Gourmet

Allen Kim LangProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 27K 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.Gourmet by Allen Kim LangAuthor: Lang, Allen Kim, 1928-,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Mar 29, 2016

Editor's review

This Project Gutenberg release is Allen Kim Lang's science fiction short story "Gourmet." It follows the light satirical vein common to mid-twentieth-century American science fiction magazines, spinning an imaginative tale around food, taste, and appetite. It is short, yet it pushes an apparently everyday subject into the absurd and the cautionary. As a public-domain ebook, its value lies not in grand narrative but in letting today's readers see how early science fiction handled consumer society and sensory experience: the author advances the story through spare dialogue and scene, with direct language and brisk pacing, suited to a single commute or bedtime sitting. Readers can take it as a genre story with an allegorical bent, noting its mockery of "refined living" and its premise of technology harnessed to appetite. If you are mapping the course of the American short story in science fiction, or want a light but lingering foreign-language original to practice on, this is a fitting entry point; it is not a long work, however, nor does it excel in character depth, so do not expect elaborate world-building.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy mid-twentieth-century American science fiction short stories
English learners who want to practice reading with short original texts
Those interested in satire on food, consumption, and technology
Readers looking for light reading for a commute or bedtime

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting long-form world-building and complex character arcs
Those who prefer serious literature or in-depth analysis of contemporary issues
Readers unaccustomed to the narrative pacing of early genre fiction

Reading tips

Read through once for the plot, then revisit the dialogue for details about taste and appetite.
Pair it with background on the golden age of American science fiction magazines to grasp its satirical target.
After finishing, write three to five sentences on your view of the premise of "technology satisfying the senses."

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

Is this a novel or a short story?

The information indicates it is a short story by Allen Kim Lang, released as a public-domain ebook by Project Gutenberg. It is short enough to finish in one or two sittings, so there is no need to plan your reading pace as you would for a novel.

How difficult is the English, and is it suitable for reading practice?

The language is mainly direct narration and dialogue, typical of mid-twentieth-century genre fiction, and the sentences are not complex. Readers with a college-level English foundation or access to a dictionary can try it; it works well as practice material for short original English texts.

Do I need to know science fiction history to understand it?

You can follow the plot without first studying science fiction history. But knowing that mid-twentieth-century American science fiction magazines often treated consumption and technology with light satire will make its mockery easier to appreciate and the reading more rewarding.

Comments

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About the author

Allen Kim Lang Author · American · 1928

Allen Kim Lang (born 1928) was an American science fiction writer born in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He began publishing in 1950 with "The Machine from Klamugra" and went on to place numerous short stories in science fiction magazines. His work is often satirical, examining future societies and human nature from a sociological perspective, and belongs to the tradition of sociological science fiction. His representative works include Blind Man's Lantern, The Great Potlatch Riots, and The Cinderella Story, as well as the novel Beyond the Wilds. Four of his works are held in the collection, including Blind Man's Lantern, World in a Bottle, Gourmet, and The Great Potlatch Riots. Public information about his life and career is limited, and his common classification is unknown, but his stories are noted for their ingenious premises and humorous tone, earning him a place in the satirical tradition of mid-twentieth-century American science fiction magazines.