In the Presence of "This Creature"

Happy Halloween - and welcome to the final episode of our current Tale for Our Time: Franz Kafka's unforgettable novella, Metamorphosis. In tonight's conclusion to our story, the metamorphosis of Gregor's family is complete - to them - he is no longer "he", only a tiresome "it", whose burden they no longer wish to bear:

"My dear parents," said his sister, slapping her hand on the table by way of introduction, "things can't go on like this. Perhaps you don't realize that, but I do. I won't utter my brother's name in the presence of this creature, and so all I say is: we must try to get rid of it. We've tried to look after it and to put up with it as far as is humanly possible, and I don't think anyone could reproach us in the slightest."

Members of The Mark Steyn Club can hear me read the finale of Metamorphosis simply by clicking here and logging-in. Earlier episodes can be found here. As Kathy Shaidle says:

One of the great works of world literature. Thank you!

Kathy was a big hit on our recent sell-out Steyn cruise, and she'll be joining me on Friday for a special edition of The Mark Steyn Show. Meanwhile, for this All Hallows eve, if you're dodging path-crossing black felines we have a bonus Tale for Our Time for tonight: Kipling's "The Cat That Walked By Himself".

We'll be back with a brand new audio adventure - our eighteenth - in early November. Meanwhile, if you've yet to hear any of our radio serials, you can do so by joining The Mark Steyn Club. For details on membership, see here - and don't forget our special gift membership.