This Crowded Earth

"This Crowded Earth" by Robert Bloch is a science fiction novel written in the late 1950s. The story is set in a dystopian future plagued by overpopulation and examines the life of Harry Collins, a man struggling to navigate an increasingly crowded and dehumanizing urban environment. The focus is on themes of individuality, mental strain, and the search for personal freedom in a society burdened by oppressive regulations and societal norms. The opening of the novel introduces us to Harry Collins, living in the overcrowded metropolis of Chicagee in the year 1997. He is a bachelor faced with the absurdities of life in a cramped, single-room apartment and the frustrations of daily commuting in a city where space is a luxury. As Harry endures the chaotic rush of the city and grapples with persistent headaches and existential worries, he contemplates his own insignificance in a world that feels increasingly stifling. His thoughts shift to longing for freedom and a return to a simpler connection with nature, foreshadowing the deeper exploration of human experience and desperation in the face of societal constraints that unfolds throughout the narrative. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Robert Albert Bloch was an American fiction writer, primarily of crime, psychological horror and fantasy, much of which has been dramatized for radio, cinema and television. He also wrote a relatively small amount of science fiction. His writing career lasted 60 years, including more than 30 years in television and film. He began his professional writing career immediately after graduation from high school, aged 17. Best known as the writer of Psycho (1959), the basis for the film of the same name by Alfred Hitchcock, Bloch wrote hundreds of short stories and over 30 novels. He was a protégé of H. P. Lovecraft, who was the first to seriously encourage his talent. However, while he started emulating Lovecraft and his brand of cosmic horror, he later specialized in crime and horror stories working with a more psychological approach.