A rather alarming story about the hard working Gregor who wakes up one morning to find that he has transformed into a large insect of the beetle variety. This is a cause of consternation to himself and his family as they need him to go to work because they are solely reliant on his salary.
Gregor’s sister at first takes time to leave food and water for him and to change his room around so that he may scuttle about unhindered, although she is very wary of him. But as the days and weeks go by and the family realise they must take their financial situation into their own hands Gregor is neglected, and as his insectile instincts begin to take over he becomes feared. Finally, unable to accommodate his new feeding habits he eventually starves to death.
There are some rather disgusting moments, one being when Gregor first transforms and needs to unlock the door to his room with his mandibles and obviously does some damage as he notices dark fluid dripping over the key!
The end of this novel is almost prophetic as when Kafka contracted Tuberculosis (the medical profession had no knowledge of intravenous feeding back then) due to a raging sore throat he died from starvation.
The theme progression brings to mind how I felt about An American Werewolf in London. It is darkly humorous to begin with, but becomes very profound and very sad. It’s a story you need to read a few times to fully appreciate its brilliance.
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