The Incredible Shrinking Man.

TELE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN. Richard Matheson. 1956/2006. Read by Yuri Rasovsky. 7 cds. 8 hrs. Blackstone Audiobooks. 0-7861-7576-1. $63.00. Vinyl; plot, author, reader notes. SA

Scott Carey had been a handsome, comfortable American six-footer with a loving wife and a doting baby daughter when accidental radiation exposure created a freak irreversible metabolic reaction that causes him to shrink a seventh of an inch every day until he disappears altogether This taut, intense novel opens when he is only an inch tall and recounts in excruciating detail his relentless struggle for survival in an alienating, menacing and increasingly meaningless world. While not strictly metaphorical or allegorical, his soul-aching, mind and body-numbing, quite literal quest for his daily bread, which takes up the bulk of his waking hours, intentionally suggests just enough of our own everyday grind to make this a scary novel. Carey knows his time is running out and that he is alone. Undaunted, however, he also is certain that life beats the alternative. His enormous will to survive and capacity for hope are poignant and heroic. Rasovsky's malleable voice gets larger and smaller as the novel flits between Carey's past and present and his dramatic pacing and facility with regional accents enhance this audiobook. Francine Levitov, New York, NY

S--Recommended for senior high school students.

A--Recommended for advanced students and adults. This code will help librarians and teachers working in high schools where there are honors and advanced placement students. This also will help extend KLIATT's usefulness in public libraries.