Metamorphosis and other stories

Kafkaesque is the term used to describe something irrational. Metamorphosis does full justice to that word. Gregor Samsa, a hard working and on the road salesman, wakes up one day to find out that he has turned into a "monstrous verminous bug". His parents and sister are horrified by his appearance and can't stomach him being around. Gregor senses this and restricts himself to his room. Here, he crawls on to the window every morning until evening just peering out. His parents and sister slowly get tired of looking after him and Gregor decides to starve himself to death to relieve them of the burden. More than the story, the imagery and language is fantastic. This is that one story that makes the whole book worth it.

The rest of the stories cover some expedition or describe a situation which the author has experienced.