Project Gutenberg 2009-02-17 Public domain in the USA. 99 Paine, Albert Bigelow 1861 1937 03011490 The Van Dwellers: A Strenuous Quest for a Home E-text prepared by Annie McGuire from digital material generously made available by Internet Archive/American Libraries (http://www.archive.org/details/americana) "The Van Dwellers: A Strenuous Quest for a Home" by Albert Bigelow Paine is a memoir written in the early 20th century. The narrative follows a couple, referred to as the author and the Little Woman, as they navigate the challenges of finding a home in New York City. Through a blend of humor and frustration, the book explores the absurdities of urban living, particularly the experience of flat-hunting, which reveals the couple's gradual adjustment to city life and their growing understanding of the complexities of apartment living. The opening of the memoir sets the stage for the couple's ill-fated initial experiences in New York as they search for a suitable flat. With no prior urban living experience, they struggle to understand the nuances of apartment listings and quickly discover the realities of cramped spaces and unwelcoming janitors. As they explore various potentially appealing options, the narrative highlights their naivety and the stark contrast between expectations and reality. This exploration of idealism versus practicality not only serves as a humorous commentary on domestic life but also hints at the broader themes of adaptation and resilience within the urban landscape. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 76.9 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en Housing -- New York (State) -- New York -- Anecdotes Apartment houses -- New York (State) -- New York -- Anecdotes City and town life -- Anecdotes PS Text Category: Humour Category: Biographies Category: American Literature 197513 2025-07-11T12:41:17.503546 text/html 198191 2009-02-16T22:45:01 text/html 295263 2025-07-11T12:41:20.884557 application/epub+zip 294223 2025-07-11T12:41:18.096551 application/epub+zip 147328 2025-07-11T12:41:17.762556 application/epub+zip 379706 2025-07-11T12:41:23.360539 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 346500 2025-07-11T12:41:20.565580 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 200731 2022-09-13T06:58:57.530039 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 170298 2025-07-11T12:41:17.095569 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 169901 2021-01-04T18:44:04 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 169908 2021-01-04T18:44:04 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 21678 2025-07-11T12:41:23.487541 application/rdf+xml 20358 2025-07-11T12:41:17.834584 image/jpeg 3465 2025-07-11T12:41:17.798586 image/jpeg 65592 2021-01-04T18:44:04 application/octet-stream application/zip 275383 2021-01-04T18:44:04 application/octet-stream application/zip 65590 2021-01-04T18:44:04 application/octet-stream application/zip 274981 2025-07-11T12:41:17.531605 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia