A reader sent the following letter to Franz Kafka in 1917: Dear Sir:

You have made me unhappy. I bought your “Metamorphosis” as a gift for my cousin. But she is incapable of understanding the story. My cousin gave it to her mother who doesn’t understand it either. Her mother gave the book to my other cousin who also did not find an explanation. Now they have written to me. They expect me to explain the story to them since I am the PH. D. in the family, but I am a loss to explain it.

Sir, I have spent months in the trenches exchanging blows with the Russians without batting an eyelash. But I could not stand losing my good name with my cousins. Only you can help me. You must do it since you are the one who landed me in this mess. So please tell me what my cousin should think about Metamorphosis.

Most Respectfully yours,

Dr. Siegfried Wolff

Many would agree that The Metamorphosis resists interpretation, or at least a single or literal reading. How would you explain the “story” to someone else? How would Kafka? Write a letter to Dr. Wolff in Kafka’s voice, advising him what to tell his cousin.