🎙️ E. Florian Gludovacz

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Read Florian’s story, Transformation, on Foofaraw now!

At the risk of starting with the most cliché question… where did the idea for Transformation come from?

The obvious inspiration for the story is Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis”, which isn’t terribly difficult to spot. The protagonist even shares his initials with Kafka’s Gregor Samsa. However, I’d like to think that my story is more than just a retelling of the classic. I’ll have to give you a little bit of background on how the story came about. I’m bilingual in German and English and attended a German-language high school. So, naturally, I was exposed to a fair bit of Kafka in the original German. I always enjoyed the contrast of surreal storytelling with his sometimes very stark and austere linguistic style. As far as the German title is concerned, “Die Verwandlung” implies a different flavour from the more technical “Metamorphosis”, because it has a more magical and irrational connotation, which is why I chose “Transformation” as the title.

I very consciously used the “tired old trope” of “it was just a dream” to reframe the story after the dream sequence. It’s not just a nightmare or a turnaround bug gag. There are aspects of mental health and depression, which is a frequent Kafka theme. Then there are social/societal pressures, which is another Kafka favourite. The environmental angle is very much my own extrapolation into our present reality, but I think that Kafka might have had something to say on the subject, if he was alive today.

So, I like to think of “Transformation” as my homage to Franz Kafka.

What kind of extended warranties do you think George sells?

I think he only sells the very worst kind you can imagine and during an eight-hour workday, he somehow still manages to interrupt everyone’s dinner and creates a small, petty nuisance for whoever picks up the phone.

A recurring theme with Kafka is the institutional bureaucracy that leaves the individual powerless and impotent in the face of an irrational and overwhelming authority. I think in the modern corporate world, things like call centres, extended warranties, and automated AI agents that make you navigate a phone menu represent the logical progression from Kafka’s initial concept. And, of course, my character George is himself trapped in this vile machinery, even as he perpetuates this absurd system.

Have you ever had a nightmare similar to George’s?

I do have the weirdest dreams and I remember at least parts of them quite often. Sometimes these even turn into ideas for my stories. However, I don’t recall a specific bug-related dream. The best I can do is savage Neanderthal hunter-gatherers living in my basement who try to murder me every time I go down to grab something from the downstairs pantry.

If you woke up as a bug, how would you convince your family it was you?

I think my best bet would be for my dog to recognise me or my scent and make it clear that I’m not a threat. Uncanny and amazing animal instincts and all that jazz. And my kind and loving wife has a very practical streak so there is at least a 50 percent chance that she might simply squash me like a literal bug and be done with it. Or, she might acknowledge it as another eccentric artist/writer thing, shrug it off, and let me get on with my bug phase. Living with a writer comes with its own challenges, after all.

Are you afraid of spiders or any other bugs?

Not so much these days. I went through an arachnophobic phase for a while—specifically those hairy wolf spiders that will show up in your shower or tub, just as you step in naked—but I’m mostly over it now. When we moved to the countryside a few years ago, on the first day in the new house, we had a tarantula in the hallway. Talk about “buyer’s remorse”. But as long as they are not in the house, they are actually quite interesting creatures, and I enjoy watching them cross our patio on summer evenings. They are kind of territorial and walk the same route every day. I’m just a step away from giving them names. I also see a lot of cute jumping spiders and we get scorpions in the house when it’s really hot in summer. I would not recommend stepping on the latter barefoot, but they are not really scary. A hand vacuum cleaner gets them out of the way until they can be released outside.

Do you think other animals are jealous or furious with the way humans treat the planet?

My initial reaction was to say “No, unfortunately not, although they should be angry!”, but then I remembered those yacht-sinking orcas, so maybe they are furious after all. Douglas Adams postulated that humans are only the third most intelligent species on earth, behind mice and dolphins. Perhaps he meant to say orcas instead of dolphins, because those guys seem to be on to something.

Have you read any good short stories lately?

As a matter of fact, I have. I just finished reading two anthologies to which I contributed a story and it is always a special pleasure to read the whole book and enjoy all the other fine tales.

One collection is called “Whatever: A Gen X Flash Fiction Anthology” edited by Nicole McInnes. It’s a cool mix of nostalgia, speculative elements, and literary fiction.

The other book is a food horror anthology called “Consumed”, which is edited by John Ward and Kacey Flynn.

What book are you reading right now?

When I’m actively working on stories, I prefer not to get too invested in new stories by other authors, simply because I need to focus on my own thing. At the same time, I obviously don’t want to do without books. So, my “solution” to this largely imaginary problem is to revisit books I have read before. Right now, I’m finishing up a re-read of the Long Earth series by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter.

On these re-reads, I frequently switch over to the audiobook version, which is nice because the pacing of the narration gives a very different impression from reading the book. When you cannot skim over parts, the respective strengths and weaknesses of a story become very apparent.

Where else can we find you and your work?

In the fast-paced world (that can be terribly slow at times) of short fiction, it is difficult to promote everything adequately. By the time it’s out, I’m already working on the next thing. However, I can direct you to my Bluesky account @ndbag.bsky.social where I have a pinned thread with all of my stories. I also repost links to cool stories/comics/artwork by people I know/follow/admire. So, feel free to follow me on there, if you are so inclined.

Thanks to Florian for chatting bugs and nightmares with us!