-yadda for the thousandth time and simply want to know how and what the CD sounds like, here it is:The 2 CD set is excellently crafted, the vocals of Martin Jarvis are clear and a small baroque-style accompaniment occasionally plays behind him. The unabridged work is presented here straight-forwardly, and presented as if Franz was relating it to you. The sound is clear and fresh, 9/10. This CD is worth the purchase price. You all know the book, you all know what it may or may not mean, but if you're willing to LISTEN TO IT IN AN AUDIOBOOK FORM, this is the version for you. So, that's pretty much it. Thanks for reading, and check out my (hopefully) not too biased other reviews here online. 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting Book,
By sagwa - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Metamorphosis (Paperback)
This is a very thought provocing book. Everyone needs to read and think about.We all need to think about how we treat people and how we want to be treated. |
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