Authors: Craig Cliff
A Man Melting (26 page)
‘Unnatural selection,’ I said. ‘I let fear get the better of me.’
‘I would have thought coming back required some bravery.’
‘Sometimes it’s better to let nature run its course.’
We pulled up to the curb at the Departures drop-off point. ‘Well, best of luck to you,’ he said, opening his door and popping the boot. ‘Go forth and multiply, and all that.’
‘You know,’ I said, ‘I may just do that.’
Thank you to those of you who’ve read my work along the way, offering support, encouragement and opening the occasional door, in particular: Bill Manhire, Abby Stewart, Anna Taylor, Emma Gallagher, Gigi Fenster, Kate Mahony, Lucy Orbell, Mary Macpherson, Sue Orr, Tom Fitzsimons, Vicki Cliff, Margaret Cliff, and Marisa Donaggio.
Shout out to Laura Carter for letting me use her idea for a story, and to my brother Darren for not yelling at me when I blink.
‘Manawatu’ was first published in
Sport
36, 2008 (VUP) ‘Copies’ was first published in
The Best New Zealand Fiction, Volume 5
edited by Owen Marshall, 2008 (Vintage) ‘Another Language’ was broadcast on National Radio (NZ) 2007
Craig Cliff was born in Palmerston North in 1983. Since then he has accumulated three university degrees, experienced office life in Australia and Scotland, swum in piranha-infested waters, slept at 4200 metres above sea level, tried to write a million words in one year, and learnt there’s not much to do in Liechtenstein. His short stories have been published in New Zealand and Australia; one of them made it into
Essential New Zealand Short Stories
edited by Owen Marshall. These days he lives on Wellington’s south coast and works for the government.
The assistance of Creative New Zealand is gratefully acknowledged by the publisher.
A VINTAGE BOOK published by Random House New Zealand, 18 Poland Road, Glenfi eld, Auckland, New Zealand
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A catalogue record for this book is available from the National Library of New Zealand
Random House New Zealand is part of the Random House Group New York London Sydney Auckland Delhi Johannesburg
First published 2010
© 2010 Craig Cliff
The moral rights of the author have been asserted
ISBN 978 1 86979 192 6
This book is copyright. Except for the purposes of fair reviewing no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Author photo: Darren Cliff
Cover design: Alan Deare
Cover illustration: INMAGINE
Text design: Laura Forlong
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