estrin said that the concept, an outline and the opening episodes of "" arrived in vermont one morning at 3 am, three weeks after he visited kafka's grave. "insect dreams" appeared from "bluehen/putnam" in 2002. since then it has been re-released (by "unbridled books"). the book has the insect/man from franz kafka's "the metamorphosis" meet several historical literary figures. "the new york times" mentioned the character's generosity and "heroic persistence." "the washington post" questioned whether fiction was the best vehicle for estrin's passion for ideas. the "san francisco chronicle" placed it in one of their top 100 books for the year in 2002. the book has been the subject of analysis regarding estrin's use of proverbial material.