Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka | A Review of Audiobooks

I recently listened to three audiobook productions of Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. For me, the surrealist/absurdist transformation of Gregor has a direct line of influence on Naked Lunch though I haven’t seen that explored much in analysis.

I do think there is a micro/macro thread to pull on between the prioritization of men and women in modernity that is expressed through the narrative of Gregor and his sister Grete. However, I think it is also worth looking at the short mention of the woman he neglected to court regarding the mention of her occupation and the picture that Gregor keeps in his room, protectively idealizing. This feels like it could be easily passed over in the broader story about his relationship with his family and his dedication to work.

I want to give a bit of assessment to each audiobook production as well because there are some strong differences between them. The first one I listened to was Benedict Cumberbatch’s reading, while it is certainly the most dynamic vocal performance the audio experience suffers.

It does have some musical accompaniment that is like a small symphonic or jazz ensemble tuning/warming up, haphazard atonal music for atmosphere to transition Cumberbatch’s vocal varieties as he works through the text. His is the shortest runtime at around an hour and a half.

The Ralph Cosham reading is the most in the pocket in my opinion, reliable and cozy — also the production quality is excellent. You can cleanly and clearly hear every word of his work, which in Cumberbatch’s version because of the low mastering volume & vocal flourishes is difficult at times.

The Martin Jarvis version was the last I listened to & is probably my 2nd favorite because of his performance, he has a very classic mid-20th century English cadence. Though the production sounds dated, it does use traditional symphonic flourishes to move the listener between segments.