What do you think?
Rate this book
Förvandlingen / Den sanningssökande hunden
"As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect. He was laying on his hard, as it were armor-plated, back and when he lifted his head a little he could see his domelike brown belly divided into stiff arched segments on top of which the bed quilt could hardly keep in position and was about to slide off completely. His numerous legs, which were pitifully thin compared to the rest of his bulk, waved helplessly before his eyes."
With this startling, bizarre, yet surprisingly funny first opening, Kafka begins his masterpiece, The Metamorphosis. It is the story of a young man who, transformed overnight into a giant beetle-like insect, becomes an object of disgrace to his family, an outsider in his own home, a quintessentially alienated man. A harrowing -- though absurdly comic -- meditation on human feelings of inadequacy, guilt, and isolation, The Metamorphosis has taken its place as one of the most widely read and influential works of twentieth-century fiction. As W.H. Auden wrote, "Kafka is important to us because his predicament is the predicament of modern man."
With this startling, bizarre, yet surprisingly funny first opening, Kafka begins his masterpiece, The Metamorphosis. It is the story of a young man who, transformed overnight into a giant beetle-like insect, becomes an object of disgrace to his family, an outsider in his own home, a quintessentially alienated man. A harrowing -- though absurdly comic -- meditation on human feelings of inadequacy, guilt, and isolation, The Metamorphosis has taken its place as one of the most widely read and influential works of twentieth-century fiction. As W.H. Auden wrote, "Kafka is important to us because his predicament is the predicament of modern man."
110 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1964
13 people are currently reading
47 people want to read
About the author
Franz Kafka
3,234 books38.7k followersFranz Kafka was a German-speaking writer from Prague whose work became one of the foundations of modern literature, even though he published only a small part of his writing during his lifetime. Born into a middle-class Jewish family in Prague, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Kafka grew up amid German, Czech, and Jewish cultural influences that shaped his sense of displacement and linguistic precision. His difficult relationship with his authoritarian father left a lasting mark, fostering feelings of guilt, anxiety, and inadequacy that became central themes in his fiction and personal writings.
Kafka studied law at the German University in Prague, earning a doctorate in 1906. He chose law for practical reasons rather than personal inclination, a compromise that troubled him throughout his life. After university, he worked for several insurance institutions, most notably the Workers Accident Insurance Institute for the Kingdom of Bohemia. His duties included assessing industrial accidents and drafting legal reports, work he carried out competently and responsibly. Nevertheless, Kafka regarded his professional life as an obstacle to his true vocation, and most of his writing was done at night or during periods of illness and leave. Kafka began publishing short prose pieces in his early adulthood, later collected in volumes such as Contemplation and A Country Doctor. These works attracted little attention at the time but already displayed the hallmarks of his mature style, including precise language, emotional restraint, and the application of calm logic to deeply unsettling situations. His major novels The Trial, The Castle, and Amerika were left unfinished and unpublished during his lifetime. They depict protagonists trapped within opaque systems of authority, facing accusations, rules, or hierarchies that remain unexplained and unreachable. Themes of alienation, guilt, bureaucracy, law, and punishment run throughout Kafka’s work. His characters often respond to absurd or terrifying circumstances with obedience or resignation, reflecting his own conflicted relationship with authority and obligation. Kafka’s prose avoids overt symbolism, yet his narratives function as powerful metaphors through structure, repetition, and tone. Ordinary environments gradually become nightmarish without losing their internal coherence. Kafka’s personal life was marked by emotional conflict, chronic self-doubt, and recurring illness. He formed intense but troubled romantic relationships, including engagements that he repeatedly broke off, fearing that marriage would interfere with his writing. His extensive correspondence and diaries reveal a relentless self-critic, deeply concerned with morality, spirituality, and the demands of artistic integrity. In his later years, Kafka’s health deteriorated due to tuberculosis, forcing him to withdraw from work and spend long periods in sanatoriums. Despite his illness, he continued writing when possible. He died young, leaving behind a large body of unpublished manuscripts. Before his death, he instructed his close friend Max Brod to destroy all of his remaining work. Brod ignored this request and instead edited and published Kafka’s novels, stories, and diaries, ensuring his posthumous reputation.
The publication of Kafka’s work after his death established him as one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century. The term Kafkaesque entered common usage to describe situations marked by oppressive bureaucracy, absurd logic, and existential anxiety. His writing has been interpreted through existential, religious, psychological, and political perspectives, though Kafka himself resisted definitive meanings. His enduring power lies in his ability to articulate modern anxiety with clarity and restraint.
Kafka studied law at the German University in Prague, earning a doctorate in 1906. He chose law for practical reasons rather than personal inclination, a compromise that troubled him throughout his life. After university, he worked for several insurance institutions, most notably the Workers Accident Insurance Institute for the Kingdom of Bohemia. His duties included assessing industrial accidents and drafting legal reports, work he carried out competently and responsibly. Nevertheless, Kafka regarded his professional life as an obstacle to his true vocation, and most of his writing was done at night or during periods of illness and leave. Kafka began publishing short prose pieces in his early adulthood, later collected in volumes such as Contemplation and A Country Doctor. These works attracted little attention at the time but already displayed the hallmarks of his mature style, including precise language, emotional restraint, and the application of calm logic to deeply unsettling situations. His major novels The Trial, The Castle, and Amerika were left unfinished and unpublished during his lifetime. They depict protagonists trapped within opaque systems of authority, facing accusations, rules, or hierarchies that remain unexplained and unreachable. Themes of alienation, guilt, bureaucracy, law, and punishment run throughout Kafka’s work. His characters often respond to absurd or terrifying circumstances with obedience or resignation, reflecting his own conflicted relationship with authority and obligation. Kafka’s prose avoids overt symbolism, yet his narratives function as powerful metaphors through structure, repetition, and tone. Ordinary environments gradually become nightmarish without losing their internal coherence. Kafka’s personal life was marked by emotional conflict, chronic self-doubt, and recurring illness. He formed intense but troubled romantic relationships, including engagements that he repeatedly broke off, fearing that marriage would interfere with his writing. His extensive correspondence and diaries reveal a relentless self-critic, deeply concerned with morality, spirituality, and the demands of artistic integrity. In his later years, Kafka’s health deteriorated due to tuberculosis, forcing him to withdraw from work and spend long periods in sanatoriums. Despite his illness, he continued writing when possible. He died young, leaving behind a large body of unpublished manuscripts. Before his death, he instructed his close friend Max Brod to destroy all of his remaining work. Brod ignored this request and instead edited and published Kafka’s novels, stories, and diaries, ensuring his posthumous reputation.
The publication of Kafka’s work after his death established him as one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century. The term Kafkaesque entered common usage to describe situations marked by oppressive bureaucracy, absurd logic, and existential anxiety. His writing has been interpreted through existential, religious, psychological, and political perspectives, though Kafka himself resisted definitive meanings. His enduring power lies in his ability to articulate modern anxiety with clarity and restraint.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
May 27, 2024
Förvandlingen var bra. Den sanningssökande hunden kändes som att läsa Platon
September 30, 2025
Svår att betygsätta då jag upplevde Förvandlingen och Den sanningssökande hunden väldigt olika. Skulle åtminstone rekommendera den förstnämnda.
3,5 ☆
3,5 ☆
Read
May 28, 2024Andra gånger jag läser förvandlingen😛 En sån novell man kan läsa hur många gånger som helst och ändå alltid få ut något av den. Den sanningssökande hunden hade jag aldrig hört talas om, vilket det förmodligen fanns skäl för. Det är egentligen bara en 40 sidors oavbruten monolog om en hunds filosofi. Om man inte är taggad på att aktivt analysera feberyrande tankar i en timme så tycker jag att man kan skippa den. Brukar tycka om kafkas noveller, men just den var inte värt det. Fanns fragment av banger påståenden dock.
May 8, 2022
Very short and sweet except it wasn't sweet and I got sad. But it was good
March 29, 2024
Gregor mycket bra 5/5 :) hunden lite flumm.
August 9, 2024
Den sanningssökande hunden - 3,5⭐️
December 27, 2024
Förvandlingen var toppen. Den sanningssökande hunden helt okej.
September 21, 2015
I have a fascination and a fondness for Kafka that I can explain about as well as I can his works. In other words, I'm not even going to try. Even if you do not immediately connect like me, you have to admit that he is a huge part of a literary history and heritage and should be considered on those grounds if not other. This book is 110 pages long and will affect the way you see things.
June 10, 2019
Förvandlingen tyckte jag mycket om men Den sanningssökande hunden gillade jag inte alls.
April 22, 2019
Den första delen, Förvandlingen, fann jag mycket läsvärd. Väldigt intressant trots att jag tyckte den var ganska svårtolkad. Som läsare var jag också lämnad med en ganska märklig känsla genom hela berättelsen, nästan lite ångest/oro laddat. Den andra boken, den sanningssökande hunden, däremot.. Tung, å svårläslig (men intressant/utmanande). Tog många dagar att traggla sig igenom den, men det va de nog värt! Ingen skönläsning för kvällsstunden dock 😅
October 17, 2025
Kul med Kafka! Förvandlingen får 4/5: Till vilket pris är man lojal till sin familj??? Skulle du älska mig om jag va en stor äcklig insekt??? Kanske är Kafka bara en OG bekräftelsesökande tjej! Tyckte den va kul och mycket upp till tolkning vilket va nice
Den sanningssökande hunden får 2/5 för den va otroligt svårläst och trist om en hund som gör vetenskapliga experiment och resonerar om vetenskap. Trist!
Den sanningssökande hunden får 2/5 för den va otroligt svårläst och trist om en hund som gör vetenskapliga experiment och resonerar om vetenskap. Trist!
April 18, 2025
Hurtigt læst - men man skal også have tungen lige i munden, for den er reeeet mærkelig. Mærkeligt at komme ind i hovedet på en bille - me. Måske ikke så mærkeligt at man får medlidenhed, når han udstødes af sin familie… er vi mennesker generelt så bange for det ukendte?
January 8, 2019
Gillade många delar av berättelsen men var för det mesta uttråkad när jag läste den...
May 25, 2024
Asså hunden var jätte flummig och var ganska borta när jag läste den, men Gregor var riktigt bra och får 5/5, den var liksom bliv typ ledsen men ah, men hunden gör så att den får en 4 istället
April 1, 2025
Good book. Love the language it’s written with, the imagination. Could read again because my mind was wandering, which isn’t bad, I usually let it happen.
July 17, 2015
I really liked the metamorphosis, but I couldn't really grasp the dog.
September 22, 2021
Metamorfosis contains a perfect mixture of comedy, metaforism, satire and realness. Enjoyable to the last page. "Den sanningssökare hunden" went straight over my head. Maybe need to revisit it later.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews