The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka (Free Audio Book in English Language)

This free audio book was read and recorded by David Lewis Richardson in March 2012, in Lancashire, England.

The book's text was translated from German/Deutsch into English by Ian Johnston.

Summary:
"The Metamorphosis" is a novella by Franz Kafka, first published in 1915 and one of his best known works. The story begins with a traveling salesman, Gregor Samsa, waking to find himself transformed into a horrible verminous creature. Terrifying in its banal simplicity, it became one of the seminal works of the twentieth century.

[sarcasmprophet]

The classical embodiment of "Would you still love me if I was a worm ?"

[sandeepsingh-weub]

Hats off to the narrator, who made it a 100 times better listen.

[MarkHalberstram]

The bit where Gregor drapes the sheet over the couch to spare his loved ones the pain of seeing him, hoping they will remove the sheet, and silently accepting it when they do not, almost made me cry.

[sierrafarnum]

I think this book is about a guy who forms severe depression or a physical illness that makes him unable to support his family like he used to. He feels guilty for not doing so and the mental or physical illness makes others look down on him, he can't communicate with others and he feels more like a burden than a person.

[crunchwrapp]

Thirty two minutes in the impression of Gregor I have gotten is a man who is so focused on everything else; work, family, reputation, reliability, etc. that even if he woke up as a insect practically disabled until he learned a new set of cognitive skills, he would still blame himself for being late for work.

[AntDoesStuff_]

People here from english class but im here from genuine interest waking up as a depressed bug with a abusive family sucks

[hansonwinx]

Funny to realize that the time-span of the entire story, from his first change to his death (and even after his death), the family is still living on Gregor's money, as he had said he left them enough to last for at least 2 years! Dark comedy like this describe human's treacherous and self-justifying nature so perfectly!

[apdoblackpearl]

Besides feeling anger, sadness and grief over how Gregor is treated because we can so relate to him, what about the moments when we are like the conniving and entitled lodgers, the unbearable boss, the ungrateful family, the friends that disappear or the uncaring stranger ... the book inspires empathy told from a perspective of understanding

[Nikkizsche]

:( that was fucking depressing. Some people die not knowing their worth or living to the fullest while others die in the luxury of knowing that they lived a life and a worthy one. Poor Kafka. If only he knew the impact his books would have left and that he was a great writer.

[OrthodoxChristian]

Everyone turns their backs on those who become depressed or mentally ill. They consider your death to be preferable to having you around as you become an embarrassing burden.

[gbdeck]

story was just so sad, he always thought of his family and they ended up treating him poorly
just such miscommunication
sad end and they'll never know he cared

[SokwanNhep]

00:20 Chapter 1 Part 1
24:00 Chapter 1 Part 2
41:47  Chapter 2 part 1 
1:04:22 Chapter 2 part 2
 1:28:07 Chapter 3 part 1  
 1:56:13 Chapter 3 part 2

[csc]

Chapter One 0:00
Chapter Two 41:45
Chapter Three 1:28:04

[gennyyy]

Gregor was possibly going through regrets and discouragement from others as he fills his mind with problems. He might be disabled or had a physical injury. For instance, "It struck him how easy all of this would be if someone were to come to his aid. Two strong people would have been quite sufficient. They would have only had to push their arms under his arched back to get him out of bed". Therefore, this shows he feels like a burden to his family since his purpose before was to work and pay off a debt his family owes.

[Cbear]

It kills me that she was like "if only he could understand us. :(" LIKE DUDE YOU DIDNT TRY TO SEE IF HE COULD

[irenefang]

Sadly, from the chapter 1, even when the family was not aware of the problem of Gregor yet but somehow they showed some negative attitude towards the poor man simply because they were afraid of him losing his job rather than worried about his health. The poor didn’t even take a day off for many years to make a living for the family but still…

[dudewithaniphone]

This is a sad story some of us can relate to. The exact same thing happened to me, except I transformed into a blind mole. I spent weeks digging around in my basement as my wife and kids got more and more annoyed that I wasn't producing like I used to. Finally one of them (I don't know who) "accidentally" stepped on me and squashed me, and they eventually found a better person to care for them, although word on the street is the new guy is looking more and more mole-like every day.

[kristenspencer]

This makes just want to go back in time and give Franz Kafka a hug 👊🏼😩

[CouchMan]

The metamorphosis was not just of Gregor into a bug but it’s about the family changing, mostly the sister at the end. Gregor sacrificed his life for his family but it made them weak and they had to rely on him for everything. His family had to learn to provide and care for themselves.

Gregor took care of all 3 of his family members himself and didn’t complain. Then when the tables get turned the 3 of them could hardly care for Gregor combined and they didn’t want to do it because it was a burden for them. In the end the family was better off without him but if Gregor not became a bug he still would have sacrificed his own life and happiness for his family.

[offensivebird]

Poor Franz Kafka really said :" would you love me if I was a worm"