CHANGE

Ron Herczig does a splendid job retelling, in a contemporary setting, Franz Kafka's novel THE METAMORPHOSIS. Robert Cavanaugh is a traveling salesman who is shocked one morning when he awakens to find it difficult to roll over because he's turned into a dung beetle. Herczig's Cavanaugh is at times hilarious, puzzled, and finally resigned. His vivid utterances of words such as "bitter," "filth," and "rage" are appropriate and add to the listener's sympathy for the salesman's plight. It's astonishing to hear Cavanaugh acquire the insect's personality and needs. It is also unsettling to observe the family's deterioration; they eventually come to hate their once beloved son. As he slowly dies, listeners will feel shock and even sadness. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2015]