A masterful mix of horror and absurdity that tells the story of traveling salesman Samsa, who wakes up one day to find out he has turned into a giant insect. Kafka's novella has beenadapted for film and television a number of times, most recently for radio when BBC's Radio 4 broadcast the story, read by Benedict Cumberbatch, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of its first publication. A masterful mix of horror and absurdity that tells the story of traveling salesman Samsa, who wakes up one day to find out he has turned into a giant insect. Kafka's novella has beenadapted for film and television a number of times, most recently for radio when BBC's Radio 4 broadcast the story, read by Benedict Cumberbatch, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of its first publication. Born into a middle-class Jewish family in Prague, Franz Kafka (1883-1924) was one of the most influential writers of the 20th century--his name has become a byword for alienation and guilt--and his work is both harrowing and humorous, featuring individuals caught up in an impersonal and bureaucratic world over which they have increasingly little power.