The Metamorphosis (Franz Kafka)

The Metamorphosis
by Franz Kafka

The Metamorphosis (German: Die Verwandlung) is a novella by Franz Kafka, first published in 1915. It is often cited as one of the seminal works of short fiction of the 20th century and is widely studied in colleges and universities across the western world; Elias Canetti described it as "one of the few great and perfect works of the poetic imagination written during this century". The story begins with a traveling salesman, Gregor Samsa, waking to find himself transformed into an insect.

About the Author:
Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a major fiction writer of the 20th century. He was born to a middle-class German-speaking Jewish family in Prague, Bohemia (presently the Czech Republic), Austria–Hungary. His unique body of writing—much of which is incomplete and which was mainly published posthumously—is considered to be among the most influential in Western literature.

Kafka was born in one of the houses on Pragues Old Town Square, right next to the Church of St. Nicholas. A gallery with a permanent exposition on Kafkas life has been opened in this house.

His stories include The Metamorphosis (1912) and In the Penal Colony (1914), while his novels are The Trial (1925), The Castle (1926) and Amerika (1927).
(Source: wikipedia)