The Man Who Married Himself and Other Stories

by Charlie Fish

The Man Who Married Himself and Other Stories by Charlie Fish will make you laugh, cry, tremble with fear, but above all – think. Stories that address life’s big questions: How can I be a good person? What is freedom? Is this penny trying to kill me?

The definitive collection of the very best Charlie Fish stories, wonderfully illustrated by Yvette Gilbert. Includes resources for teachers.

291 pages, Paperback

First published May 21, 2022

About the author

Charlie Fish is a popular short story writer and screenwriter. His short stories have been published in several countries and inspired dozens of short film adaptations. Since 1996, he has edited www.fictionontheweb.co.uk, the longest-running short story site on the web. He was born in Mount Kisco, New York in 1980; and now lives in south London with his wife and daughters.

You can contact me at charlie@fictionontheweb.co.uk, and you can follow me on Twitter @fishcharlie.

Reviews

[Anne Goodwin]

Having read two of the stories previously, I knew I’d enjoy these powerful, playful and thought-provoking tales (even though I don’t share Charlie’s passion for boardgames). I especially admired “The Cut”, a clever gender-flipping squirm-inducing protest piece against FGM and appreciated the space-travel sci-fi story “Remission” so much more on a second reading (and from a different place), it being written as “a metaphor for the less obvious side-effects of dealing with a serious illness” which really resonated for me.

[Clara]

This is an enjoyable and well-written collection of short stories that are mostly set in contemporary times, and feature a variety of genres: mystery, thriller, humour, science fiction, and horror. This would be a fun choice for readers who enjoy more than one genre.

The illustrations at the beginning of each story hint at what may happen, and add to the charm of the tales. The author includes some notes at the end of each story, usually about the inspiration for writing the story. These are quite interesting to read.

My favourites are “Dreadful Penny,” “The Cut,” and “Death by Scrabble.”

Disclosure: I received a free review copy.

[Don Meek]

One of the books from my Your Paper Quest subscription. Was a fun read whilst in the middle of the Blade Itself. I don’t think I’ve ever bought a collection of short stories before, one of the reasons I took out the YPQ subscription was to have a chance to read things I wouldn’t normally buy. Some interesting stories, a real mix of genres here. My favourites; Death by Scrabble, How to Get Anything you Want, Baggio and Remission. Least favourite The Cut! not because it was a bad story but if you are a man, with a willie you will understand! :) Not sure it has inspired me to look out more anthologies, I think I just prefer getting stuck into a good novel.

[M.E. Proctor]

It took me too long to extract Charlie Fish’s wonderful story collection from my “to be read” pile. Big mistake! The title gives an inkling of what is inside: our world slipping into absurdity. It can be funny. It can also be heart-wrenching and painful. Fish is a cool writer. I will not soon forget the panic of a young father locked outside his apartment with a newborn upstairs and the baby monitor suddenly going silent … and that is only one example. I enjoyed this collection tremendously. Get it.

[Harrison Abbott]

It's rare to come across a collection of stories that are as enjoyable as these. Thanks for the work.

[R Cloake]

An excellent collection of short stories containing some lovely gems.

[Ryan Haidar (YPQ)]

One of my favorite short story collections to date, each with a poignant ending. The punchiness makes it hard to put down, and the artwork scattered throughout is top notch!

[Antonio Roberto]

I'm going to marry myself I've decided. thank you Charlie fish. I'm going to make my wedding vows (to myself) be simply the manuscript for death by scrabble. my spouse (me) will get upset by my lack of commitment, unable to write real wedding vows. I'd tell myself that this is what is important to me. My spouse would continue to get upset, but eventually I'd calm him down. When it comes time to finally say "I do" and they ask for objections, I will stand up in the crowd and shout "I OBJECT TO THIS MARRIAGE" because in reality, I (the me in the crowd) want to marry me (me), but I (me) don't want to marry me (The one I was planning to marry). The crowd of Antonio Roberto's would stand up and get into a huge shouting match. my spouse would throw down the flowers and rip off the wedding ring. Id shout "I don't want to marry me if I don't like death by scrabble, because I like death by scrabble". The room would go silent, because we only have one mouth to speak out of and I was currently speaking. Me (the priest) would look confused, and burn a bible, saying "death by scrabble is the new religion" and then run away screaming "ITS A HOT DAY AND I HATE MY WIFE". I'd run home, sobbing, because my marriage to myself didn't work out, and I'd read death by scrabble from cover to cover again; it would only take me 50 years this time because I know the plot and have a deeper understanding. Anyways, by the end of the story, I realize that marriage is not good because eventually we'll die playing scrabble. That's the lesson of it all, to be honest. All marriage ends in death... by scrabble