The Metamorphosis
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Summary
Editor's review
In literary terms, the work pioneered modernist literature, and its cool, precise, metaphor-laden narration has influenced countless later writers. This Shanghai Translation Publishing House edition uses an authoritative translation that accurately conveys Kafka's distinctive sense of estrangement and oppression. Notably, the seemingly plain details—such as the family's shift from horror to tolerance to final rejection of Gregor—are precisely the most penetrating parts, quietly revealing the fragility of human nature before interest and habit.
Reading The Metamorphosis is not only a literary experience but an examination of the modern human condition. In today's highly rationalized, efficiency-driven age, the parable Kafka wrote a century ago retains startling relevance. It prompts us to ask: when a person loses "usefulness," how is the value of his existence to be defined? When alienation becomes the norm, are we not also, unknowingly, undergoing some kind of "metamorphosis"?
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Readers interested in modernist literature and existentialist philosophy
- Thinkers seeking to understand the alienation and spiritual predicament of modern people
- Literature lovers who appreciate cool, precise, metaphor-rich narrative
- Beginners preparing to study Kafka's oeuvre in depth
Not a good fit for
- Readers expecting light entertainment or intricate plots
- Readers with low tolerance for oppressive, absurd styles
Reading tips
- Do not over-focus on the concrete image of the "insect"; focus on the relational alienation the transformation brings
- Pay attention to the subtle process of the family's changing attitude—key to understanding the novel's social critique
- Read alongside Kafka's biography and letters to understand the personal experience and universal metaphor in his writing
About the publisher
Shanghai Translation Publishing House is a Chinese publisher oriented mainly toward translation and publishing. Its publications cover foreign literature, world classics and classic works, as well as social culture, folk literature and classical poetry. The database contains 2,618 titles, including Never Let Me Go, Les Misérables (2 volumes), Don Quixote (illustrated collector's edition), The Complete Comedies of Molière (4 volumes), The Complete Novels of Kafka (3 volumes), The Collected Works of Dostoevsky (9-volume set), Reason and Persons, and Oedipus Rex (Translation Classics). Its author resources include foreign writers such as Kazuo Ishiguro, Victor Hugo, Cervantes and Molière, as well as translators such as Zheng Kelu, Sun Jiameng, Li Jianwu and Zhang Kun. The publisher has brands such as "Translation Classics Selections" and "Translation Documentary," and emphasizes translated works in foreign literature and the humanities and social sciences, while also publishing bilingual dictionaries and foreign-language educational books. Public information is limited; the above is based on the book information in the database.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 译本序
- 第一辑 生前问世之作
- 1. 观察
- 2. 判决 ——献给费莉丝·鲍尔小姐
- 3. 变形记
- 4. 在流放地
- 5. 乡村医生
- 6. 饥饿艺术家
- 第二辑 散落发表、未被作者本人 收入集子里的短篇小说
- 1. 和祈祷者的谈话
- 2. 和醉汉的谈话
- 3. 巨大的噪声
- 4. 骑桶人
- 第三辑 短篇小说遗作
- 1. 一次战斗纪实
- 2. 乡村婚礼筹备
- 3. 乡村教师（巨鼹）
- 4. 布鲁姆费尔德，一个上了年纪的单身汉
- 5. 桥
- 6. 猎人格拉胡斯
- 7. 中国长城建造时
- 8. 叩击庄园大门
- 9. 邻居
- 10. 杂种
- 11. 日常的困惑
- 12. 有关桑丘·潘沙的真相
- 13. 塞壬们的沉默
- 14. 普罗米修斯
- 15. 城徽
- 16. 海神波塞冬
- 17. 集体
- 18. 夜
- 19. 拒绝
- 20. 关于法律问题
- 21. 征兵
- 22. 考试
- 23. 兀鹰
- 24. 舵手
- 25. 陀螺
- 26. 小寓言
- 27. 回家
- 28. 起程
- 29. 代言人
- 30. 一条狗的研究
- 31. 夫妇
- 32. 算了吧
- 33. 论譬喻
- 34. 地洞
- 35. 副检察官
- 36. 中国人来访
- 37. 一个有虚荣心的年轻大学生
- 38. 祖父的讲述
- 39. 在阁楼上
- 40. 遗产
- 41. 角斗沙场
- 42. 猎人格拉胡斯
- 43. 红彼德
- 44. 我的两只手
- 45. 每一个人都有自己的独特性
- 附录
FAQ
Why does the protagonist turn into an insect rather than another animal?
Is this novel a pure fantasy?
How should the ending be understood?
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About the author
Franz Kafka (1883–1924) was an Austrian writer of German-language fiction, born into a Jewish merchant family in Prague. He studied law and worked for an insurance company. Over his lifetime he wrote numerous novels and short stories, including The Metamorphosis, The Trial, and The Castle. Kafka often used allegorical and absurd prose to depict alienation, loneliness, and powerlessness under modern bureaucracy and social pressure, and his plots frequently carry a nightmarish, symbolic quality. His work attracted little wide attention during his lifetime, but later came to be regarded as an important precursor of twentieth-century modernist literature, with a lasting influence on narrative fiction and existential themes. This site carries 26 of his works, including collected novels, individual volumes, and translated selections, commonly classified under classics, social fiction, foreign literature, and essays and miscellaneous writings.
Public information about Zhang Rongchang is limited, and no clear record of his identity or career is available. Judging from the twelve works held in the library, however, he is known to Chinese readers mainly as a translator of German-language literature. His representative translations include the three-volume Collected Novels of Kafka, The Metamorphosis, The Castle, and Robert Musil's long novel The Man Without Qualities in two volumes, as well as The Metamorphosis: Selected Short Stories of Kafka. These works are generally classified as classics, social novels, and foreign literature, and they focus on modernist writing about the individual's situation, bureaucratic systems, and problems of identity. His translations are generally faithful and fluent, preserving the cool, meticulous narrative rhythm of the originals and offering Chinese readers a relatively reliable text for understanding Kafka and Musil.
