With A to Z Classics, discover or rediscover all the classics of literature. Contains Active Table of Contents (HTML) and in the end of book include a bonus link to the free audiobook. The Metamorphosis (German: Die Verwandlung) is a novella by Franz Kafka, first published in 1915. The story begins with a traveling salesman, Gregor Samsa, waking to find himself transformed into a "monstrous vermin".