Two Weeks in August

Frank M. RobinsonProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.3

Word count: 14K words
Chapters: 2

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.Two Weeks in August by Frank M. RobinsonAuthor: Robinson, Frank M., 1926-2014,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Jan 23, 2016

Editor's review

Two Weeks in August is a short work by Frank M. Robinson, released free of charge by Project Gutenberg as an English-language ebook. Robinson wrote science fiction and suspense short stories over many years, and was skilled at embedding a slight sense of unease in everyday settings, letting ordinary people's situations gradually reveal a disturbing side. The "two weeks in August" of the title suggests the story unfolds around a limited holiday or window of time, a device often used to create tight narrative pressure and unexpected turns. As a public-domain short story, its value lies not in length or grand architecture but in showing how genre fiction can build emotional accumulation through a very small opening. Readers can treat it as a short English-language genre reading experience, or as a sample for observing mid-twentieth-century American short science fiction and suspense writing techniques. There is no need to expect a complex world-building; simply focus on the characters' situations and the pacing.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who prefer short, tight stories with suspense or light science fiction elements
Intermediate to advanced learners who want to maintain reading habits with short original English texts
Readers interested in mid-twentieth-century American short genre fiction techniques
Readers with fragmented time—on commutes or while waiting—who want to finish a complete story

Not a good fit for

Science fiction fans expecting long series and vast world-building
English beginners who need a Chinese translation or detailed annotations
Readers impatient with old-fashioned short story pacing who prefer intense, high-stimulus narratives

Reading tips

Best read in one sitting; a short story's suspense depends on continuous reading, and pausing midway weakens the ending's effect.
After finishing, retell the story's timeline in two or three sentences to help see the purpose of the time setting in the title.
If using it for English study, select a passage of dialogue for close reading and imitate its colloquial rhythm.

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 genre is this story?

Based on the author's consistent creative direction and Project Gutenberg's literary classification, this is a short genre story within American popular literature, with suspense or light science fiction elements. Readers should discover the specific plot themselves; it is short, and the twist usually comes in the later section.

Is the "August" in the title a real time setting?

The title suggests the story takes place within a limited period in August; such time constraints are often used to apply pressure to the narrative. Readers can note descriptions of season, holiday, or schedule in the text to judge the role the time setting plays in the story.

On what devices can I read the ebook?

Project Gutenberg provides several common formats, which most e-readers, tablets, and phone apps can open. If reading on an e-ink device, choose a compatible formatting option for an experience closer to a paper book.

Do I need to know the author's other works before reading?

No. This is a standalone short story whose plot does not depend on the author's other works. If you become interested in the author's style after reading, you can look up his short stories from the same period as further reading.

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About the author

Frank M. Robinson Author · American · 1926–2014

Frank M. Robinson (Frank Malcolm Robinson, 1926–2014) was an American writer of science fiction and techno-thrillers, born in Chicago and died in San Francisco. From 1950 he published stories in magazines such as Astounding Science Fiction. His representative works include The Power and, with Thomas N. Scortia, The Glass Inferno, which was adapted into the film The Towering Inferno. Six of his works are held in this collection: Decision, The Fire and the Sword, The Girls From Earth, Two Weeks in August, The Worlds of Joe Shannon, and The Reluctant Heroes, with themes centering on science-fiction premises and techno-thriller plots. Beyond fiction, he worked for many years as a magazine editor and served as a speechwriter for the San Francisco politician Harvey Milk. Public information on his life and writing is limited; the above account relies only on reliable records.