‘It’s only because of their stupidity that they’re able to be so sure of themselves.’

On the morning of his thirtieth birthday Josef K. is arrested for an unspecified crime. One morning Gregor Samsa opens his eyes to discover that he has been transformed into a monstrous bug. Josef K. finds himself drawn into a quasi-legal labyrinth, while Gregor is imprisoned in his own horrific body. Strange and provocative, these tales bear down on the essential nature of Man: our desires, our hopes and our fears.

Published to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of publication, these remarkably prescient stories remain essential reading. Unparalleled in its originality, Kafka’s writing gave birth to its own adjective, ‘Kafkaesque’ – a rare feat and one that changed the course of modern literature.