The Book Blog - Learning Resources at St. Johns River State College

Years ago, when I read Mary Karr’s wonderful memoir Lit, she gave English majors permission to admit they hadn’t read books from the so-called canon. I’ve never read Moby Dick. I’ve never read Ulysses. I’ve never read Plato’s Republic. And I’m not ashamed. Like book club, I read what I want!

During winter break, I picked up Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, another book that I’ve never read. I know the story, or so I thought I did. Gregor Samsa wakes up one morning to discover that he’s turned into a bug. (And Gregor isn’t just any old bug; he is a dung beetle, according to the charwoman.) But that’s all I knew about poor unfortunate Gregor. Kafka’s sad, sad, sad story is an engaging, strange, and un-put-down-able novella that moved me to tears.

A salesman who is on the road most of time, Gregor is at his family home when the metamorphosis happens. Getting out of bed proves to be difficult for the guy, as he can’t quite negotiate his four extra legs. Gregor’s family is confused when the once-punctual workaholic hasn’t come to breakfast, and he’s so late that his boss comes to pick him up! Gregor attempts to speak through the door and offer excuses for his tardiness, but his voice is also altered, almost beast-like.

This slim paperback edition is 60 pages long, and I devoured it in about an hour. Now I want to talk about it with others who’ve read this gem. I’ve asked several friends who said, “I read it years ago.” And the conversation ends there. I googled analyses of Kafka’s masterpiece. Most critics claim that Gregor’s transformation stands for alienation. But I see the theme as cruelty to those people who are closest to you, those who support you both monetarily and emotionally. Gregor was the family’s main support system, and when he could no longer work, he was neglected. Reading about his neglect will make you weep. His parents and sister, Grete, are unlikable characters who grow to hate the man (bug) who is of no use to them. SPOILER: I cried when Gregor reveals to the reader his secret plan to send Grete to a conservatory to play violin. Even as a beetle, he has more feeling in one of his four legs than all members of his family combined.

So…will someone please read Kafka’s most famous book so we can talk about it! I promise not to shame you if you’ve not read it yet.

You can access a copy from the SJRState library: Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis online

Recent Posts

A Review of Tad William’s epic fantasy- OR- “What we are really talking about is Tolkien.”

This week, our blog post is provided by everyone's favorite history professor/Sci-Fi reader, Matt Giddings! Hello again! It’s your resident sci-fi/fantasy enthusiast history professor here. This time around, I thought I’d talk about an epic fantasy series (or two) by an author I enjoy named Tad Williams. Williams has written in a bunch of genres, but he first got his start in the late 80s and early 90s in the epic fantasy genre with a trilogy named “Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn.” (NB it was a trilogy in hardcover, but they split the last book into two paperbacks – it was too long to be published as one). Of late, he returned to the genre to write a sequel series called “The Last King of Osten Ard.” The last volume of this came out last November, and since then I’ve been re reading the first series and reading the second for the first time- and I have some thoughts! So, let me start this out by saying I love some worldbuilding. If you write a book, and it’s in a secondary world and you need to put a map and an appendix in your book, I already preordered the hardcover. I’m here for it. That’s the kind of fantasy that Tad Williams is doing here – and he lands aesthetically, structurally, and thematically right square in the middle of a genre dominated by the Grandmaster of Fantasy, J. R. R. Tolkien. Let me just stop here and say that if you have never read The Lord of the Rings or the Hobbit, you obviously should because they are foundational to the genre of fantasy as we know it and also they are just good in general. I’ll keep banging this drum until I’m in the cold, cold ground, as I sure the membership of the St. Augustine Campus Book Club could tell you (I am looking at you Brenda Hoffman). Tolkien didn’t invent fantasy as a genre, but he casts the longest and largest shadow over the genre as it existed in the late 20th century in English – and Tad Williams clearly felt that he needed to write his way out from under that shadow when he started volume 1 of Memory, Sorrow and Thorn way back in the late 1980s. It’s all there – a young kid as main character, mysterious evil overlords, spooky wraiths, strange and cagey elves, magic artifacts (swords and not rings, but still) and a journey! If Memory, Sorrow and Thorn was Tad William’s attempt to grapple with Tolkien, I think he succeeded. I don’t wanna spoil the plot, because it’s a good one and I’ve always enjoyed these books, but it really reads like almost a Tolkien homage in some ways. The books were very successful, and so well received that a TV script and short story writer named George R R Martin realized that you could do interesting things with multivolume fantasy stories, and as a result stopped painting miniature 13th century French knights and started writing a series of books about them fighting each other called “A Song of Ice and Fire.” No, really, I’m serious. And for Tad Williams, well he went off and wrote a lot of other stuff – some steampunk elf fairy tales, some cyberpunk fairy tales and even some elf fairy tales. He’s all over the place! But readers (and maybe his publisher) and for sure his wife always nagged him about a Memory, Sorrow and Thorn sequel. So, he obliged. In 2017, he published a novella, “The Heart of What was Lost” that immediately follows the last book of Memory, Sorrow and Thorn and serves to set up the new series, which he began publishing soon after. The most interesting thing about “The Last King of Osten Ard” to me is that Williams has, like American fantasy in general, kinda drifted away from Tolkien since the 1980s. This series features (some) of the same characters, but it’s been 30 years for them – they are older, and so is Williams.Reading these books I can’t help but be struck by the absence of the familiar Tolkien tropes – no long journey (he handwaves a lot of the travelling) the presence of a much more complex and interwoven plot, and perhaps most strikingly the bad guys aren’t faceless evil goons – they have a major role in narrating the plot. Not only is that a change from “Memory, Sorrow and Thorn”, it’s a huge change from Tolkien, where the Orcs and Sauron himself are largely unseen antagonists, other than the battlefield. There’s still some Tolkien in the books – it is fantasy after all. But it’s a more mature writer embedded in a genre that spent the last 30 years continuously moving away from some of the tropes that had been crystallized by Tolkien – and for all that I love The Lord of the Rings, it is refreshing. Now, it’s not only Williams that’s doing this – Brandon Sanderson and Joe Abercrombie are two writers that come to mind, and no discussion of “Fantasy that’s not Tolkien on purpose” is complete without a mention of the towering presence of Steven Erikson, who has written the most consequential fantasy series of the last 30 years while at the same time deliberately rejecting Tolkien as a matter of course (and his books have SO MANY maps and a huge appendix!). But, Williams is a fascinating example of a writer who started in one place and went to another, and you can read him as he goes – and the books he wrote on the trip are excellent! I’ve got one more book in “The Last King of Osten Ard” left, so soon I’ll have some thoughts about the series as a whole – you can always find me and chat about it on either the Palatka or St. Augustine Campuses! Here’s the whole series, in order, for reference:Memory, Sorrow and Thorn:The Dragonbone Chair (1988)Stone of Farewell (1990)To Green Angel Tower (1993) (2 volumes in paperback)Interquel:The Heart of What was Lost (2017)The Last King of Osten Ard:The Witchwood Crown (2017)Empire of Grass (2019) (interquel) Brothers of the Wind (2021)Into the Narrowdark (2022)The Navigator’s Children (2024)...

Bog Woman Winter

[CONTENT WARNING: mentions of death, blood, human remains, and suicide]As someone with autism, I’m no stranger to falling down a hyperfixation rabbit hole. Last winter, and through much of 2024, I was obsessed with the lost Franklin Expedition, as some longtime readers of the Book Blog may or may not be aware.This winter, I have developed a different, but no less strange literary obsession: bogs. More specifically, bog bodies.This all started in early December, when I received an advanced reader copy of Johanna Van Veen’s Blood on Her Tongue via NetGalley. In this book, which will be released this March, a woman named Lucy receives news that her sister, Sarah, fell ill after assisting in the autopsy of a bog body which was found on her husband Michael’s property in the Dutch countryside. While trying to pry a rock out of the body’s mouth, Sarah cut her finger on one of the body’s teeth, and bog water got into the wound. After this, Sarah began to display some alarming behaviors, which included a sudden and severe wasting illness, a refusal to eat, changes in mood, and, most strangely of all, an intense thirst for human blood. Shortly after Lucy’s arrival at Sarah and Michael’s house, Sarah kills herself after attacking her doctor, who was also a lifelong friend (conflicts of interest didn’t exist in the 1800s); she wakes up again in her casket less than a week later on the morning of what would have been her funeral.At first, based on this information and the title of the book, I thought, Vampires! Nice! I love vampires!Lucy begins searching through her sister’s diaries and papers to see if there is any clue as to what has been going on, and she finds a number of scientific publications on blood-drinking bats, ticks, and a strange zombie ant phenomenon. And the whole time, I’m thinking it’s got to be vampires.It was not vampires. What it actually was is a bit strange and a bit hard to explain, and a whole lot more terrifying. If you like gothic horror and appreciate a good sisters-before-misters story, you might enjoy this one. I’d certainly recommend it.This book led me to return to a book I’d bought last year but never read past the first few pages, Kay Chronister’s The Bog Wife. This book tells the tale of the Haddesleys, who live on a cranberry bog in West Virginia which has supposedly been in their family for twelve generations. Their father, Charles Haddesley XI, is dying, and his five adult children know this means soon they’ll have to do the ritual that every generation of Haddesleys has done for the last eleven generations: at the moment of their father’s death, they must give his body to the bog; then, the next day, the eldest son must leave the house and venture into the bog naked, bathe in the bog muck, and go in search of The Bog Wife—a fully formed humanoid woman that the bog makes from scratch once a generation—and when he finds her, they must consummate their marriage in the place where his father died, and then return to the Haddesley estate to live as the unofficial lord and lady of the castle ruins that exist, for some reason, in the middle of this Appalachian cranberry bog (it sounds super weird, but Chronister makes it make sense later).There’s a problem, though: Charles “Charlie” Haddesley XII, Charles XI’s eldest son, is impotent and requires a cane to walk. So, Charles XI asks his second and only other son, Percy, to kill his brother, and to be sure to do it before Charles XI dies so he doesn’t “confuse the bog” about who the eldest Haddesley is. Percy, of course, can’t bring himself to kill his brother, and their father dies the morning after this conversation, before he can be taken down to the bog. When they try to give his body to the bog, it doesn’t accept him, and his body simply floats on top of the sphagnum for a disturbingly long time. Nevertheless, the next morning, Charlie drags himself through the bog in search of his wife, only to find that the bog has not created a woman for him to marry. The bargain which has existed between the Haddesleys and the bog for centuries has been broken, and no one knows why, or what they should do.This book is also gothic horror, of the Southern variety. It’s also a beautiful story about the give-and-take relationship between humanity and Mother Earth, and a subtle commentary on climate change. There’s much to be said as well about the way Chronister handles generational trauma, and recovering from abuse. This one is probably my favorite of the two books I’ve mentioned so far.Chronister’s Bog Wife got me thinking, though—Are there bog bodies in North America? After perusing Ye Olde Google, I found out that, yes, there are! And there are even some from Florida!In the 1980s at Windover Pond, just outside of Titusville, Florida, an underwater cemetery containing the remains of a civilization that existed 7,000–8,000 years ago was found while preparing a wetland for development. Researchers have not discovered much more about this community than what can be gleaned from these bodies and the grave goods found with them. DNA analysis cannot link them to any known Native American population, either from the past or who still exist today, so no one knows who these ancient Floridians were. What is known, however, is that they existed as a community for at least a thousand years, and that they predated metallurgy, agriculture, and most forms of pottery in Florida, but that they must have had some kind of cultural or spiritual beliefs about the orientation of the body in the grave because almost all of the bodies were found in the same position, facing the same direction. They also showed signs of having used medicine such as grapeseed and other local plants which are known to have healing properties or the ability to alleviate pain and help with digestion. Their clothing is also almost all plant-based, though there was evidence of deerskin used to cover the bodies in structures shaped almost like small, one-person teepees.The Palatka campus library has a book about this discovery, Life and Death at Windover by Rachel K. Wentz. Overall, this book provides an excellent explanation of the findings of the archaeological digs that occurred at the site in the ‘80s, which makes sense because Wentz, though she was never there herself, was a student of one of the archaeologists who led the excavation. I would recommend reading this book if you’re interested in learning more about the graves at Windover, but I probably wouldn’t recommend using it as a source for a paper because Wentz does not cite any sources, she makes several grandiose claims that she doesn’t back up with data, and her writing could have benefitted from another round of proofreading and editing....

Kafka made me cry

Years ago, when I read Mary Karr’s wonderful memoir Lit, she gave English majors permission to admit they hadn’t read books from the so-called canon. I’ve never read Moby Dick. I’ve never read Ulysses. I’ve never read Plato’s Republic. And I’m not ashamed. Like book club, I read what I want!During winter break, I picked up Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, another book that I’ve never read. I know the story, or so I thought I did. Gregor Samsa wakes up one morning to discover that he’s turned into a bug. (And Gregor isn’t just any old bug; he is a dung beetle, according to the charwoman.) But that’s all I knew about poor unfortunate Gregor. Kafka’s sad, sad, sad story is an engaging, strange, and un-put-down-able novella that moved me to tears. A salesman who is on the road most of time, Gregor is at his family home when the metamorphosis happens. Getting out of bed proves to be difficult for the guy, as he can’t quite negotiate his four extra legs. Gregor’s family is confused when the once-punctual workaholic hasn’t come to breakfast, and he’s so late that his boss comes to pick him up! Gregor attempts to speak through the door and offer excuses for his tardiness, but his voice is also altered, almost beast-like. This slim paperback edition is 60 pages long, and I devoured it in about an hour. Now I want to talk about it with others who’ve read this gem. I’ve asked several friends who said, “I read it years ago.” And the conversation ends there. I googled analyses of Kafka’s masterpiece. Most critics claim that Gregor’s transformation stands for alienation. But I see the theme as cruelty to those people who are closest to you, those who support you both monetarily and emotionally. Gregor was the family’s main support system, and when he could no longer work, he was neglected. Reading about his neglect will make you weep. His parents and sister, Grete, are unlikable characters who grow to hate the man (bug) who is of no use to them. SPOILER: I cried when Gregor reveals to the reader his secret plan to send Grete to a conservatory to play violin. Even as a beetle, he has more feeling in one of his four legs than all members of his family combined. So…will someone please read Kafka’s most famous book so we can talk about it! I promise not to shame you if you’ve not read it yet. You can access a copy from the SJRState library: Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis online ...

Let the Library Entertain you this Winter Break!

One time a year I am guaranteed to do a lot of reading is during my winter break. Every year, I look forward to curling up in a comfy chair with a cup of hot chocolate to catch up on my ever-growing “to be read” list. If I have projects to get done around the house during my time off, you can usually find me working on those while listening to an audiobook. There’s nothing like a good story to make the time fly by while doing chores!Did you know that SJR State students, faculty, and staff have access to the library’s physical and digital resources while we’re off on winter break? This includes books (print and digital), audiobooks, and streaming videos! Here is a quick roundup of resources that could help you stay merry during our much-needed break!Libby is the Library’s newest resource, but many of you may already be familiar with it. Libby is a database that allows you to enjoy eBooks and digital audiobooks on the device of your choice. Libby has a great app that you can download to your phone or tablet to access our growing collection of eBooks and audiobooks. You don’t need a library card number- just search for St. Johns River State College by name, and you’ll be prompted to sign on. Once you’ve been authenticated, you can send books to your device to start reading!Our streaming video database, Kanopy, invites you to celebrate the season with a special selection of holiday films. Whether you are looking for kid-friendly content to entertain the whole family or holiday-themed films to get into the seasonal spirit, Kanopy has got you covered. Kanopy’s easy-to-use app makes it simple to access your favorite holiday films on the go or from home on your TV or mobile device. For those of you who want to check out DVDs and books in print to enjoy during the holiday- please do! You can keep them during the break and bring them back NEXT YEAR. Remember, students, faculty, and staff can check out an unlimited number of books at one time and up to three DVDs at a time. If you need recommendations, please let a campus librarian know. I have no doubt that our team of librarians can hook you up with a pile of books and movies to keep you busy until 2025.Here are a few of my favorite reads from this year:When the World Calls: the Inside Story of the Peace Corps and its First Fifty YearsUnder the Whispering DoorThe Devil at his ElbowNestlingsValley of the DollsThe Light PirateSociopath: a MemoirThe Invisible Life of Addie LaRue...

Kafka made me cry

Leave a comment