Customer Reviews

Insect Dreams: The Half Life Of Gregor Samsa

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(7)
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2 star:		(1)
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When an imaginative and gifted author can use a giant roach as his main character, include a romance between the roach and a human, and still make you love him, he's accomplished a colossal feat. Yet these are only a few of Estrin's marvelous achievements in this thoughtful, but very playful, and often very funny chronicle of western history and thought from World War I through the dropping of the atomic bomb in World War II. Gregor Samsa, the famous salesman turned roach in Kafka's Metamorphosis, ends up not in Kafka's dustbin, but as part of a Viennese freak show run by Amadeus Hoffnung, in the opening chapter, "Tails of Hoffnung."

Reciting Rilke and discoursing on Spengler's Decline of the West, Gregor attracts the attention of writer Robert Musil, who tells him that although western humanity is finished, that "Society...is in a larval state. What it needs is a larval model to lead it onward, upward, and out of the corral," and Gregor is that larval model, his ironic task being to teach us what it means to be human.

In lighthearted, fast-paced prose, Estrin describes Gregor's emigration to New York, his search for identity, and his eventual connection to seminal events in western history and the people responsible for them. The music of Charles Ives, the Scopes trial (at which Gregor, ironically, testifies), the executions of Sacco and Vanzetti, the election and administration of FDR, and the development of the atomic bomb are just a few of Estrin's sensitively presented turning points of American history. At Eleanor Roosevelt's urging, Gregor accepts the offer to move into the White House, where he lives, literally, as part of the "kitchen cabinet" and works at the Department of Agriculture as an exterminator.

Extermination and the death of "others" are, in fact, strong themes throughout this novel, despite its playfulness, and an increasing gravity and darkness develop as the plot progresses. As Gregor, the king of otherness, shows us, the U.S., historically, has not been immune to prejudice, and he is remarkably critical of FDR for failing to take an early stand against the Holocaust when clear evidence was available to him. Still, this powerful book ends on a positive note, one which readers of this extraordinary tale will long remember--and, I suspect, share with their friends. Mary Whipple

INSECT DREAMS is an allegory following in the footsteps of THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, GULLIVER'S TRAVELS and CANDIDE. Gregor, metamorphosed into a man-sized roach, canters picaresquely through some of the key historical events of the first half of the Twentieth Century as if they were real. The bug's conversations with Ludwig Wittgenstein, Charles Ives, Albert Einstein, Leo Szilard, FDR, Richard Feynman and J. Robert Oppenheimer-to name only a few-are unbelievably comic as well as profoundly sad. The concept of a roach contributing the vital ingredients to several of the social programs and inventions that make up our "World of Tomorrow" is darkly funny, something like a Jewish joke told in the Warsaw Ghetto. His being bug-brown, Jewish, smart, bearing a chronic open wound inflicted by his father as well as belonging to the insect Order Orthoptera, Family Blattidae (cockroaches), creatures almost universally detested, would indeed seem to be a loaded symbolic trope if Estrin hadn't made his hero so loveable.

Estrin's prose is both forceful and graceful. His intelligence is enormous, encompassing biology and medicine, music, literature and of course manners, politics and history. Estrin's sensitivity is deeply moving: he has succeeded wonderfully in extending the life of Franz Kafka's most familiar creature.

There's been a lot of "industry buzz" about this one, so I was both looking forward to reading it and dreading it--such is the nature of "industry buzz." But INSECT DREAMS is the real thing, a literary and imaginative tour de force that somehow manages to be both highbrow in the tremendous breadth and depth of its knowledge of history, music, science and philosophy, and unpretentious (unlike, say, "The Corrections," which I found brilliant, yes, but thought suffered from a far greater affection towards itself than towards its characters). INSECT DREAMS is also a terrific, page-turning read.

Perhaps Marc Estrin succeeds so admirably in this difficult balance because (it seems clear)he is writing from a place of moral and visceral urgency. And yet his is an urgency tempered by patience; a rare combination that--judging from the author photo--says something for writing one's first novel in middle age. But forget about age, Estrin is simply a writer writing for the best possible reason: because he has something to say. Whether or not one agrees with his "message" it is exhilirating to find oneself lost in the exquisite humor, pathos and intellectual acumen that define this memorable novel.

Twentieth century history is brilliantly reimagined through the eyes of Gregor Samsa, the fabric salesman turned cockroach from Kafka's Metamorphosis. Gregor begins his "half-life" as a circus performer in Vienna, and then, later, when he migrates to the United States, becomes an elevator operator, as he continues his conscious and unconscious musings on humanity and inhumanity. Gregor lives the "American Dream", following an unimaginable career path, becoming one of the 20th century's foremost existentialists, artists, activists, and insurance industry risk assessors, and in doing so, he provides a funny, tragic, and thought provoking critique of Western civilization, particularly the United States.

Gregor suffers from an unhealing wound in his back, inflicted when his father, frightened by his new form, threw an apple at him, a metaphor that is implicitly explored throughout the novel. Gregor stumbles upon so many pivitol figures throughout the book, that in that respect, Insect Dreams is reminiscent of Forest Gump, yet that allusion is delightful. Estrin is erudite, so at times one might need to look up a fact or a figure, but the entire experience is worth it.

"Insect Dreams" begins with the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and ends three decades later with the explosion at Los Alamos of the world's first atomic bomb; its 450 pages presents many of the era's major events and personalities as seen through the eyes of--well, a cockroach.

But not just any cockroach. Gregor Samsa is the mistaken-for-dead human-turned-insect who made his debut in Franz Kakfa's "Metamorphosis." In this "sequel," Samsa is rescued by a freak show in Austria, where he teaches philosophy and physics to the masses and eventually meets Musil and Wittgenstein. He emigrates to America and becomes an exhibit at the Scopes Trial and a key player in the Roosevelt administration. Any plot summary (including mine) will necessarily make the book sound positively silly, but Estrin somehow pulls it off--again and again. As a New York Times reviewer noted in an enthusiastic essay, it's "Ragtime for roaches," but accurate as this phrase is, it disguises the fact that "Insect Dreams" is one of the most intelligent, witty, and fascinating novels ever written, with passages that should both delight and haunt any reader.

The most enviable aspect of Estrin's debut--and it's hard to believe that this is his first novel--is that it manages to frame an extraordinarily satisfying intellectual feast with a page-turning plot that is both hilarious and moving. Encapsulating what was arguably the worst thirty years in human history, yet featuring some of the most brilliant minds ever produced by civilization, this literary masterpiece will appeal to both brainiacs and beach-readers.

If you buy the premise you can buy the conclusion. Of course it's over the top. Just read Amazon's description above. That's all you should know before jumping in. Umpteen times longer than Metamorphosis but with a much larger story line. You can pick the depth you want to go as a reader. Estrin writes with intelligence and humor; he has obviously done his homework on the historical events. I'm ready to read other of his works.

This is not the same Gregor Samsa that Kafka created in his groundbreaking work "Metamorphosis." While he starts off being the same roach-person this Gregor Samsa speaks and intermingles with society (sometimes to the point where you forget that he is no longer human). But author Marc Estrin's unique departure from Kafka is refreshing. After flying away from a Viennese circus Gregor lands in America where he subsequently meets and interacts with some of the most notable figures of the early 20th century. Gregor's unique bug-like perspective endears him to those that he becomes close to. But it is also this unique bug-like perspective that focuses clarity into America's moral conscience during that turbulent period.

I wanted to give "Insect Dreams" 5-stars but I did find the book to be a little uneven in flow. Certain parts were drawn out to the point where the book lost momentum that had to be recaptured in later sections. Still, "Insect Dreams" is an imaginative endeavor that is well worth reading.

Insect Dreams is a great achievement. The language is precise, rich and resonant, the range of characters vast, the intellectual and emotional content constantly challenging, the story fascinating. Couldn't put it down.

This book is a fascinating, entertaining look at world history in the first half of the 20th century. Told from a humorous, objective point of view, all history textbooks should be so compelling.

One of this book's strength is that it gives rise to important figures that general history overlooks. I was completely unfamiliar with insurance magnate/composer Charles Ives or physicist Richard Feynman, for example, before reading this book. Estrin paints interesting portraits of both, which I have to assume have basis, though they remain as intriguing as the fictitious characters.

The more familiar figures like FDR and Oppenheimer receive warm treatment as well. They come in and out of the observant narrative as quirky as the rest of the characters.

A hidden treasure of this book is that it includes Estrin's bibliography. I intend to mine some of those books to learn more about the characters Estrin has introduced so delightfully.

Kafka's Gregor Samsa continues on as a giant cockroach in a human society. He travels the world, holds various odd jobs, and along the way meets famous people from the early 20th century.

This book is very intelligent - you almost have to have your Wittgenstein and Schopenhauer on hand to fully get some of the references - but it flows very well. It is a well-written, engaging, more cerebral Forrest Gump... plus insects. A good find and very enjoyable read.