| Author |
Leiber, Fritz, 1910-1992 |
| Illustrator |
Emshwiller, Ed, 1925-1990 |
| Title |
A Pail of Air
|
| Note |
Reading ease score: 86.5 (6th grade). Easy to read.
|
| Credits |
Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
|
| Summary |
"A Pail of Air" by Fritz Leiber is a science fiction short story written in the early 1950s. The narrative explores themes of survival and human resilience in a post-apocalyptic setting where Earth has been cast into eternal night by a dark star. The story focuses on a small family who struggles to maintain their existence in a frozen world devoid of life, constantly searching for resources like air to keep themselves alive. The plot unfolds through the perspective of a young boy living with his father, mother, and sister in a makeshift home known as the Nest. Their life is dominated by the harsh realities of their environment, as they must venture outside into the freezing darkness to gather air and other supplies. As the story progresses, the boy sees a mysterious light, which sparks fear and speculation among the family about what might still be lurking in their desolate world. Their fears are suddenly alleviated when they encounter other survivors from Los Alamos who have harnessed atomic energy for survival, leading to the promise of hope and a future beyond their isolated existence. The story beautifully captures the essence of human connection, courage, and the longing for life amid despair. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
|
| Language |
English |
| LoC Class |
PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature
|
| Subject |
Science fiction
|
| Subject |
Short stories
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| Subject |
Survival -- Fiction
|
| Subject |
Families -- Fiction
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| Category |
Text |
| EBook-No. |
51461 |
| Release Date |
Mar 15, 2016 |
| Copyright Status |
Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads |
895 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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