Slow Burn

Still, Henry, 1920-Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.5

Word count: 38K words
Chapters: 4

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.Slow Burn by Henry StillAuthor: Still, Henry, 1920-,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Apr 24, 2019

Editor's review

Slow Burn is a novel by Henry Steele, reissued as a public-domain ebook by Project Gutenberg. It is classified under American and Canadian literature, and the title itself suggests a narrative pace that builds slowly and gradually heats up. For readers, its value lies mainly in accessibility at the documentary and reading levels: it brings an earlier English novel back into view as a free electronic text, suitable for readers interested in twentieth-century English popular fiction and public-domain literary resources. Given the limited information available, one should not over-speculate about the plot or the author's biography. Read it as a journey of literary discovery, paying attention to narrative pacing and how characters' circumstances are developed, and use it to learn about the editorial form of public-domain ebook projects. An open mind is advised; there is no need to assume similarities with contemporary genre fiction.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in twentieth-century English fiction and public-domain literary resources
Readers who enjoy slow-paced narratives and are willing to enter a story patiently
Readers studying American and Canadian literature as supplementary reading
Readers accustomed to English ebooks who enjoy discovering obscure works on their own

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking strong plotting and fast-paced, stimulating reading
Beginners who need an authoritative introduction or detailed author background
Readers who only want contemporary bestsellers and lack patience for earlier works

Reading tips

Read the opening chapters first to get a feel for the narrative pace, then decide whether to continue.
Pay attention to how relationships and emotions are built up; don't rush to find the ending.
Consult histories of American literature to understand the work's writing context.
If reading in English is difficult, read chapter summaries first, then return to the original for close reading.

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 is this book about?

The available information provides only the title, author, and literary category, with no plot summary. It can be confirmed as an English novel classified under American and Canadian literature. It is best to read the opening of the original text directly or consult reliable literary sources rather than guessing the plot from the title.

Why is it called Slow Burn?

The title literally means burning slowly, which usually suggests a gradual narrative pace and emotions or conflicts that build up over time. Its specific meaning, however, requires understanding the novel's content. The available information offers no plot details; readers can discover for themselves how the title resonates with the story.

Is this book suitable for English learners?

It can serve as extensive reading material, but as an earlier English novel, its vocabulary and sentence patterns may differ from contemporary English. Readers with basic English skills should read chapter summaries first and then select passages for close reading; stronger readers can read it straight through, using a dictionary for unfamiliar words.

Related on WeRead

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Still, Henry, 1920- Author

Henry Still (1920– ) is an author whose background, including his nationality and the details of his life, remains limited in publicly available sources, making a full portrait difficult to draw. Two of his works are held in the collection, Slow Burn and Sales Resistance. Judging from their titles and apparent subject matter, his writing seems to move between suspenseful narrative and social reality, combining tightly managed tension with themes of business and interpersonal maneuvering. Owing to the lack of reliable external records, the full scope of his work, the evolution of his style, and his literary standing still require further verification. On the evidence of the existing entries, Still is an author of modest output whose choice of subjects nonetheless shows considerable dramatic tension, and readers may appreciate his narrative appeal through these two works.