Beetle

While writing the exceptionally short blog on metamorphosis, I was actually reading Beetle Boy (卡夫卡變蟲記) by David Lawrence.

The book is a gift from my friend KM, and the story was based on Metamorphosis of Franz Kafka. I met the original version when I was a medical student and has always been puzzled about what the legendary novelist was trying to tell us. Believe it or not, there are no fewer than a handful of sensible but rather complicated explanations around. I must say I am not satisfied with any. My gut feeling is, as his first full-length novel, Kafka must have a critical but simple message.

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I read it with Euterpe as part of her regular reading project. For obvious reasons I am not going to discuss my princess's homework or the story told by Lawrence, which is primarily written for children. However, when Euterpe read it aloud, I saw light.

I mean I suddenly understand the message that Franz Kafka was trying to convey.