Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Evelyn E Smith's "Helpfully Yours" (novelette, farce, free): When in Rome, behave like...

One of the illustration accompanying the online copy at Project Gutenberg of the short story Helpfully Yours by Evelyn E SmithOld trope - aliens vs humans - used to illustrate some intercultural behavior & to make some points about the US of its times. Hilarious at times, funny all the way through.

Story summary.

Tarb Morfatch is the first Fizbian "woman" to arrive on earth; only men have been here so far. She'll be joining the Terran Edition of The Fizbian Times newspaper in New York. Her job is to write the newspaper's agony aunt column called "Helpfully Yours".

Story is of her cultural shock, & of efforts of her boss, Stet Zarnon - more a diplomat than a newspaper editor - to educate her on local customs & manners.

Fact sheet.

First published: Galaxy Science Fiction, February 1955.
Download full text from Project Gutenberg, Manybooks, Feedbooks.
[via John E Rogers, Jr @ Asimov's Forum]
Rating: A.
Related: Stories of Evelyn E Smith; Fiction from 1950s; Tuesday Classics.

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