The Rapids

Alan SullivanProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 479K words
Chapters: 48

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.The Rapids by Alan SullivanAuthor: Sullivan, Alan, 1868-1947,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Jun 13, 2008

Editor's review

The Rapids is a work by the Canadian author Alan Sullivan (1868–1947), classified under American and Canadian literature (PS). Sullivan's works often take North American nature and engineering environments as their background; this book centers on "the rapids" and carries a distinct regional character and period flavor. As a free Project Gutenberg ebook, it is easy for readers to obtain the original text. The narrative style leans toward realism, emphasizing environmental description and characters' situations in the face of natural forces, suited to readers interested in American and Canadian literature and themes of northern development. When reading, pay attention to how the author uses the rapids as an image to drive the plot and shape characters. The book is moderate in length and difficulty, suitable as supplementary reading for understanding early twentieth-century Canadian English literature, but one should not expect a strongly modern suspense pace.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in American and Canadian English literature
Readers who enjoy realistic fiction set against nature and engineering
Teachers and students needing free public-domain texts for literary study
Enthusiasts wishing to broaden their reading of North American regional literature

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer urban subjects or fast-paced genre fiction
Beginners whose English reading ability is not yet sufficient for old-style realist prose
Readers uninterested in descriptions of nature and engineering

Reading tips

First understand the geographical and period background of the story, then enter the main text
Note the recurring appearance of "the rapids" as an image in the plot and characters' fates
Take chapter notes to sort out character relationships and the timeline of key events
English learners can select passages of environmental description for close reading to build realistic expression

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 book Canadian literature or American literature?

The author Alan Sullivan was Canadian, and in Project Gutenberg's classification the book falls under PS, i.e., American and Canadian literature. When reading, it can be understood within the broader context of North American English literature, while noting the Canadian regional experience it reflects.

Is "the rapids" in the title literal or symbolic?

Given the book's natural and engineering background, "the rapids" is first a concrete natural scene, and is also often used by the author to carry the meaning of characters' situations and turning points in fate. When reading, pay attention both to the specific descriptions of the rapids and to the symbolic role of this image in advancing the plot.

Is this book suitable as classroom reading material?

It can serve as supplementary reading for North American literature or realistic fiction. As a free public-domain ebook, it is easy to obtain and moderate in difficulty, suitable for teachers to select environmental descriptions or key chapters for student discussion, though necessary explanation of the period background is needed.

Comments

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About the author

Alan Sullivan Author · Canadian · 1868–1947

Alan Sullivan (1868–1947) was a Canadian writer. Public information about his life is limited, and what is available mainly concerns his writing. He produced novels and essays on maritime adventure and northern themes, and his work often involves scenes of seafaring, waters, and life in the North. His two listed works are The Rapids and The White Canoe, and Other Verse; the former is a novel and the latter a collection of poems, showing that he wrote both narrative prose and verse. Judging from the available material, his writing centers on narratives set against adventure and natural landscapes, with the sea and the North serving both as settings and as the tone of his work. Translation and study of him in the Chinese-speaking world remain limited, and his life and writings await a fuller account.