![]() ![]() Susan Bernofsky: If you want to imagine him as a big cockroach, go ahead, but I myself think the vagueness of his insectness is part of his inhuman condition. How did you initially picture the creature, the first time you read The Metamorphosis? Sumanth Prabhaker: I’ve always imagined Gregor as a giant cockroach, but Nabokov describes him as a three-foot beetle. In the leadup to the publication of our Book of Bugs, I reached out to Bernofsky to ask her about Gregor Samsa and the other insects of her reading life. Who among us hasn’t seen the worst of the world reflected back at us in the mirror? Who hasn’t felt the sting of apples on one’s back? Thanks to Bernofsky’s subtle touch, Kafka’s work suddenly felt relatable, nearly private. ![]() After years of Richard Dawkins-like grumpiness, I finally revisited Kafka’s The Metamorphosis through Susan Bernofsky’s 2014 translation and discovered it as a whole new creature: sweet, charming, curious, and terrifyingly realistic. ![]()
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