I began by thinking that I didn't understand these stories - it was like listening to a physics lecture in a language I'd never heard before: I was certain all those words MEANT something, but damned if I knew what.

Then I began to get a handle on some of what was meant, and I felt that, after all, I wasn't much pleased. Kafka had a MESSAGE to convey when he wrote these stories, and I never much cared for MESSAGES. Still, surreal is an interesting headspace to be in, even if I don't like what I see when I'm there.