Consultancy Blues
Weird, slipstream scifi
short story collection
self published, 2024
Short stories for the clinically employed.
Consultancy blues is an out-of-mind experience about work, loneliness, alienation and sex. Sometimes it leans more towards magical realism, sometimes towards socially-inspired cyberpunk. It is, by any definition, an harsh book about sad, lonely people; a love letter to Abe Kobo; and a fever dream into the author's sarcastic views on some office environments.
Sneak Peek
“You’re solid rock,” the reflection says, “but you’re having one of those. This is what a panic attack feels like.”
I disagree. I’m a grown man. I don’t have panic attacks and the likes. If that morning Gregor Samsa had gone to work, maybe he wouldn’t have turned into a cockroach. Maybe it was just about getting a bit of elbow grease in and keeping a positive attitude. There’s nothing you can’t do after a good night’s sleep.
I can spew out an endless flow of platitudes and DIY therapy, feel-good, motivational sentences and yet it doesn’t seem to be working.
Somewhere, in the hallways of a bank that will remain unnamed, my supervisor is looking for me, spurned by inexplicable anxiety. My bathroom break is approaching the five-minute mark. My absence has already caused concern and chaos.
Good morning, my name is Gregor Samsa. I’m a consultant in a big Italian company and I hate my job.