The Metamorphosis

The Metamorphosis, also translated as The Transformation, is a novella by Franz Kafka published in 1915, telling the story of salesman Gregor Samsa, who wakes to find himself inexplicably transformed into a huge insect and struggles to adjust to the condition, as does his family. One of Kafka's best-known works, at about 70 printed pages it is the longest of the stories Kafka considered complete and published during his lifetime, first appearing in the October 1915 issue of the journal Die weissen Blatter under the editorship of Rene Schickele, with the first book edition following in December 1915 in the series Der jungste Tag, edited by Kurt Wolff. The novella has been widely discussed among literary critics, who have offered varied interpretations, and in popular culture the insect is commonly depicted as a cockroach.