The Meowmorphosis

By Franz Kafka and Coleridge Cook

“One morning, as Gregor Samsa was waking up from anxious dreams, he discovered that he had been changed into an adorable kitten.”

Thus begins The Meowmorphosis—a bold, startling, and fuzzy-wuzzy new edition of Kafka’s classic nightmare tale, from the publishers of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies! Meet Gregor Samsa, a humble young man who works as a fabric salesman to support his parents and sister. His life goes strangely awry when he wakes up late for work and discovers that, inexplicably, he is now a man-sized baby kitten. His family freaks out: Yes, their son is OMG so cute, but what good is cute when there are bills to pay? And how can Gregor be so selfish as to devote all his attention to a scrap of ribbon? As his new feline identity threatens to eat away at his personality, Gregor desperately tries to survive this bizarre, bewhiskered ordeal by accomplishing the one thing he never could as a man: He must flee his parents’ house.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Quirk Books
• Release date: May 10, 2011
• ISBN: 9781594745126

Franz Kafka

Franz Kafka, geboren am 3. Juli 1883 in Prag, war ein bedeutender deutschsprachiger Schriftsteller des 20. Jahrhunderts. Er entstammte einer jüdischen Familie und wuchs in einer bürgerlichen Umgebung auf. Kafka studierte Jura an der Deutschen Universität in Prag und arbeitete später als Versicherungsangestellter, was ihn jedoch nicht erfüllte. Kafka begann früh mit dem Schreiben von literarischen Werken, die oft von seinen persönlichen Ängsten, Isolationserfahrungen und existenziellen Fragen geprägt waren. Sein Stil war geprägt von einer präzisen Sprache, einem tiefgründigen Sinn für Absurdität und einer düsteren Atmosphäre. Im Jahr 1912 veröffentlichte Kafka seine erste Erzählung Das Urteil, gefolgt von weiteren Werken wie Die Verwandlung, Der Prozess und Das Schloss. Diese Werke sind bekannt für ihre kafkaeske Atmosphäre, in der die Protagonisten oft von undurchsichtigen bürokratischen Strukturen oder unerklärlichen Gesetzen gefangen sind. Kafka litt zeitlebens unter gesundheitlichen Problemen und psychischen Belastungen, die sich auch in seinem Werk widerspiegeln. Er führte ein zurückgezogenes Leben und hatte Schwierigkeiten, seine Werke zu veröffentlichen und anzuerkennen zu lassen. Das Jahr 2024 markiert das sogenannte Kafkajahr, 100 Jahre nach seinem Tod im Jahr 1924. In diesem Jahr werden weltweit Veranstaltungen, Ausstellungen und Aufführungen stattfinden, um das Leben und Werk dieses einflussreichen Schriftstellers zu würdigen. Franz Kafka starb in Kierling bei Wien an Tuberkulose. Obwohl er zu Lebzeiten nur wenig Anerkennung erfuhr, gilt er heute als einer der bedeutendsten Autoren der Moderne und sein Werk hat einen nachhaltigen Einfluss auf die Literaturgeschichte. Kafkas einzigartiger Stil und seine tiefgründigen Themen machen ihn zu einem zeitlosen Klassiker der Weltliteratur.

Book preview

love.

I.

One morning, as Gregor Samsa was waking up from anxious dreams, he discovered that he had been changed into an adorable kitten. He lay in bed on his soft, fuzzy back and saw, as he lifted his head a little, his brown arched abdomen divided into striped bowlike sections. His blanket, just about ready to slide off completely, could hardly stay in place as he rolled from side to side. His legs—too many!—pitifully thin compared to the rest of his rotund circumference, pawed helplessly before his eyes.

What’s happened to me? he thought. It was no dream. His room—a proper room for a human being, only a bit too small—lay quietly between the four well-known walls. On the wall above the table, upon which was spread an unpacked collection of sample cloth goods—Samsa was a traveling salesman—hung the picture that he had cut out of an illustrated magazine a little while ago and set in a pretty gilt frame. It was a picture of a woman in a fur hat and a fur boa. She sat erect there, lifting in the direction of the viewer a solid fur muff into which her entire forearm had disappeared. Samsa felt a powerful urge to leap upon the sample cloths and scratch at them thoroughly, but as soon as it had come, it passed.

Gregor’s glance then turned to the window. The dreary weather—the raindrops were falling audibly on the metal window ledge—made him quite melancholy. Why don’t I keep sleeping for a little while longer and forget all this foolishness, he thought. But this proved quite impractical, for he was used to sleeping on his back, and in his present state he couldn’t get comfortable in this position. No matter how hard he threw himself onto his back, he always rolled again onto his furry side, or his belly, his haunches settling last onto his old bed. He must have tried it a hundred times, closing his eyes so he would not have to see the waggling paws, and gave up only when he began to feel a light, dull pain in his side that he had never felt before.

O God, he thought, yawning and stretching his front paws. What a relentless job I’ve chosen! Day in, day out, always on the road. The stress of sales is much harder than the work going on at the head office, and on top of that I have to cope with the problems of traveling: the worries about train connections, the irregular and bad food, the never-ending stream of new people with whom you never get to make a real connection. To hell with it all! He felt a slight itching on the top of his back, between his shoulders. He slowly wriggled closer to the bedpost so that he could lift his head more easily, found the itchy part, which was entirely covered with small white spots—he did not know what to make of them and wanted to feel the place with a claw. But he retracted it immediately, for the contact felt like a cold shower all over him.

WHAT’S HAPPENED TO ME? HE THOUGHT. IT WAS NO DREAM.

He slid back again into his previous position. This getting up early, he thought, for his thoughts were already becoming quite feline, "makes a man stupid. A man must have his sleep. Other traveling salesmen live like harem women. For instance, when I go back to my inn during the course of a morning to write up the sales invoices, the other gentlemen are just sitting down to breakfast. If I were to try that with my boss, I’d be fired on the spot. Still—who knows whether that mightn’t be good for me, really? If I weren’t keeping this job for my parents’ sake, I’d have quit ages ago. I would’ve gone to the boss and told him just what I think from the bottom of my heart. He would’ve fallen right off his desk! And how bizarre it is, anyway, for him to sit up at that desk and talk down to the employees from way up there, particularly since the chief has trouble hearing, so we have to step up quite close to him. Anyway, I haven’t completely given up that hope yet. Once I’ve made enough money to pay off my parents’ debt to him—that should take another five or six years—I’ll do it for sure. Then I’ll make my big break. In any case, right now I have to get up. My train leaves at five o’clock."

He looked over at the alarm clock ticking away by the chest of drawers. Good God! he thought. It was half past six, and the hands were ticking quietly on; in fact, it was past the half hour, already nearly quarter to. Could the alarm have failed to ring? No, he saw from the bed that it was properly set for four o’clock; certainly it had rung. Yes, but how could he have slept through that noise, which made the furniture shake? Now, it’s true he’d not slept quietly, but evidently he’d slept all the more deeply. Still, what should he do now? The next train left at seven o’clock. To catch that one, he would have to go in a mad rush. The sample collection wasn’t packed up yet, and he really didn’t feel particularly energetic. And even if he caught the train, there was no avoiding a blowup with the chief, because the firm’s errand boy—the boss’s minion, really, lacking any backbone or intelligence—would’ve waited for the five o’clock train and long ago reported the news of his absence. Well then, what if he reported in sick? But that would be extremely embarrassing and suspicious, because during his five years’ service Gregor hadn’t stayed home sick even once. The boss would certainly come with the doctor from the health insurance company, would reproach his parents for their lazy son and cut short all objections, echoing the insurance doctor’s avowed opinion that everyone was always healthy, just lazy about work. And would the doctor in this case be totally wrong? Apart from a really excessive drowsiness after the long sleep, Gregor in fact felt quite well and even had a very strong appetite.

As he was thinking all this over urgently, yet still unable to make the decision to get out of bed—the alarm clock read exactly quarter to seven—there was a cautious knock on the door by the head of the bed.

Gregor, a voice called—it was his mother!—it’s quarter to seven. Don’t you want to be on your way? Her soft voice! Gregor began to answer but was startled when he heard his own voice: It was clearly and unmistakably his own, but in it was intermingled, as if from below, an irrepressibly pert and endearing squeaking, which left the words distinct only for an instant and distorted them in the reverberation, so that one didn’t know if one had heard correctly. Gregor wanted to answer in detail and explain everything, but in these circumstances he confined himself to saying, Yes, yes, thank you, Mother. I’m getting up right away.

Because of the wooden door the change in Gregor’s voice was not really noticeable outside, so his mother calmed down with this explanation and shuffled off. However, as a result of the short conversation, the other family members became aware that Gregor was unexpectedly still at home, and now his father was knocking on one side door, weakly but with his fist. Gregor, Gregor, he called out, what’s going on? And, after a short while, he yelled again in a deeper voice: Gregor! Gregor! At the other side door, however, his sister knocked lightly. Gregor? Are you all right? Do you need anything? Gregor directed answers in both directions: I’ll be ready right away. He made an effort with the most careful articulation and by inserting long pauses between the individual words to remove everything mewling and kittenish from his voice. His father turned back to his breakfast. However, his sister whispered, Gregor, open the door—I beg you. Gregor had no intention of opening the door; he congratulated himself on maintaining his wise travel habit of locking all doors during the night, even at home.

First he wanted to stand up quietly and undisturbed, get dressed, above all have breakfast, and only then consider further action, for—he realized clearly—by thinking things over in bed he would not reach a reasonable conclusion. Yet the bed seemed warmer and more comfortable than ever, and he was loath to leave it. He felt a strong desire to knead the coverlet with his white paws. But Gregor remembered that he had often in the past felt some light pain or other in bed, perhaps the result of an awkward reclining position, which later turned out to be purely imaginary when he stood up, and he was eager to see how his present fantasies would gradually dissipate. Surely the change in his voice was nothing other than the onset of a real chill, an occupational illness of commercial travelers; of that he had not the slightest doubt.

It was easy to throw aside the blanket. He needed only to push himself up a little, and it fell off by itself. But to continue was difficult, particularly because he was so unusually fat and cuddly. He needed arms and hands to push himself upright. Instead of these, however, he had only four large, soft paws that were incessantly moving with unfamiliar motions, flexing and curling, extending claws and retracting them, and that, in addition, he was unable to control. If he wanted to bend one of them, then it was the first to straighten itself, and if he finally succeeded doing what he wanted with this limb, in the meantime all the others, as if left free, moved around in an excessively darling agitation. But I must not stay in bed uselessly, said Gregor to himself.

At first he wanted to get out of bed with the lower part of his body, but this lower part—which, by the way, he had not yet looked at and which he also couldn’t picture clearly—proved itself too difficult to move, particularly with what felt like a long, bushy tail added to the equation. The attempt went so slowly. When, having become almost frantic, he finally hurled himself forward with all his force and without caution, he chose his direction incorrectly, and he hit the lower bedpost hard. The violent pain that ensued revealed to him that the lower part of his body was at the moment probably the most sensitive. He could not abide his tail being squashed, most of all. This disaster also revealed to Gregor Samsa that he was quite a large kitten, for his upper parts were still curled up sweetly in bed.

So now he tried to get his upper body out of bed first, turning his head carefully toward the edge of the bed. He managed to do this easily, and in spite of its width and wriggly, almost liquid weight, his body mass at last slowly followed the turning of his head. But as he finally raised his head outside the bed in the open air, he became anxious about moving forward any farther in this manner, for if he allowed himself eventually to fall by this process, it would take a miracle to prevent his head from getting injured. And at all costs he must not lose consciousness right now. He preferred to remain in bed.

After a second effort, he lay there again, sighing as before, and once again he saw his small limbs fighting one another, having discovered on their own some insignificant piece of fluff; all four of his paws batted it between them, as if he had nothing better to do! If anything, this was worse than earlier, and he didn’t see any chance of imposing quiet and order on this arbitrary movement. He told himself again that he couldn’t possibly remain in bed and that he really should be prepared to sacrifice everything if there was even the slightest hope of getting himself out of bed in the process. At the same moment, however, he didn’t forget to remind himself of the fact that calm—indeed the calmest—reflection—indeed, perhaps a nap—might be better than the most confused decisions. But no! He forced himself to remain sharply awake. Looking for motivation, he directed his gaze as precisely as he could toward the window, but unfortunately there was little confident cheer to be had from a glance at the morning mist, which concealed even the other side of the narrow street. It’s already seven o’clock, he told himself as the alarm clock struck again, already seven o’clock and still such a fog. And for a little while longer he lay quietly, just purring, struggling valiantly against the onslaught of the nap, as if perhaps waiting for normal and natural conditions to reemerge from the complete stillness.

But then he said to himself, Before it strikes a quarter past seven, whatever happens I must be completely out of bed. Besides, by then someone from the office will arrive to inquire about me, because the office will open before seven o’clock. And he made an effort then to slide his entire body length out of the bed with a uniform motion. If he let himself fall out of the bed in this way, his head, which in the course of the fall he intended to lift up sharply, would probably remain uninjured. His back seemed to be soft and extremely bendable; nothing would really happen to it as a result of the fall. His greatest reservation was a worry about the loud noise that the fall would surely create and which presumably would arouse, if not fright, then at least concern on the other side of all the doors. However, it had to be tried.

As Gregor was in the process of lifting himself half out of bed—the new method was more of a game than an effort; he needed only to slide prudently—it struck him how easy all this would be if someone were to come to his aid. Two strong people—he thought of his father and the servant girl—would have been quite sufficient. They would

Reviews for The Meowmorphosis

[lisa.isselee · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I'm not entirely convinced if this was a success ...

The beginning of the book started of really intriguing and funny. Much in the same way as the original work ( maybe that's the reason it was good ?)
But the further along I got in the book ( and the further it strayed from the original plot) the less interested I was. It felt long and boring and a bit thin.
The Images in the novel oh man ! I'm fond of surrealistic collages and the ones in this book hit the mark ! They definitely show the weird dark vibe that the book is trying to bring across.

[csp17 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I am not sure exactly why I picked this book as one I would want to review...I was not really a fan of the original Metamorphosis, but maybe I thought it would somehow be cute because it involved kittens instead of a bug? It may also be that since I had enjoyed Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, I just figured I would enjoy this one as well? I have tried to finish reading it since I received it, but am finding it difficult to stick with the book, and find myself turning to other books rather than finishing this one...I think it is a strange blending and find that I just do not enjoy it. I had hoped for cute and maybe funny but in my opinion, I'm afraid it's neither.

[mendoza_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

“One morning, as Gregor Samsa was waking up from anxious dreams, he discovered that he had been changed into an adorable kitten.”I absolutely tried very hard to like this book. Really.This novel starts with a potentially amusing idea, and then completely fails to develop it in any of the ways that would actually make it amusing. The author's modifications end up flat and boring in some places from too closely copying the original in others, and in other places they deviate so far from the spirit of Kafka that the entire work loses coherence.I'm not sure what I was supposed to get out of this book but I am pretty sure I didn't get it.

[mccin68 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I have not read Kafka, I could never get myself into the "right" frame of mind so I thought this would be a fun introduction. I have stopped and started on numerous occasions and finally have given up on finishing. The story for me was boring and the character Gregor was difficult to care about even a cute kitten. the best of the Quirks was Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, action packed and silly.

[megadallion · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed the Pride & Prejudice & Zombies trilogy from Quirk Classics, so I was super excited that I won this one. I had never read Kafka before but I had been meaning to, so this was the perfect kick in the butt to finally get to it. I read "The Metamorphosis" right before reading this one, so it was pretty repetitive at the beginning. Essentially, Coleridge Cook replaces the word "insect" with "kitten" and leaves the rest of the story the same (except for some descriptions of how cute and cuddly Gregor has become) until about the middle of the book, when he escapes from the apartment and has an adventure with some other cats in an alley. After reading some other reviews and looking around online, I found out that this middle section is a retelling or twist on Kafka's other short story "The Trial" (which I have not read yet). I really didn't like this part. Josef K (the leader of the businessmen-turned-alley-cats) goes on and on with rambling, pointless, nonsensical speeches that last up to six freaking pages. I almost gave up on the book around that point, but since I had had such high hopes for it I pushed on and finished it. I had several problems with this retelling of "The Metamorphosis." (1) Why does Cook glorify cats so much in this version? Kafka never glamorized insects (in fact he rarely even mentioned the fact that Gregor was a bug, except when it posed problems and Gregor was forced to look at himself and figure out how to move in his new state). The whole cat society thing just seemed like a monumental waste of time and space, a filler to flesh out Kafka's original novella so that Cook could market this as a novel. (2) Cook somehow manages to butcher Kafka's story and make it boring and meaningless. The words are minced and made fluffy to accommodate kittendom and the problems it poses but Cook seems to get lost in the hierarchy of the crazy cat society and the pointlessness of their trial. I think Cook tried to put too much Kafka and kitten history into one story and ended up with a hot mess. Whereas the P&P&Z trilogy added fun, wit, and adventure to the Austen original, this version just falls flat.Gregor Samsa does indeed make for a precious, cuddly kitten, but this novel failed miserably to entertain me or do the original any justice at all. My recommendation is to just read the original and stay away from this one. (2 stars because it includes cute pictures of kittens in human clothes)

[hippielunatic · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

So, niche, yes. An interesting turn on Kafka's original tale of man turned bug, but not as great as i might have been hoping. When taking a classic and making it quirky, I had hoped that more might have been added to the original, giving it a life of its own. Here, however, I will be honest, in saying that I was left a bit cold.I enjoyed it at times, but there was not enough meat to this retelling to make me feel like it was a fully valuable use of my time. I am all for classics, and I am all for twists. Though, pairing them in this mash-up left me hungry for a bit more.

[jlparent · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Newest from Quirk Classics (Pride, Prejudice & Zombies, etc) - Kafka's Metamorphosis is altered into a feline soul-search. The book is more overtly humorous in the beginning, as Gregor finds himself newly kitten-ized, but then mostly remains - to me - rather whiny and overblown and excessively long. Also, I was not familiar with 'The Trial' but it's is also mashed up within this story and I felt it added more heaviness to an already weighty story. I think I enjoyed the special notes on Kaka's life most of all (found after the ending) - they were beyond sharp and biting and the link to cats made me laugh. However, the reader discussion points were weak and unfunny. To me, overall - the final word for the entire book = uneven.

[thealternativeone · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The Meowmorphosis Franz Kafka and Coleridge Cook Quirk Publishing Trade Paperback 208 Pages Published Date: 05.10.2011 ISBN: 9781594745034The Meowmorphosis is a literary mash-up* or blend similar in technique to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies or Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters and is produced by the same publishing house, Quirk. This story, however, does not embrace vampires or zombies or even sea monsters or robots. Instead, it re-vamps Franz Kafka’s dark classic The Metamorphosis and replaces the insects with cats. For the most part, large portions of this book are word-for-word redrafts of the original text, modified slightly with the words “kitten/cat” substituted for “insect/beetle” and references to meowing, pawing, and playful kitten antics replacing all things insect-like. And that’s the real problem with this rewritten mash-up. There’s really nothing new or creative or disturbing or frightening about this work and the substitution of the cats for insects diminishes greatly from the dark and foreboding nature of the original. It suffers under this conversion and all its Kafkaesque is lost. While on the outside a substitution mash-up of The Metamorphosis might appear to be a winning combination this narrative is nowhere near as strong as the other works mentioned above. Franz Kafka sometimes wrote absurd, distorted, often sinister stories and those peculiarities do not carry over well in this type of mash-up. I think the romantic period comedies are better suited for this style. Zombies in Victorian England? Well, that just makes all kinds of sense. But supplanting kittens for cockroaches? To me that’s just plain weird. Seriously though, waking up as an unclean, much-maligned, and disease-ridden insect can never compare to the same transformation as a cuddly, soft, warm kitty. The ramifications are nowhere near as astonishing or fear-inducing. The entire “creep factor” is lost when this replacement is made. And believe me when I tell you that the underlying dreadfulness of the morphed insect is the best thing about The Metamorphosis. In Kafka’s original story transforming into an insect becomes a social commentary on alienation, about being set apart from humanity. By substituting a cat for an insect the important distinction of fear and estrangement is less impactful in my mind’s eye. The Meowmorphosis comes off considerably more adorable than creepy, more charming than dark, and more familiar than alienating. On the surface, transforming The Metamorphosis into a mash-up probably seemed like a good idea at the time. Unfortunately, in my opinion, it just doesn’t work and probably should have been left alone. 3 out of 5 starsThe Alternative Southeast WisconsinNote: For a better mash-up of The Metamorphosis (and to see where this idea probably came from) I recommend Peter Capaldi’s Oscar-winning short film Franz Kafka’s It’s a Wonderful Life. The plot of the film has the author trying to write the opening line of The Metamorphosis and experimenting with various things that Gregor might turn into, such as a banana or a kangaroo. The film is also notable for a number of Kafkaesque moments.* The literary mash-up is basically, a classic work of literature (e.g., War and Peace ), with added elements of current pop culture (zombies or vampires or robots ) with the resulting work an updated version of the original literary classic (War and Pieces – A Zombie Tale.)

[commodoremarie · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Too much mash up, not enough substance. Sort of? I think this is one of the better literary modifications lately, and with it's relatively short length, more approachable. The author is clearly familiar with Kafka, and perhaps more importantly, respects him as an author. But there's not enough to justify the adaptations. The novel starts off strong, presenting an interesting twist when Samsa, rather than being transformed into a horrifying bug, becomes a small, fluffy kitten. However, the addition of "The Trial" is confusing, unnecessary, and off-purpose. Samsa's journeys are prolonged and muddled, with varying descriptions of his cattish size and surroundings. He remains unlikeable - despite being a kitten, something more understandable when he's a bug - and his own attitude is no different from his original's. And for that reason, the book just staggers until it finally dies, much like our protagonist. Honestly, if you want all the gloom and despair inherent in Kafka, and if you want kittens go look up pictures on the internet. I fear that while well done, this mash-up brought very little to the table - nothing quirky, nothing terribly clever. If you haven't read the original works, this will make absolutely no sense, and perhaps even leave you a bit bitter.

[pensivecat · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I read this book in one day. Of course, Kafka's Metamorphosis was not exactly novel-sized, so I don't feel like I rushed through it. It's my first of the 'Quirk' Classics - I wasn't going to touch the Pride and Prejudice butcherings, but I figured since the only Kafka I'd ever read -The Trial- was not a favorite of mine I wouldn't mind a bit of quirk thrown in. But I was confused, because I didn't quite get how big he was supposed to be. Then I had to go back to the original, because I wondered why Kafka would have stuck The Trial into this story. Actually, the was Coleridge Cook's doing. Guilty! As a fan of LOLcats, this wuz grate! As a classics reader, it was okay. As not such a Kafka fan...whatever.I want to frame the picture of the Gregor Samsa getting a bath. I'm a little scared of framing pictures now, though - look where it got Samsa!

[mrsmich02 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Thank you to Quirk Books for providing me with a copy of this book. I was dismayed, at first, to find it such a thin book...and then I started to read. The main character, Gregor Samsa, wakes up to find he's been transformed into a kitten. He's confused and honestly so was I pretty much the entire way through the story. From what I could gather, Gregor finds his life so frustratingly confining he transforms into a cat which to him embodies freedom. I felt conflicted by all the characters. Half the time I felt pity or empathy for Gregor, the other half I just wanted to scream "snap out of it". His parents are just dysfunctional from start to finish. At times, his sister Grete is loving and other times just plain mean. I'd want to run away from them and his work responsibilities as well. Gregor is just so wishy-washy. Decide already! Do you want to take advantage of this magical freedom you've been gifted with or do you return to the environment that was suppressing and depressing you in the first place? I still don't know what to make of the ending. One way or another, at least Gregor will finally be free.

[audramelissa_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I love Kafka and that may be why at times I struggled to finish this book. However, there were a number of enjoyable bits and I would still recommend it to those who have enjoyed other lit mashups. The pictures and discussion questions were probably what I liked most.

[radella_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review.Quirk Classics has done it again, turning classic literature into a B movie. This time, Franz Kafka’s classic The Metamorphosis has lost the creepy bug and instead features a cute kitten. While the story stays fairly true to the flavor, themes, and general plot of the original manuscript, it gets a little odd in the middle. I finished this book a while ago, but I’ve had a hard time putting my feelings for the book down. To some degree, I enjoyed the silliness of being turned into a kitten. The lolcat references and general ridiculousness had me laughing a bit. While I have read the original, I’m not a huge fan of Kafka. This might be why I didn’t enjoy the story as much as I have other Quirk mashups. That said, it was still well done… and I’ve already loaned my copy to a friend!

[sunnysd_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Coleridge gets kudos for chutzpa, the cover and blurb that actually had me hooked enough to pick it up.Having never endured the original, I can honestly say that the adaptation was at once cuter and more fluffy, and still just as horribly deep and depressing as I expected. I admit, I skipped ahead to assure myself that yes, indeed, Gregor met the fate I expected. Despite the advance knowledge, I found myself caught up in the flowing prose as the tale unfolded - although I was ultimately left with absolutely no desire to ever re-read it. Bizarre and outrageous as the original must be, the sheer, unbearably adorable ridiculousness of Gregor's feline predicament lends a macabre sense of the absurd to what otherwise must be a supremely bleak and horrid classic. (Gregor certainly meets a predictably pathetic end, although arguably I expect his sister's to get what's coming to her, as well.)And of course, the afterword in which the reader is invited to picture Kafka running a Eastern Block version of the Fight Club? Priceless.

[ginerbia · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I read other Quirk Classics and was thrilled with them so was excited to get my hands on this one as well. I was hoping the original material would be made better with the mash-up like other Quirk classics but in this case, I can't say that it was. The original was so dark and bizarre in it's own right - I actually enjoyed "The Metamorphosis" - but, in my opinion, the changing of the insect-like creature into a cat really didn't work all that well. I guess adding lightness and humor to a dark book doesn't have the same effect as adding darkness and despair to a light book does.

[allizabeth · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Same as with Android Karenina, this book mash-up was a let down. I expected so much more from a novel with so much potential, but it just felt lacking and left me pushing myself to finish it. The story-line didn't even remind me of Kafka's original masterpiece. Not impressed with this new-age twist.

[joybee_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A remake of the classic The Metamorphosis, instead of waking as a vermin, Gregor Samsa finds himself transformed into a cute kitten. The book follows the same path as the original, with kittenish behavior instead of bug-like behavior. There were some cute cat-like thoughts that were enjoyable, but the story veers from the original slightly when Gregor escapes the apartment and meets other cats, I liked this at first, but it dragged on and seemed as if it was only added to try and explain the story. That I did not like, the whole point of reading is to make it personal to you, you can read as much or little into the story as you wish, but I skipped much of this off shoot until Gregor returned to the apartment and the story continued as before. While I am not a big fan of stories like The Metamorphosis, I can understand why it is a classic... it makes you think, The Meowmorphosis did not disappoint. I loved the strange biography of the author, and the discussion questions at the end. I probably will not read this book again, but I am glad I read it.

[punkeymonkey529 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I won this from the early reviewers program.I haven't read the original novel first,but this sounded so good I had to read it. At times the book seemed to read a little slow, but I stuck with it to the end. I was as the publishers name goes [Quirk]y but it was very enjoyable. Who really would turn down a book with adorable kittens in it?

[jenkince · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This was a short read that had a few humorous and thought provoking moments. However, the promising premise of using a kitten instead of a bug in Kafka’s tale of transformation did not live up to its potential. Ultimately, it added little to the original story.

[lordkinbote · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A quick, cute, fun, little giggle. Very fun take on Kafka (which let's face it, is no mean feat!) I especially like the section at the end about Kafka's "real" life and his strange magnetism to cats.

[bookaddictdiary · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When Quirk Classics revealed that their latest mash-up was going to be based on Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis, I wasn't really sure what to think. After tackling Jane Austen's popular classics and the fairly well-known Anna Karenina, I thought this was a very strange choice for a mash-up. Kafka and The Metamorphosis don't seem to be as well known, so it makes me wonder why Quirk chose this novel as the next in their classics series -not only that, but cats? Either it was a gutsy decision or a stupid one.In Quirk's feline mash-up The Meowmorphosis, Gregor wakes up one morning and finds that he has been turned into a cat. Gregor now finds that his world has complete changed, and his family can't accept it -even though, of course, he's incredibly cute as a now human-sized kitten. Gregor must escape from his family's home and make his own away -even as an adorable cat.I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised by The Meowmorphosis. I thought it was would painful and downright terrible. Though it does start out a little slow, once the story gets past the intial set up, and further away from the source materia,l and, ultimately, spiral out of control for Gregor, it only gets better and better. Cook, which is acutally a pen name for a fantasy novelist, does an excellent job of taking the source material and injecting it with plenty of whimsy and action that makes the story go quickly. Cook did a particularly good job of describing Gregor's life as a cat and making it feel authentic -not to mention hilarious to the reader.Though I did have to warm up a little to the idea of using The Metamorphosis as the source material, I quickly grew into this hilarious book -even as someone who prefers dogs over cats. Recommended for fans of the mash-up and the Quirk Classics line.

[ijustgetbored · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Meowmorphosis is the latest from Quirk's hugely successful line of mash-ups of classics, this one penned by a fantasy writer writing under a pseudonym. This one is a gutsier step than some of the previous mash-ups: no staid Austen here. This time, we're doing the Kafkaesque as Kittenesque, which is a whole new liteary territory (modernism) taken to a whole new level of surreal.What works well is that, for the most part, Cook doesn't just try to swap out "kitten" for "bug." The Metamorphosis plot trajectory is there, but there's not a one-to-one identification, which would have been simplistic and would have left out a lot of good jokes (such as Gregor's sister's overwhelming adoration for her cuddly kitten brother). The book fortunately didn't go for the LOLcat humor, as I feared it might, which would date an otherwise "classic" mashup. It takes advantage of Kafka's gloomy modernist glumness and sense of the absurd and makes us see them through the eyes of a tortured kitten's soul, and the results are hilarious.There's a departure in the middle of the book that lampoons The Trial. For readers who are familiar only with The Metamorphisis, this is going to be confusing and potentially boring. I wouldn't edit it out because it adds absurdist meat to the text and builds up Gregor's character and his torments, but readers who are only casually interested in Kafka may want to be advised.The biographical note on Kafka at the end deserves special note; it's a riot. Satirical and biting, it finds a shocking thread in Kafka's life (cats!) and lampoons modernism at large. Don't skim over it-- it's a nice little treat waiting at the end of this novel.Quirk does it again.

[slysionnach_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

"Be grateful, I say. I once knew a man who woke up a cockroach." - Franz the Policecat.I have a soft spot for Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis. I have a strong feeling that it has less to do with my love of depressing literature (of which I have none) and more to do with the fact that it was the first book that I got on that level deeper than, "Wow, this guy turned into a bug!"In this mashup, Gregor has turned into an adorable - but humongous - kitten. His sister coddles him, his mother is scared of him, and his father hates him. I'm not sure who can hate an adorable kitten but there it is. It follows the trials of Gregor Samsa as he tries to figure out how to adjust to being a kitten and all the new sensations. Not being a kitten myself, I can only speculate that Cook figured it out. The kitten in my house agrees.Funnily enough, this book actually takes symbolism and insults it. Literally. Josef K goes on and on about it in chapter three (or four). But it's not a bad book. It deviates from the original, as it most certainly must, in long rambles of why Gregor is a cat. And why he is convicted of being a bad one. And why that doesn't mean much in the cat world. In a few places, the book earned a few chuckles because there are obvious references to both the original novel, other novels by him and Kafka himself.But be warned - just because there is now a cuddly giant kitten, this book is not happy. Nothing Kafka writes can really be said to be "happy." And, I think that since Samsa was a kitten this time instead of a bug, it made the family's treatment of him all the more poignant. As a lover of the original work, I will put this book on my shelf beneath it (because there is no room beside it) and point to it as, "And that's the cutsey cat version."

[shayrp76 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The Meowmorphosis by Frank Kafka & Cooleridge CookWaking up late is a bad way to start the day. Waking up late to find that you have been transformed into a large kitten is a worse way to start your day. George Samsa is a traveling salesman who takes care of his parents and sister, so this is an inconvenience to say the least. Staying very close to The Metamorphosis until Samsa’s adventure outside; I didn’t like it anymore or any less. The cat transformation made it a little less creepy, but that’s just a personal opinion. It’s obvious, in both, that this is a depressing story about what we would call a dysfunctional family today. I think Cook did a great good of making this story a little easier to read and maybe even a little more entertaining. For the full effect of what Kafka was trying to get across I think that reading the original is required. Overall, I recommend The Meowmorphosis

[doskoipanda · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Unlike their earlier offerings, Quirk's latest tackles a novella which already included an element of horror - the salesman, Gregor Samsa awakening to find himself an insect - with the intention turning the tables by replacing insect with kitten. While this starts well, it just doesn't carry through as easily as the notion of zombies roaming the 18th century English countryside, and it feels more like an attack on Kafka's work than an imaginative retelling. Cook also breaks from the orginal novella by including at least one other work - "The Trial" - which serves to further berate and belittle Gregor Samsa the kitten.I tried to like this, and actually was looking forward to reading it after having flipped through and seeing the illustrations (which are funny. Or at least fun). Sadly, between the feeling of Kafka bashing, the peculiarities of dropping in "kitten" for "insect", and the general lack of mirth to be found in the orginal text (that's all Kafka's doing. I agree with Cook; he was a joyless man and that comes across in his writings), this was nowhere near as enjoyable as the Austen mashups.Sent to me by the publisher, as part of the LibraryThing Early Reviewers

[usagijihen · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Quirk Classics, you are one awesome publishing house. Not only did you send me the ARC copy of this book, but you also sent me a poster to go with it. And now I don’t know where to put it (see the original review at witchoftheatregoing.wordpress.com to see the picture of said ARC/poster!). That said, I loved the original version (even if it did make me feel extremely anxious and paranoid after reading it), and this version makes Kafka’s classic even more palatable with the idea of Gregor Samsa turning into a kitten instead of a cockroach. And a lot less anxious afterward, too.If anything, this made Kafka’s original easier to understand in terms of philosophy. For some reason, using cats instead of cockroaches just makes more sense to me with all of these ideas (especially in the “trial” part of the novel). I can see why Kafka originally used cockroaches (duh), but I just like the idea of a cat salesman better.Quirk Press puts out a ton of awesome mashups each year, but all of the ones I’ve read this year so far pale in comparison to the fuzzy wuzzy politics of cat society versus human society. (Seriously though, guys, enough with the Jane Austen and Zombies series. I’m done with it, no more, please and thank you.) Coleridge was very careful with rewriting the original, and basically left most of it intact aside from changing words and people/cats involved. That’s hard to do when doing a literary mashup, and I applaud him for sticking to the original as he did.What I also appreciated was the short but hilarious writeup about Kafka as an appendix after the book. It educates the reader if they haven’t read the original, but does it tastefully. By doing this, I hope that those who haven’t read the original do. If anything, the literary mashup genre has renewed the interest and love of modern classics within the Western canon of literature (though I’d love to see them do something with “The Three Kingdoms” or “Tale of Genji” — now THAT’s a challenge!) that, over the years with technology booming and print books decreasing/becoming more expensive, has definitely wavered. Here’s hoping that a lot more kids (and adults) read the classics after the mashups.Quirk, you’re doing a great job. Keep it up. Now try doing more Kafka, and you’ll have my love (and money) forever.(crossposted to goodreads, shelfari, and witchoftheatregoing.wordpress.com)

[crybel · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

If you like kitties and philosophical discussion then "The Meowmorphosis" is your book. This mash-up has got to be one of the boldest that Quirk Classics pulled off (and that is saying something when they have already added zombies and sea-creatures to the Jane Austen prim and proper universe). You have to read this if you are either a fan of Franz Kafka "Metamorphosis" and or you are a fan of Quirk Classics.

[sarahzilkastarke · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Not nearly as good as the other quirk classics. Maybe because Kafka was so weird to begin with.

[devilwrites · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The premise: ganked from BN.com: “One morning, as Gregor Samsa was waking up from anxious dreams, he discovered that he had been changed into an adorable kitten.”Thus begins The Meowmorphosis—a bold, startling, and fuzzy-wuzzy new edition of Franz Kafka’s classic nightmare tale, from the publishers of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies! Meet Gregor Samsa, a humble young man who works as a fabric salesman to support his parents and sister. His life goes strangely awry when he wakes up late for work and finds that, inexplicably, he is now a man-sized baby kitten. His family freaks out: Yes, their son is OMG so cute, but what good is cute when there are bills piling up? And how can he expect them to serve him meals every day? If Gregor is to survive this bizarre, bewhiskered ordeal, he’ll have to achieve what he never could before—escape from his parents’ house. Complete with haunting illustrations and a provocative biographical exposé of Kafka’s own secret feline life, The Meowmorphosis will take you on a journey deep into the tortured soul of the domestic tabby.My Rating: It's a GambleYou will be entertained or you won't, and even if you're entertained, this isn't high literature by any means. I'd recommend it only under two conditions: 1) that you've read The Metamorphosis and have an appreciation for the text and 2) you are utterly amused by the premise of Gregor turning into a kitten instead. If the very first line doesn't make you grin like an idiot, you probably don't need to read this book. It's not something that'll endear you to Kafka either, if you haven't read Kafka before, so I don't recommend sampling the author via this mash-up. I was mostly entertained and it was a relatively quick read (but a tick long, considering), but I'm glad I got this sucker for free (with a free poster!) rather than spent any money on it. OH!!!! But the interior illustrations are vastly amusing. Weird, but cool.Spoilers, yay or nay?: The Meowmorphosis actually is a mash-up between Kafka's TWO classics, The Metamorphosis AND The Trial, all blended with kitten absurdity. I should state plainly: I've read the The Metamorphosis, but NOT The Trial. That said, the following review will do a little comparing to the original, but not much, because it's been YEARS since I've read the original, so don't expect any academic discourse or anything. I'll also say there's really nothing to spoil except how The Metamorphosis ends, so don't read further if you want to remain spoiler-free. The full review is at my blog, which is linked below. As always, comments and discussion are most welcome. REVIEW: Franz Kafka's & Coleridge Cook's THE MEOWMORPHOSISHappy Reading!

[lilacwolf · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

From Lilac Wolf and StuffThis review is very hard for me to write. The cover is cute, and this is another of the Quirk Classic mash-up, and Kafka is a big name. Hey, I like cats, I was looking forward to this one. A way to get my classic lit into my reading diet.I like the cat change...in the original the guy turned into a big cockroach. So what Cook Coleridge did, worked.However, Kafka...what were you writing? I think he is a writer that intellectuals say they love so they don't look stupid. The book didn't make any sense right from the beginning. The character is working for this awful company as a traveling salesman to work off his parents debt. Yet they live in a nice house with a servant girl??? And why would he HAVE to work for the company, just get the job you want and pay it off. Here's a thought, since Mom, Dad, and sis don't work, let them cook and clean. You would pay off that debt even faster!So he wakes up one morning and he's a kitten. More afraid of losing his job than anything else. I'm pretty sure the morphing into a kitten would be my TOP priority. And even with the original cockroach I'm not sure what the point here is. Unless he's saying all salesmen are the most disgusting bugs...I think lawyers and politicians are worse. lolI hate writing a bad review, but I do think I'd give Cook Coleridge another chance on his own work but Kafka...you and I are done. (Ok my husband just told me that it's an Absurdist novel and it's not supposed to make sense so I guess...job well done?)