I'm 21. I read The Castle, The Stranger, Cain (by Saramago),

>>8347889
How was The Castle?

>>8347916
I liked it a lot, loved the atmosphere. Also read Amerika and found them similar and enjoyed it for similar reasons. Amerika was more tense and that made it fun. I feel like seeing Kafka's characters react to the situations they're put in (not necessarily with their actions but also their emotions) in a way makes my life experience grow and makes me better suited to face life's emotional challenges. Also for this reason I liked the books.

>>8347889

Steppenwolf is entry-lvl literature, but it's still literature. The themes are mostly deeper than that of those other books, so it's natural you feel blocked.

Your brain can develop to understand difficult texts and ideas, it will only take some time. You gotta read more books and become more fluent in their literary themes before tackling more difficult works. And this proccess is repeated each time you find a harder book.

>>8347889
I've hit odd speed bumps. I couldn't read Mrs. Dalloway or Nausea the first few times I tried, don't know why.

Try switching gears and read something else to give your mind something else to chew on, then go back to Steppenwolf.
Based on your taste I'd recc
>The Trial
>Demian
>Stoner
>Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man

If you're a new reader don't sweat it. You'll get better, but stick with it. I was the same way starting out and I haven't improved much since, but fuck it. Also, you might be dumb. I think I am. You shouldn't let this discourage your choices though.