I had this book for a long time. I didn't even know what it was about, I just liked the cover (I also have other 'Pulp! The Classics' books).
I wanted to get back into reading, and this seems like a quick read (just a little over a hundred pages) so I decided to give it a go.
Gregor Samsa is a young, hard working travelling salesman. One day, he woke up feeling odd and to his horror, he turned into a large bug (didn't exactly say what but most people think of him as a roach).
I HATE bugs, cockroaches to be specific but I do feel sorry for him. Not just the fact that he turned into a roach but his family kind of discarded him because he's not useful anymore and he turned into a burden. I don't even think it's been a full year but they're already at the end of their limit. But at the same time, I do understand his father and sister. On the surface, caring for him doesn't sound like a lot (just give him rotten food and keep him confined in his room) but they couldn't fully move forward with life with Gregor at the back of their minds. They all had to get jobs to survive yet someone still needs to be at home at all times (probably to ensure Gregor doesn't escape or to ensure someone won't discover him accidentally). I think, they had to isolate themselves from their family and friends. It may not seem like much now, but clearly the uncertainty of how long do they have to keep their lives on hold is weighing them down.
Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but Gregor seems a little obsessed with his sister (Grete). Not just because he has to rely on her for food that he became weirdly attached. Even early on in the book, there's just something about the way he talks about the sound of her skirt, and being surprised at her getting dressed quickly, it makes me feel that he pays a little too close to her habits and presence.
His injuries and lack of appetite aside, maybe being a bug shortened his life span? I think he would have died earlier, if he haven't kept holding on to the last bit of humanity he has, the memory of his family. Otherwise it's a bit coincidental for him to die on the same night he heard his family talk about how life would be better without him.
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