I didn't know what to expect - the central gimmick, of course, is a cultural touchstone - but I had no idea what Kafka did with it. "Come for the bug man, stay for the ..."?

Imagine if Dostoevsky decided to write a sci-fi.

It's odd. And it has humor. Especially in Part I. Really dry stuff. If I were a bug, I think my reaction would be along the lines of "AAAAUUUUGGGHHHH!!!! I'M A BUG!!! I'M A BUG!!!" but Gregor is more like, "Wow, the boss is NOT going to like this."

It also has despair and loneliness. And resignation. And rebirth - maybe not rebirth I'm supposed to feel good about, but I did. Maybe I'm supposed to hate and resent the hope at the end, but I couldn't. Anyway, it's there.

Basically, it deals with the reality of becoming a bug in a lower-middle-class family. The parallels to having a wage earner in the family who's suddenly permanently incapacitated are obvious. Maybe not on first thought, but on second thought. And the dynamics play out much the same.

It's a quick read, and I highly recommend it. Of course, I may be the last person on goodreads who *hasn't* ever read this, but in case I'm not, go read about the bug man.