Synopses & Reviews
"As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect."
So begins Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis, arguably the best-known and most subtly disturbing story in modern literature. Now Peter Kuper has created a graphic version of the story in which Kuper's kinetic art is the perfect complement to the intensity of Kafka's prose. Rather than merely illustrating the story, Kuper animates it with new life and meaning, powerfully reinforcing its themes of isolation, anxiety, and alienation in a dehumanized modern world. This graphic treatment draws out the subtle psychological and emotional shifts of the story, while also capturing Kafka's often unrecognized humor.
Peter Kuper's The Metamorphosis will exert an irresistible appeal to fans of graphic novels like Art Spiegelman's Maus and Chris Ware's Jimmy Corrigan, and to anyone curious about a new interpretation of a modern literary classic.
Review
"Kafka's imagination enters Peter Kuper's dystopic pen as electricity powered by angst and emerges as a force field of eeks, scrapes, and hisses scratchboarded into a contemporary interpretation of The Metamorphosis....for cubicle creatures of our own day." Lenora Todaro, Village Voice
Review
"Kupers scratchboard style...is reminiscent of the German expressionist artists...and his cartoony approach accentuates Kafkas dark humor." Booklist
Review
"The ride from book to comic can be bumpy. Mr. Kuper navigates the transition with precision." New York Times
Review
"Bubbling beneath the surface is a caustic batch of black humor that is as much unsettling as it is absurd. This is the magic of Kafka. And Kuper gives it a postmodern edge here, with an intriguing dance of picture and text." Gannett News Service
Review
"Kafkas anguished archetypal characters are easily rendered into visual equivalents and given new life in Kupers raw, expressionistic graphic style." Publishers Weekly
Review
"Darkly appropriate...Kupers work rivals that of Art Spiegelman." Chicago Sun-Times
Review
"Kafkas stoic Euro-alienation meets and merges with Kupers thoroughly American rock and roll alienation." Jules Feiffer
Synopsis
As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.'U So begins Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis, the most subtly disturbing story in modern literature. Now Peter Kuper has created a graphic version of the story in which Kuper's kinetic art is the perfect complement to the intensity of Kafka's prose.
Synopsis
A brilliant, darkly comic reimagining of Kafka’s classic tale of family, alienation, and a giant bug.
Acclaimed graphic artist Peter Kuper presents a kinetic illustrated adaptation of Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis. Kuper’s electric drawings—where American cartooning meets German expressionism—bring Kafka’s prose to vivid life, reviving the original story’s humor and poignancy in a way that will surprise and delight readers of Kafka and graphic novels alike.
About the Author
Peter Kuper's work has appeared in Time, Esquire, The New Yorker, and the New York Times, among others. Hes the author and illustrator of several books, including Give It Up!, a collection of Kafka stories.