04/11/2025
Someone had written a short story they presented to the writing group I am in and it reference Gregor. Having not read this before, I didn’t get the joke so it was time to rectify that. The absurdity of this story was fantastic. So much so I was sure Douglas Adams had been influenced by Kafka, but that turned out to not be the case. This isn’t all humor of course, but waking up as a giant bug only being able to hear other people, what a nightmare. The transformation of the family as they had to finally stop mooching off their son, but then, as their feelings for him changed as time went on, as they saw him differently. An absolute classic for sure. For something written in 1915, it felt much more modern.
Given it is such a quick read, surprisingly being on of Kafka’s longest stories, it really is more of a thought experiment. I am not normally a fan of short stories as much, because you have so little time with the characters, but this, it really works. And the wording used for Gregor’s action is absolutely well chosen. If anything feels dated, it’s probably the boss coming to the house when he was late and the mom fainting over and over.
2025-16
