Shrunk And Other Stories

de Oliver Black

Shrunk And Other Stories is a collection of funny tales from the author's frequently turbulent life. Covering, among other subjects, funeral arrangements, fad diets, funny pets, old age, and his encounters with the upper classes, this caustic memoir is a joy to read. A martyr to stress, Black casts a jaundiced eye over the woeful inadequacies of psychiatry and psychology as he seeks help in shoring up his tenuous grip on sanity from a series of hopeless therapists and peddlers of alternative medicine. As 'London's leading hypochondriac', he keeps a medical encyclopedia by his bed, has a Howard Hughes-scale fear of germs, and is on first-name terms with Vera, his long-suffering doctor. With unflinching honesty he catalogues his numerous complaints, ranging from aching testicles through tinnitus to, horrifyingly and unforgettably, worms. The fifty-something philosophy professor and former lawyer details his jaw-dropping adventures in the DIY funeral business, a trade to which his wife 'Fluffy' - rarely has a pet name seemed less appropriate - takes with unnerving enthusiasm. We learn about the delights and otherwise of driving a black taxi as a private car, and of the considerable talents of Black's cat, Maud. Along the way, there are surreal meditations upon the possibility of autistic dogs, humming noises as preservers of life, and the anxiety occasioned by hiding one's underpants beneath the floorboards.