The Metamorphosis: A New Translation by Miqhael-M. Khesapeake: Illustrated

Franz Kafka’s 1915 novella had been supposed to be published with no illustrations, or at least, with no representation of Gregor Samsa the Bug. By “Gregor Samsa the Bug” we don’t mean that to a bug was given a human name, but – nightmarishly enough – that a man with this name had been transformed into a bug. Kafka’s novella has been one of the most widely read stories in the world, but we have never had – although we won’t ever know if Franz Kafka himself might have approved of it – a ‘Metamorphosis’ edition illustrated so abundantly, and with lifelike illustrations. It is an immensely influential work of literature, and we will keep admiring it forever and recognizing in it a masterpiece; despite arguments against a clear representation of the bug, Dr. Khesapeake – who is also a visual artist – chose to bring out not just a new translation to be welcomed, but also an art book to be admired. Kafka’s works, greatly influenced by Dostoyevsky, Kleist, or Gogol, have influenced Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, Jorge Louis Borges, as well as many other following writers, philosophers, or even film directors. In this new translation, Dr. Khesapeake strives to capture not just that feeling of sad humor or the disturbing grotesque we can find in this wonderful writing in original, but also – by a foreword, an introduction, and an afterword – to apply the tools of the philosophical analysis and commentary in order to project within us, alongside his own illustrations, doubt and fascination, even by means of a slight, moderate philosophical humor, toward why we think we’ve always loved this novella.