Project Gutenberg 2009-07-19 Public domain in the USA. 124 Sheckley, Robert 1928 2005 Barbee, Phillips Lang, Ned O'Donnevan, Finn Barbee, Phillip Emshwiller, Ed 1925 1990 Emsh Emsh, Ed Alexander, Ed Emshwiller, Edmund A. Willer EMSH Cost of Living Produced from Galaxy Science Fiction December 1952. Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "Cost of Living" by Robert Sheckley is a science fiction short story written in the early 1950s. The narrative explores a future society marked by technological advancements that provide individuals with a luxurious lifestyle, yet this comes with a heavy burden of debt. The story likely delves into themes of consumerism, existential anxiety, and the implications of a society built on material ownership. The story follows Carrin, a middle-aged man grappling with the suicide of his neighbor, Miller, who seemingly had a perfect life filled with modern conveniences. As Carrin prepares for a visit from the finance man of the Avignon Electric company, he reflects on his own burdensome debt of over two hundred thousand dollars, accumulated in order to afford various household appliances and luxuries that define his life. The visit reveals the insidious nature of consumerism, where even his son's future earnings are up for negotiation to further finance this lifestyle. Throughout the story, Carrin's interactions with his family and the finance man accentuate the pressure to maintain appearances and the emotional toll of living in a society where happiness is deeply intertwined with material possessions, leading to a poignant examination of individual purpose and fulfillment in a technologically saturated existence. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 87.0 (6th grade). Easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories PS Text Science Fiction Category: Short Stories Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy 47253 2025-07-12T07:52:29.253461 text/html 43277 2009-07-19T08:07:56 text/html 192753 2025-07-12T07:52:33.261933 application/epub+zip 191090 2025-07-12T07:52:31.017921 application/epub+zip 116704 2025-07-12T07:52:29.905950 application/epub+zip 308373 2025-07-12T07:52:34.858945 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 211480 2025-07-12T07:52:32.548914 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 105018 2022-09-13T15:29:27.518941 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 39898 2025-07-12T07:52:28.988437 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 39810 2009-07-19T08:07:56 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 20951 2025-07-12T07:52:34.988912 application/rdf+xml 9933 2025-07-12T07:52:30.390935 image/jpeg 2932 2025-07-12T07:52:30.146918 image/jpeg 127703 2009-07-19T08:07:56 application/octet-stream application/zip 15251 2009-07-19T08:07:56 application/octet-stream application/zip 190775 2025-07-12T07:52:29.266442 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia en.wikipedia