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 absolutely loved this book. And re-reading it at different times of my life has given even more richness to the underlying message. A brilliant read.
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.
I grew up in Russia, and I remember the same portrait of L.Tolstoy hanging above my school desk in a classroom. (Thanks for awakening nostalgia!)
However, the point I was going to make is my constant and unsatisfied thirst for rereading classics we were required to read during school hours and summer breaks. Of course, I believe in introducing students to great works of literature. It is the way you introduce them that counts. As a student, I was terrified to fail a test or appear ignorant. That was the motivation. Additionally, teachers made famous writers seem like saints who went on walks in the fields and then wrote great stories.
I think the reason I'm rediscovering (more like devouring) Russian classics now in my thirties is because I found out about the humane side of those writers and what inspired their stories.
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.
Could not have summarised it better.
I absolutely loved this book. And re-reading it at different times of my life has given even more richness to the underlying message. A brilliant read.
Great list! Thanks for sharing 🙏
I read all of them but the first, though I have perused other Tolstoy works. Each of them haunts you differently.
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 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.
tortilla flat is also a great easy weekend read
I am so bookmarking these… lots of rain so perfect for a fire, a coffee, and a good book
After reading Kafka I also recommend Philip Roth's novel *The Breast*.
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
Darkness Visible by William Styron.
The stranger by Camus is another great one
I've read 4 out 5 and loved them. Looks like I need to get to the library for that last one.
I'm pretty new here. Would you consider "Brave New World" a classic? It's a short read. Quite prescient.
Don't forget treasure Island!
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 grew up in Russia, and I remember the same portrait of L.Tolstoy hanging above my school desk in a classroom. (Thanks for awakening nostalgia!)
However, the point I was going to make is my constant and unsatisfied thirst for rereading classics we were required to read during school hours and summer breaks. Of course, I believe in introducing students to great works of literature. It is the way you introduce them that counts. As a student, I was terrified to fail a test or appear ignorant. That was the motivation. Additionally, teachers made famous writers seem like saints who went on walks in the fields and then wrote great stories.
I think the reason I'm rediscovering (more like devouring) Russian classics now in my thirties is because I found out about the humane side of those writers and what inspired their stories.
Thank you for the list!