Shipping Clerk: Classic Book Guide and Free Edition
Shipping Clerk: author and translator credits, catalogue synopsis, subjects and links to the Gutenberg reading formats.

Shipping Clerk is catalogued by Project Gutenberg with author credits for Samachson, Joseph (1906–1980).
Catalogue synopsis
Project Gutenberg supplies this automated synopsis of the opening text:
"Shipping Clerk" by William Morrison is a science fiction novella written in the early 1950s. The story revolves around a down-and-out character named Ollie Keith, who spent his life in poverty, struggling with hunger and failed aspirations. The narrative explores themes of desperation, survival, and unexpected consequences, highlighting the sharp contrast between his bleak existence and the bizarre twists of fate that befall him. The novella follows Ollie's life as he scavenges for food and tries to survive in a harsh urban environment. His fortunes take a strange turn when he unwittingly consumes a mysterious object that significantly affects his physiology, allowing him to consume vast quantities of food without gaining weight. As he enters an eating contest, he becomes the center of attention, attracting the curiosity of extraterrestrial beings who wish to recover the lost object he has ingested. The narrative weaves humor and absurdity into Ollie's plight, culminating in a transformation that offers him a chance for a more fulfilling life, but not without leaving lingering questions about identity and the nature of his new existence.
Book and edition facts
- Title: Shipping Clerk
- Author credits: Samachson, Joseph (1906–1980)
- Catalogue language: English
Catalogue subjects
- Poor -- Fiction
- Science fiction
- Short stories
Gutenberg collections
- Category: Humour
- Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy
- Science Fiction
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View the complete Gutenberg catalogue record. Project Gutenberg identifies this edition as public domain in the United States; that designation does not establish its copyright status in every country.
Source notes
Catalogue metadata is public domain and is supplied through Gutendex, which imports Gutenberg's machine-readable catalogue. The automated synopsis is source-supplied, not an independently verified review. Author dates above describe the credited people; no ebook release date is presented as the book's original publication date.


