Screen Lib/E

by Barry N Malzberg

First published 2015

A welfare department investigator in New York City cannot find sexual fulfillment in reality. He discovers he can only achieve satisfaction by mentally projecting himself into cinematic fantasies. Over one weekend, his psychological immersion in movies becomes total. He marries Sophia Loren in his mind, then seduces Elizabeth Taylor, then finds himself seduced by Brigitte Bardot. Each fantasy feels completely real to him. The line between his mundane job investigating welfare cases and his vivid Hollywood dreams dissolves. His grip on rational thought weakens as he moves deeper into this world where cinema becomes lived experience. The investigator faces a choice between his ordinary life and the intoxicating realm of movie fantasy.

Genres: fiction, 20th-century, fantasy, contemporary, adult-fiction, psychological-thriller

Vibes: dark, emotional, thought-provoking

Tropes: unreliable-narrator

Setting: New York City

Period: 20th-century

Audio CD · Skyboat Media

Content warnings: mental-illness

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