Author: Franz Kafka
Publisher: Crown Publishing
Rating: WORTHY!
Adapted and illustrated by Peter Kuper.
+Die Verwandlung by Czech writer Franz Kafka who was quite literally a Bohemian, having been born in Prague, which was then the capital of the Kingdom of Bohemia. He wrote in German, but this novel in English has come to be most commonly known as The Metamorphosis.
I have a theory that The Metamorphosis was a clear prophecy, predicting the arrival of the Liverpool band, The Beatles...! It was first published in 1915 and is the story of Gregor Samsa (who more recently had a rock band named after him). He's a traveling salesman who one day wakes up to find that he's morphed into what Kafka named a "tremendous animal unclean for sacrifice".
Modern translations render the description of the transformed Gregor as 'vermin', and typically interpret it as a giant roach or an absurdly large beetle which unfortunately, not haling from Liverpool, doesn't manage to make a name for itself in rock music. It's interesting that Kafka scholars tend to point out that he did not reference his Jewish inheritance in his writing, but here is a clear example of him doing so.
Waking up late for work one morning, Gregor (a name which is almost an anagram of George, one of the band-members of the Beatles....) has to contend with his melodramatic mom, his supportive sister, his obnoxious office manager, and his disgusted dad. None of this comes off too well since no one can understand his insect voice and none of them know of his predicament until he opens the door. The office manager flees in panic at this, and Gregor is injured when being forced back into his room by his dad. This isn't the last time his dad will injure him. From that point on he's despised and an outcast, and he's locked in his room, very similar to how The Beatles were treated in their early years.
It's interesting to note that John, the band member who was killed in 1980 long before his time, had mother issues, his "Aunt" Julia being like a sister and a mother to him, and he often wrote Kafka-esque sings and also a book.
After a nap, Gregor awakes to discover that someone has left him bread and milk, but he has no taste for it, indeed no appetite at all until his sister thoughtfully leaves food scraps for him, which he eats with relish (not that kind of relish, unfortunately). He takes to climbing around the room and his sister has some of the furniture removed to make room for his activities, but this leaves him sad, feeling like more and more of his life is being stolen from him. In another altercation, his dad throws apples at him (see, there's that Beatles connection again!) and one lodges in his back, seriously injuring him, just as the Beatles ill-fated corporation, Apple Corps injured them when it was so badly managed that it almost bankrupted the band.
Calm reigns briefly until the family takes in boarders to make up for the lost income from Gregor's lack of employment. One evening, Gregor's sister Grete plays violin to entertain the boarders, and Gregor is transformed by it - although unfortunately not in that way. Things are fine until the boarders become bored-ers and notice Gregor's presence. At this point even his sister rejects him and he dies, opening up a new life for his family. Clearly this is a reference to John, who alienated American fans when he made his remarks about Jesus, and shortly afterwards, the Beatles, as a band died, freeing up the individual artists within the band to go onto to greater things.
I recommend this graphic novel. It's beautifully done and tragically amusing. The artwork is suitably dark and monochromatic. And if you agree that it's a prediction of The Beatles, then I have some nice land in the Mersey in which you might be interested in investing...!
