Franz Kafka (1883-1924) was a prolific German-speaking Bohemian author based in Prague, now widely regarded as one of the principal literary figures of the 20th century. His stories, infused with acute realism and the absurdly fantastic, often feature isolated protagonists facing bizarre, surrealistic predicaments and bewildering, impenetrable socio-bureaucratic powers. In 1915, he published one of his best-known works, Metamorphosis,...