The Varmint

Owen McMahon JohnsonProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.3

Word count: 416K words
Chapters: 42

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 Varmint by Owen JohnsonAuthor: Johnson, Owen, 1878-1952,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: May 1, 2008

Editor's review

The Varmint is a novel by Owen Johnson set in school life, part of the popular American literature depicting boarding schools and adolescent growth. This edition is released by Project Gutenberg as an e-book, easy to obtain and suitable as an entry point for reading English originals. Its value lies in presenting, through light narrative, the friction, friendship, and self-definition of boys in collective life; the language is relatively plain and the plot advances through everyday scenes and dialogue, allowing readers to observe the ethical atmosphere and growth themes of early twentieth-century American schools. For readers studying American juvenile fiction or school narratives, it offers a background text sample. There is no need to seek strong dramatic plot; it is better treated as a slice of campus life of its time, attending to characterization and humor in the interactions, and read in segments during commutes or before sleep for a natural experience.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who want to explore early American school novels in the original English
Learners who need light English reading to maintain a reading habit
Those interested in narratives of adolescent growth in early twentieth-century America

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting strong plots, suspense, or fast-paced stories
Readers seeking in-depth literary analysis or complex narrative techniques

Reading tips

Read the first few chapters to get familiar with the characters and school setting, then proceed chapter by chapter
Skip unfamiliar school slang at first to keep the overall reading rhythm
Read alongside brief background material on the history of American boarding schools for comparison

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 English level is this book suitable for?

The language is generally accessible, consisting mainly of everyday dialogue and school scenes with relatively simple sentence structures. It suits learners with intermediate English reading ability who want to start with a short-chapter novel. If your vocabulary is limited, you can read in sections with the help of an electronic dictionary.

Does the electronic edition contain the complete original text?

This entry comes from Project Gutenberg, a public-domain ebook release that usually provides the complete text of the work. Specific formatting and appendices vary by edition, so check the table of contents before reading to confirm that all chapters are present.

Do I need to know the author's background before reading this book?

Not necessarily. The work centers on everyday school life and character relationships, so you can enter the story by reading the text directly. If you want to understand its place in American adolescent fiction, you can supplement it afterward with background on the school literature of the author's era.

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About the author

Owen McMahon Johnson Author · American · 1878–1952

Owen Johnson (1878–1952) was an American novelist and short-story writer, born in New York, the son of the poet Robert Underwood Johnson. A Yale graduate, he became known for the "Dink Stover" series set at the Lawrenceville School and Yale, including The Varmint, Skippy Bedelle, and Stover at Yale, as well as works such as The Salamander and Making Money. His fiction often draws on school and campus life and youthful coming-of-age, written in a light, humorous vein with an eye for social reality; some works also touch on historical and mystery themes, such as In the Name of Liberty and Murder in Any Degree. He served as a war correspondent during World War I and died in Massachusetts in 1952.