In 1915, Franz Kafka published what would be his most famous work: a curious novella called The Metamorphosis, about a traveling salesman who wakes up one morning to discover he’s a huge, hideous bug.
Nearly 100 years later, a fledgling New York publishing company called Rocket Chair Media is launching an utterly 21st-century take on Kafka’s surrealist tale: The Metamorphosis: for iPad. In this inventive and original app, the now-classic story unfolds through the user’s twists, turns, and pinches, which prompt words to meander through eerily atmospheric pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations. Even without sound effects and videos, the movement of the text and images evokes the tingling sensation of a cockroach crawling across the screen.
Creator Joel Golombeck’s vision for the company perfectly describes its debut app: “The goal of Rocket Chair Media is to synergize the beauty of – and nostalgia for – literature’s rich tradition with the new frontier of multimedia reading platforms.” The Metamorphosis: for iPad is an exciting way to show book and technology lovers alike what that synergy can look like.
From January 1 – 8 the iPad app is on sale for $4.99 (regular price: $9.99) at the iTunes store. Happy new app!
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