July 18 - "Shoofly"

“Shoofly”
by Richard Matheson
The Incredible Shrinking Man (1994)

* * * * * (Excellent) Realistic

An irritating fly sends Pressman into a rage as he destroys his office attempting to kill the elusive insect.

Oh, it’s the little things that can become so frustrating. Matheson does a fantastic job of showing how someone can become obsessed by a distraction and take that distraction to an unhealthy extreme. It is both funny and sad because I’ve been in so many similar situations. It’s an interesting story because with each new attempt to kill the fly you know the man is going to fail – there are still more words in the story – but you become part of the action and eventually begin to hope the same hopes and feel the excitement of each new attempt to kill the beast. And I love the name Pressman gave his first weapon, the “Prospectus of Doom,” a client’s rolled prospectus. It just sounds so legal and threatening.