On the surface, The Metamorphosis reads like a nightmare about alienation.
Gregor Samsa wakes up one morning as a giant insect and slowly loses the love of his family. But symbolically, it’s saying a lot more than that.
Gregor’s transformation just makes visible what was already true: he was valued for his usefulness, not for who he was. The bug form is a picture of modern life, where people get dehumanized, turned into parts of a machine, reduced to what they can produce. In that sense, Kafka’s story is almost apocalyptic: the veil lifts, and we see the spiritual reality of the modern “machine world.”
There’s also a haunting twist on the Incarnation here. Instead of God becoming man to heal creation, man becomes beast to carry the weight of a world that’s cut itself off from grace.
I was about to add Ethan Frome but now I'll suggest Summer by Edith Wharton. Also The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, Billy Budd by Herman Melville, Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, and Dr. Fischer of Geneva by Graham Greene.
I just finished Picture of Dorian Gray, took me just short of one week.....the entire time I kept thinking, I swore I've read this before, but I couldn't remember how it ended. Still not sure if I had read it before.
On the surface, The Metamorphosis reads like a nightmare about alienation.
Gregor Samsa wakes up one morning as a giant insect and slowly loses the love of his family. But symbolically, it’s saying a lot more than that.
Gregor’s transformation just makes visible what was already true: he was valued for his usefulness, not for who he was. The bug form is a picture of modern life, where people get dehumanized, turned into parts of a machine, reduced to what they can produce. In that sense, Kafka’s story is almost apocalyptic: the veil lifts, and we see the spiritual reality of the modern “machine world.”
There’s also a haunting twist on the Incarnation here. Instead of God becoming man to heal creation, man becomes beast to carry the weight of a world that’s cut itself off from grace.
It’s a haunting read.
Great list! Thanks for sharing 🙏
A long winter is coming for us. This is an excellent list to start with. I’ve read some of them (years ago), but a refreshing reread is due.
I read all of them but the first, though I have perused other Tolstoy works. Each of them haunts you differently.
tortilla flat is also a great easy weekend read
After reading Kafka I also recommend Philip Roth's novel *The Breast*.
Darkness Visible by William Styron.
I would add Madonna in a Fur Coat by Sabahattin Ali and Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton, both haunting tales of longing, but very different stories.
I was about to add Ethan Frome but now I'll suggest Summer by Edith Wharton. Also The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, Billy Budd by Herman Melville, Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, and Dr. Fischer of Geneva by Graham Greene.
hi! love this list, definitely saving it! i’m pretty sure ‘white nights’ by dostoevsky is also under 200 pages and a great read for this winter!
I just finished Picture of Dorian Gray, took me just short of one week.....the entire time I kept thinking, I swore I've read this before, but I couldn't remember how it ended. Still not sure if I had read it before.
😂😂😂😂 So - I have read 4 of the 5 books listed - all 45 years ago in high school . I remember liking them - but have no memory of anything else 😂
Time to re read
I've read 4 out 5 and loved them. Looks like I need to get to the library for that last one.
The stranger by Camus is another great one
I'm pretty new here. Would you consider "Brave New World" a classic? It's a short read. Quite prescient.
My copy of True Grit by Charles Portis is 190 pages. I read it in 2 sittings. Amazing novel and impossible to put down!
Haven't read only 4 and 5. And I probably won't, not my cup of ☕
The perfect selections—some unexpected ones, as well!