Interestingly, metamorphosis was one of Escher's favorite subjects, and three of his most famous woodcuts share this title with Kafka's novella. Rather than a linear argument, Kafka writes a spiral one, which often makes readers dizzy, if not seasick. As if leading the reader up and down endless staircases of logic, Kafka focuses on multiple dualities at once, all of which crisscross in three dimensions. Actually, Escher's imagery offers a useful way to visualize Kafka's literature.

His literary puzzles resemble the unreal landscapes and structures of M. Kafka's writing is on the one hand specific and realistic, and on the other incomprehensible. Kafka was no doubt aware of the resulting awkwardness, and perhaps he hoped to hide from future readers when he asked his confidant Max Brod to destroy all his unpublished manuscripts upon his death. He is the greatest German writer of our time.From Jason Baker's Introduction to The Metamorphosis and Other Storiesįranz Kafka's fiction doesn't make sense. London Review of BooksĪ complex, tender meditation on art, family and resistance. Times Literary SupplementĪ richly textured and syncopated book, alternately erudite and irreverent. While this book deals with distress, physical pain and uncertainty, its wry humour and lightness of touch make it anything but a misery memoir. is written by an entertaining storyteller and offers a rare insight into a situation that few people will have to face, but that it does us good to contemplate.

Magical: pages speed by, fuelled by the author's formidable intellect. has written a memoir that is not miserable. it persuasively builds the case for the ability of stories to offer hope and solace to help us become ourselves, over and over, even in extremis. What he gives us isn't just the story of an illness but a story about the importance of stories. Observerįor all its grim subject the book is an unexpected delight. Sunday TimesĪ brilliant account of one man's tilted world following a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. buoyantly written, piercingly perceptive book. riveting account of the metamorphosis he has endured. The TimesĪn outstanding feat of bravery and brio. it is simply a beautiful piece of writing. Metamorphosis is the best book I have read about multiple sclerosis, and that is because it is about so much more. Jacqueline Wilson, author of The Story of Tracy Beaker Natalie Haynes, author of A Thousand ShipsĪ pitch-perfect memoir: stylish, erudite, touchingly honest and darkly funny. It is what the best writing should be: a book that will stay with you for life. This is a beautiful and devastating portrayal of a life-changing diagnosis.

Metamorphosis and other stories