my first kafka book! honesty i do see what the obsession is all about, this book was so...compelling. i don't know if it was supposed to be but i found it super funny at moments, some of the quotes were genuinely laugh out loud. there was a lot said in such a short book but i think it was the perfect length, i just picked up this book when i wanted something simple on my kindle and it fulfilled that function perfectly. i definitely want to read some more books by kafka i'm just not sure which book to read next. this book was weird in the best way possible and despite having a premise which shouldn't work as a compelling story i was genuinely hurt as Gregor got more and more neglected by his family. especially his sister going from trying to care for him to just seeing him as more of a burden than a brother and calling him "it" rather than "him" - it really upset me to read. truthfully, im sure there are much smarter people out there who read this book and can pick out the subtleties of the themes and messages of the book, but i was just reading this one for fun but i can totally see it being a great book to really delve into and analyse. some themes i kind of picked up on whilst reading was this idea of just how useful are you to society if you're suddenly unable to contribute, i think its really interesting that tension between duty and family. the feelings Gregor has of guilt at being unable to work, unable to provide and take care of his family are very strongly described, especially the scene where hes listening to his sister play violin and the guests aren't paying attention and he says he wishes he could hug her and tell her he appreciates her music ("because no one valued the recital as he longed to value it") that made me really emotional. i see how people have more socialist/marxist readings of this book too, its obvious the comments on worker exploitation, especially the character of the boss, the line "you are neglecting - i mention this only incidentally - your commercial duties" is objectively hilarious and full of irony, but the very fact that people are alarmed not that Gregor maybe unwell but that he may not be able to work is very telling. unrelated but all the lines of Gregor feeling awkward about making too much noise or worrying people by just existing were painfully relatable, he is the true overachieving socially anxious eldest sibling representation we needed in society, thank you kakfa.
BEST QUOTES: "earlier when the door had been barred they had all wanted to come in to him, how, when he had opened the door...no one came any more" / "they were cleaning out his room; taking away from him everything he cherished" / "in this overworked and exhausted family who had time any longer to worry about Gregor more than was absolutely necessary?" / "was he a beast that music so captivated him. It was as if the way to the unknown nourishment he craved was revealing itself"