Metamorphosis and Other Stories

This is one of those classic pieces of literature that has been dissected, discussed, and reviewed, almost since time immemorial, so I can't really add anything of substance to it. I'll just put down my quick thoughts.

This is my favorite book of Kafka's, and I really like Kafka. One of my favorite things to read and explore in a book is the intersection of the absurd and completely mundane, two conflicting aspects of reality, and seeing how people try to wrangle with them existing in the same spot.

You woke up as a giant insect one day? Yeah, well, people still gotta work and pay their rent. You're just going to have to chill under the couch and eat rotten vegetables while your family tries to wonder how they're going to feed themselves without your paycheck. Even as a giant insect, you're still trying to get out the door and tell your boss you can't make it into work.

It speaks to some kind of existential aspect to all of us that I love exploring. Because...it is kind of absurd, isn't it? The fact that even through the most surreal nightmare, we still have the compulsion to continue the daily grind. I've absolutely had nightmares that were crazy and bizarre, like finding out I had no mouth or my arms had been replaced with knives, but I was still trying to wake my mom up and so she can drive me to school. Isn't that so uniquely absurd in how human it is? Humans might be the only creature that will wake up as a giant bug and have their main priority be, “I still have to catch the train to go to work.”

Maybe it's because I'm a disgruntled millennial that this work kind of speaks to me; the sheer incredulous nature of it all, of knowing that just because you woke up as a giant insect one day, it doesn't mean your crushing obligations of daily life magically go away. To me, that's where the fascination and beauty(?) of Kafka's writing comes into play: The intersection of nightmarish surrealism with nightmarish mundane life, two different kinds of horror.

I'd be really interested to see how different generations react to this story. I'd be especially interested to see who sympathizes more with the family versus who sympathizes more with Gregor? While I sympathized with both parties, I definitely found myself feeling almost heartbroken for Gregor in the story.

So, if you're a nerd for classic literature like me, you'll probably like this book.