Insect Dreams : The Half Life of Gregor Samsa

epub retail The metamorphosis of Gregor Samsa was surely one of the momentous transformations of modern times. Kafka’s burning vision of the future ended with Gregor being swept into a dustbin. But what if Gregor were to survive and live to challenge the wrongs clouding humanity’s horizon? In Insect Dreams, Gregor—rescued by profiteers— will sharpen his mind against the minds of Wittgenstein and Rilke, dance to the crazy rhythms of Prohibition, and appear as a surprise witness at the Scopes trial. Eventually, he’ll meet FDR, join the brain trust, and move into the White House. But a talking cockroach with an ethical agenda can wear out his welcome, and soon Gregor is reassigned as a risk management consultant for the Manhattan Project. What follows is nothing less than the explosive birth of contemporary existence—and the culmination of a tale that is as intellectually ambitious as it is warmhearted and funny. The Metamorphosis Of Kafka’s Gregor Samsa From Fabric Salesman To Cockroach Was Surely One Of The Momentous Transformations Of The Modern World. Now, In Marc Estrin’s Astounding Debut, Gregor Undergoes Yet Another Metamorphosis—one That Propels Him Across The Rocky And Often Ridiculous Landscape Of The Early Twentieth Century. In These Continuously Surprising Pages, Estrin’s Gregor—secretly Sold To A Viennese Sideshow By The Samsas’ Chambermaid—comes To Sharpen His Mind Against Those Of Wittgenstein, Spengler And Einstein; Dance To The Crazy Rhythm Of American Prohibition; Appear As A Surprise Witness At The Scopes Trial; Become Intimately Involved In Alice Paul’s Feminist Movement (and With Alice Paul); Encounter The Kkk; And Confer With Fdr, And Robert Oppenheimer—and Emerge From It All As The Very Essence Of Modern Conscience.