"Was he an animal, that music could move him so? He felt as if the way to the unknown nourishment he longed for were coming to light."

the metamorphosis is one of my favorite stories of all time, and i'm only finally writing a review on my (third!) reread. a lot of people find it silly, which i can understand, but there are themes that really resonate with me. samsa feels like a plague in his own home. he is unwanted and unsightly in the one place that is supposed to be his.

i'm not embarrassed to admit that the metamorphosis has made me cry. and i don't mean a couple tears. i mean, like, full-blown crying—having to put my book down and compose myself.

it's sad, because i see myself in his agony and despair. in his desire to be loved, though he is not. his humiliation is apparent and it leaves an ache in your gut. people that have never felt like a burden in their own home won't understand why this book touches me so deeply.

samsa sacrificed everything for his family, and for what? the family he gave up everything for alienated him the moment he was no longer what they deemed as sightly. once he didn't fit their mold he was a disgrace.

i think i care too much about the metamorphosis, and i also think that i think too much. the metamorphosis will always be *that* book for me. it makes me feel so much, despite how seemingly silly the plot is.