Insect Life: The Half Life of Gregor Sampson

A hilarious novel filled with cultural history, musical theory, nuclear physics, and a world of ideas follows Gregor Samsa, who, having metamorphosed into a cockroach, is sold into a Viennese sideshow by his chambermaid, where he lectures carnival crowds on the implications of Rilke and Herr Spengler, and over the course of thirty years and two continents, discovers the true meaning of his existence. 15,000 first printing.

The hapless antihero who morphed into a cockroach in Kafka's Metamorphosis is resurrected and given a rather busy second life in Estrin's brilliantly conceived but erratic debut novel. In Estrin's version, Gregor Samsa is sold to a Viennese sideshow rather than being swept into the trash, and he quickly becomes the major attraction in entrepreneur Amadeus Hoffnung's bizarre little circus. The author keeps his early incarnation of Samsa reasonably close to Kafka's character, and he even adds a cheeky chapter in which Samsa meets Ludwig Wittgenstein. But when the circus subplot runs its course and Samsa goes off to New York, he undergoes a radical transformation into a half-man, half-insect superhero whom the author uses to reexamine the first half of the 20th century, with Samsa working behind the scenes as a liaison in the worlds of science, music, business and politics to push pivotal historical events in the right direction. His encounters with Charles Ives, FDR, Einstein and Oppenheimer, among others, are rendered with a combination of humor, chutzpah and intelligence. Even though Estrin has a tendency to go over the top, he succeeds at many levels in his recreation of one of Kafka's most memorable characters, redrawing Samsa as a compassionate, brilliant bug. The book's many excesses don't detract from the scope of its premise and the kaleidoscopic dazzle of its most successful episodes. Agent, Dorian Karchmar. (Jan.)Forecast: The whimsical jacket art and the tie to Kafka should catch the eye of a brainy subgroup of readers; the lively prose will keep them hooked.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Get ready for a highly imaginative ride through the cultural frontier of the early 20th century from the perspective of a character-turned-cockroach named Gregor Samsa from Kafka's The Metamorphosis. In a fantastic mixture of fact and fiction, this witty debut novel follows the adventures of Gregor from post-World War I Vienna through the Manhattan Project in Los Alamos, NM. In numerous behind-the-scenes actions, Gregor befriends historical figures like Charles Ives, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Robert Oppenheimer, as well as numerous other highly fascinating fictional characters. Gregor has an impact on the unfolding of world events as we remember them and others that never got recorded in history books, such as Roosevelt's refusal to interfere with the genocide of the Jews. Gregor understands more than his human counterparts the essential qualities it takes to be human because he "asks too many questions, dreams too many dreams, and embarks on too many quests." A helpful bibliography is provided at the end. A colossal book of characters and events that inspires tears of laughter and sadness in its rich blend of clever metaphor and unsettling facts, this promises to become a pivotal literary landmark. Highly recommended. David A. Beron , Univ. of New Hampshire, Durham
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.