Gregor wakes up transformed into a bug. No doubt hugely original when it was first published in 1915. Like ‘Waiting for Godot’, no explanations/ interpretations are offered by the author, leaving the reader to make their own. And is The metamorphosis solely about Gregor’s reduction or Greta, his sister’s flowering into an empowered woman, able to contribute both domestically & financially to the family?

Absurdist, with absurdist elements. Gregor wakes as a bug & immediately worries about his job. When the 3 lodgers promptly leave without even packing when told to do so, I could visualise like a Monty Python sketch.

So, I’m glad I’ve got this famous novella under my belt, one that has been much discussed & has influenced writers/ film-makers / thinkers. But, I actually found it a very tedious read, and was even more grateful when I had finished the last page... ( )

Changing the rating to five stars. Because this book had an excellent introduction. And it is no easy job to introduce Kafka. And how do you make an introduction to Kafka excellent, by including his short stories in there. ( Point in case. Before the law and the Emperor's message )

All hail Kafka. ( )

The short summary - Kafka's stories with plots are entertaining, often amusing, certainly thought-provoking, if disturbing and at times confronting. Kafka's stories that are merely internal monologues have some good material, but are too long and self-indulgent.

"Metamorphosis" - takes you by surprise, as you slowly adjust to the realisation that Herr Samsa is, indeed, a giant bug. This story (novella?) is absurd in both its premise (that domestic considerations could dominate such an event) as well as in its humour. Because in its own way this is a humourous tale. You laugh some with Samsa, but much more at him. Kafka's concerns of normality, domesticity, security and order against one's own self-loathing and the unconcern of those around are at the fore. One is left to one's own isolated monstrosity in wider society.

"The Great Wall of China" - evocative of a time long past, long ago in a land far away, yet strangely contemporary. Far off and nameless authorities, omniscient and probably omnipotent, inspire faith in plans that seem at first nonsensical and absurd. Whiffs of Orwellianism (or, I should say, Orwell had not a little Kafka in him). The futility of individuals to understand the workings of the state (such as Kafka's Austro-Hungarian Empire) and a call to (and, therefore, a call against) blinkered acceptance of one's place in the scheme of things. Probably also metaphorical of our inability to understand any of life, despite our faith in those authorites we call gods.

"Investigations of a Dog" - disorienting in its portrayal of life from a dog's point of view, with their half-understood folklore and ways. A bizzare dreamland, but one dominated by the author's monologue, as a dog. A dog who dares to question. Ultimately you are crushed beneath the introspective neurosis of Kafka as he spends far too long indulging himself. As I read part of me insists that he really needed medication, not introspection.

"The Burrow" - lighter in tone than the preceeding, more in touch with real life. At first delightful to read, in the way Kafka paints the simple joys of a creature in its borrow. But its length again defeats it, especially when he gives vent to his futile fears when the creature leaves the nest. Who doesn't want to shake Kafka and say, "Take action, man, make a decision, get a grip!" Yes, I get it that he valued a serenity and security he could never achieve. But must I drown in his depression too?

"In the Penal Settlement" - at last, a story with a plot! I had read this before, but it loses none of its power in the retelling. The Officer, so blinkered in his lust for proper authority, order and technical mastery over any feelings of humanity or horror of barbarity. The Explorer, put in an invidious position, who, eventually, with one word destroys the Officer's hopes. All set against an unreal backdrop with a horrific proposition. Now I smell Beckett. The deeply disturbing climax, yet all thought of redmption and change abandoned with one final action of the Explorer as he insulates himself from humanity, expressing his ultimate identification with the Officer. Lacking the humourous charm of "Metamorphosis", yet arguably a more powerful story.

"The Giant Mole" - again, the futility of reaching out to your fellows, the misunderstanding your actions will bring, and the blinkered arrogance of those in authority. And, at the last, the narrator's inability (like the Explorer) to transcend the polite norms of society. The impossibility of ever connecting with others.

Kafka can be entertaining, enlightening, moving. But he can also be stifling, frustrating, depressing.