The Hand: Classic Book Guide and Free Edition
The Hand: author and translator credits, catalogue synopsis, subjects and links to the Gutenberg reading formats.
The Hand is catalogued by Project Gutenberg with author credits for Sohl, Jerry (1913–2002).
Catalogue synopsis
Project Gutenberg supplies this automated synopsis of the opening text:
"The Hand" by Jerry Sohl is a science fiction short story published in the early 1950s. Set against the backdrop of a rural American farm, the narrative explores themes of alien encounters and the consequences of human actions. The story begins with the protagonist, Alice McNearby, discovering a severed human hand brought home by her dog, Dobie, and quickly escalates into a tense interaction with extraterrestrial beings in search of the hand. The tale revolves around Alice's tumultuous relationship with her husband, Mac, and their encounter with an alien who claims the severed hand belongs to one of his crew members. After Mac carelessly discards the hand, believing it to be worthless, he becomes increasingly hostile towards the alien. Tension mounts as Alice pleads for understanding, while Mac remains obstinately violent. In a tragic turn of events, Mac's cruelty culminates in him suffering a similar fate as the alien when his own hand is severed, emphasizing the story’s themes of empathy, greed, and the repercussions of one's actions in the face of the unknown.
Book and edition facts
- Title: The Hand
- Author credits: Sohl, Jerry (1913–2002)
- Catalogue language: English
Catalogue subjects
- Human-alien encounters -- Fiction
- Science fiction
- Short stories
Gutenberg collections
- Category: American Literature
- Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy
- Category: Short Stories
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View the complete Gutenberg catalogue record. Project Gutenberg identifies this edition as public domain in the United States; that designation does not establish its copyright status in every country.
Source notes
Catalogue metadata is public domain and is supplied through Gutendex, which imports Gutenberg's machine-readable catalogue. The automated synopsis is source-supplied, not an independently verified review. Author dates above describe the credited people; no ebook release date is presented as the book's original publication date.
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