Breakdown

Kastle, Herbert D., 1924-1987Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.1

Word count: 28K words
Chapters: 3

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today. Breakdown by Herbert D. Kastle. Author: Kastle, Herbert D., 1924-1987. Language: English. Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature. Release Date: Apr 5, 2016

Editor's review

Breakdown is an English-language novel by Herbert D. Kastle (1924–1987), reissued as a public-domain ebook by Project Gutenberg. Kastle was active in mid-twentieth-century American genre fiction; the book is classified under American and Canadian literature and is short, with a tight narrative pace. Judging from the title and the author's usual bent, it is closer to a story of psychological pressure and a situation coming apart than to a grand epic; the reader feels the tension of characters being pushed step by step toward a breaking point. As a public-domain text, its value also lies in offering a sample of mid-century American popular fiction's language and subject matter: direct dialogue, fast plotting, and social background sketched in only lightly. It is not suited to close reading as a literary classic, but works well as light reading in genre fiction or as material for English learners to experience narrative style. While reading, note how the author uses short sentences and scene shifts to create a sense of pressure; this reveals the book's craft more than chasing the plot does.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy mid-twentieth-century American genre fiction
Learners who want a shorter English novel for reading practice
Readers interested in themes of psychological pressure and situations coming apart
Enthusiasts who study public-domain popular literary texts

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting the depth and complex structure of a literary classic
Readers who prefer light, warm narratives without pressure
Readers who need detailed author biography and scholarly material

Reading tips

Read it through in one sitting first to feel the overall rhythm, then go back to see how the key turning points are written.
While reading, note the points where the character's situation changes, and observe how the author gradually increases the pressure.
If reading for English study, pick out short sentences and dialogue passages for imitation writing practice.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What kind of novel is this?

Judging from Kastle's usual bent and the theme of a situation coming apart suggested by the title, it belongs to mid-twentieth-century American popular fiction in the psychological and situational-pressure vein, with fast plotting and a short length rather than an epic bulk. Do not expect a complex social panorama before reading.

What are the features of the Project Gutenberg edition?

Project Gutenberg is an early provider of ebooks, founded by Michael Hart in 1971. This book belongs to its public-domain ebook program, released free in plain text, easy to search and excerpt, but without modern typesetting, illustrations, notes, or an introduction, so readers need to supply background themselves.

Will the lack of author research material affect my reading?

Only to a limited extent. The book is compact and direct, with tension arising mainly from the plot and the characters' situation rather than from extensive background knowledge. To go deeper, read the main text first and then look up the author's life and the general state of contemporary American popular fiction; that order is actually more natural.

Comments

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About the author

Kastle, Herbert D., 1924-1987 Author

Herbert D. Kastle (1924–1987) is an author about whom little public information is currently available, with four works held in the collection. Judging from the titles that survive—Breakdown, The Outer Quiet, The First One, and The York Problem—his writing tends toward suspense and psychological tension, often building unease and reversal within ordinary situations. The narratives move at a tight pace, and his characters' circumstances tend to lose their balance gradually beneath a calm surface. Because reliable records of his life, nationality, and writing career have not been found, no firm claims can be made about his education, creative path, or literary standing. What can be said is that these four works are the main entry points for readers approaching his writing, and they show his skill at creating suspense with plain prose and portraying shifts in his characters' inner lives.