By Franz Kafka
‘As Gregor Samsa woke one morning from uneasy dreams, he found himself transformed into some kind of monstrous vermin.’ With a bewildering blend of the everyday and the fantastical, Kafka thus begins his most famous short story, The Metamorphosis. A commercial traveler is unexpectedly freed from his dreary job by his inexplicable transformation into an insect, which drastically alters his relationship with his family.
Okay, here's another book I had to read for a college class, and this was actually the second time around for me. I hated this book for years because of a so-called interpretation from a college lecture. This time around was much better, and I found the book strange, at times funny, and a little disturbing. A dude turns into a bug one day and his family hides him. The ensuing months and chaos. It's masterfully written and works on your curiosity in a subtle way. It's a quick read, you could read it in one sitting. If you want something different and a quick fix, this is a book you should take a look at. I suggest, however, that you don't read or look up any of the literary stuff on it; can get kinda out there and nasty.
