Dare Not Linger

出版者:Farrar, Straus and Giroux

作者:Nelson Mandela

页数:384

出版时间:2017-10-24

价格:USD 28.00

装帧:Hardcover

isbn号码:9780374134716

具体描述

The long-awaited second volume of Nelson Mandela’s memoirs, left unfinished at his death and never before available, are here completed and expanded with notes and speeches written by Mandela during his historic presidency, making for a moving sequel to his worldwide bestseller Long Walk to Freedom.

“I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can rest only for a moment, for with freedom comes responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not ended.”

In 1994, Nelson Mandela became the first president of a democratic South Africa. From the outset, he was committed to serving only a single five-year term. During his presidency, he and his government ensured that all of South Africa’s citizens became equal before the law, and he laid the foundation for turning a country riven by centuries of colonialism and apartheid into a fully functioning democracy.

Dare Not Linger is the story of Mandela’s presidential years, drawing heavily on the memoir he began to write as he prepared to leave office, but was unable to finish. Now the acclaimed South African writer Mandla Langa has completed the task, using Mandela’s unfinished draft, detailed notes that Mandela made as events were unfolding, and a wealth of unseen archival material. With a prologue by Mandela’s widow, Graça Machel, the result is a vivid and often inspirational account of Mandela’s presidency and the creation of a new democracy. It tells the story of a country in transition and the challenges Mandela faced as he strove to make his vision for a liberated South Africa a reality.

作者简介

Nelson Mandela was born in Transkei, South Africa, on July 18, 1918. He joined the African National Congress in 1944 and was engaged in resistance against the ruling National Party’s apartheid policies after 1948. From 1964 to 1982, he was incarcerated at Robben Island Prison and then later moved to Pollsmoor Prison, during which time his reputation as a potent symbol of resistance to the anti-apartheid movement grew steadily. Released from prison in 1990, Mandela won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 and was inaugurated as the first democratically elected president of South Africa in 1994. He is the author of the international bestseller Long Walk to Freedom. He died on December 5, 2013, at age ninety-five.

Mandla Langa was born in 1950 in Durban, South Africa. After being arrested in 1976, he went into exile and has lived in Botswana, Mozambique, and Angola, as well as Hungary, Zambia, and the United Kingdom, where he was the ANC’s Cultural Representative. A writer and journalist, he was the first South African to be awarded the Arts Council of Great Britain bursary for creative writing and has been a columnist for the Sunday Independent and the New Nation. He is also the author of several acclaimed novels, including The Lost Colours of the Chameleon, which won the 2009 Commonwealth Prize for Best Book in the African Region.

Graça Machel was born in Mozambique in 1945. A teacher, human rights activist, international advocate for women’s and children’s rights, and politician, she was married―from 1975 until his death in 1986―to Samora Machel, the first president of Mozambique. In July 1988 she married Nelson Mandela. Among numerous awards she has received the United Nations’ Nansen Medal in recognition of her long-standing humanitarian work, particularly on behalf of refugee children.

用户评价

这部作品在语言运用上展现出一种令人目眩神迷的韵律感和音乐性。句子长短错落有致，有时是短促、有力的断言，如同敲击心灵的鼓点；有时又是华丽、层叠的复合句，如同交响乐的高潮。阅读起来，有一种天然的节奏感，仿佛不是在看字，而是在聆听一段精心编排的乐曲。我特别留意到作者在构建对话时的精妙之处，人物之间的交流充满了张力——有些话是说出来的，但更重要的信息却隐藏在未说出口的停顿、重复和潜台词里。这些未尽之语，比任何直白的表达都更有力量。而且，书中的象征意义运用得非常克制而精准，一个反复出现的小物件，或是一种特定天气场景，都承载着超越其表象的意义，但又不会过度解释，让读者可以自由地进行个人化的解读。这是一部需要细细咀嚼、反复回味的文学作品，它给予读者的回味无穷，远超故事本身的内容。

说实话，我一开始对这种篇幅略显“厚重”的作品是有些抗拒的，担心会陷入冗长乏味的泥淖，但事实证明我的担忧完全是多余的。这本书的叙事手法极其高明，它采用了多线叙事，却始终保持着令人惊叹的清晰度和流畅性。不同时间线之间的跳跃处理得非常自然，就像是导演在剪辑一部节奏精准的电影，每一次切换都为后续的情节发展埋下了伏笔或者提供了关键的侧写。我特别佩服作者对于“留白”的运用，很多关键的冲突和情感爆发点，作者并没有一览无余地展示出来，而是留给读者自己去体会、去填补那些未言明的空白，这种互动性极大地增强了阅读的趣味性。而且，不同角色的叙事声线辨识度极高，即使不看署名，也能清楚地知道此刻是哪一位人物在讲述他的视角，这在如此庞大的角色群中是极其难得的成就。这本书不仅仅是在讲一个故事，更像是在搭建一个复杂、精密的文学迷宫，每走一步，都有新的发现和震撼。

这本小说简直是文字的盛宴，作者对人物内心的刻画入木三分，每一个角色的挣扎、希望与恐惧都像是活生生地摆在我们面前。我尤其欣赏那种微妙的心理描写，不是那种直白的“他很痛苦”，而是通过一系列细微的动作、眼神的闪躲和不经意的言语，将人物的内心波澜描摹得淋漓尽致。故事的节奏控制得极佳，该快则如疾风骤雨，令人喘不过气；该慢则如老藤缠绕，让你沉浸在细腻的情感纠葛中无法自拔。那种悬念的铺陈，不是靠廉价的“反转”来哗众取宠，而是建立在严谨的逻辑和人物动机之上的，每当我觉得自己猜到了结局，作者总能用一个恰到好处的细节将我的预期彻底颠覆。阅读的过程中，我多次停下来，只是为了回味某一个精妙的对白，或者某一段环境渲染得如诗如画的描写。那种沉浸感，让我感觉自己不是在阅读一个故事，而是亲身经历了一段波澜壮阔的人生旅程。书中的世界观构建得极其宏大且富有层次感，不同阶层、不同背景的人们在命运的洪流中交织，形成了一幅复杂而真实的社会图景。

这部小说最让我震撼的地方，在于它对“灰色地带”的刻画入骨三分。在这里，没有绝对的好人，也没有纯粹的恶棍，每个人都被困在自己道德的天平上，做出艰难的权衡。我很少能在一部作品中看到如此真实的人性剖析，每个人物都有其自洽的逻辑和不得不服从的生存法则，即使他们的行为在传统道德标准下显得“错误”，读者也能在理解的基础上产生强烈的共鸣。这种对复杂性的拥抱，让整个故事显得如此厚重且富有生命力。叙事结构上，作者采取了一种非常大胆的、近乎非线性的推进方式，像打碎了的镜子，需要读者自己去收集碎片，拼凑出完整的画面。这种主动参与感极大地提升了阅读体验的深度，也意味着它可能不适合那些寻求一气呵成、简单明了故事的读者。对我来说，这种需要“动脑”去解读的文本，才是真正值得反复品味的佳作。

我向来对那种过于“说教式”的文学作品持保留态度，总觉得它们将阅读的乐趣变成了接受思想灌输的过程。然而，这部作品的处理方式简直是教科书级别的典范。它探讨的主题非常深刻——关于牺牲、背叛与救赎的本质——但所有这些宏大的议题，都是内化在角色自身的选择和命运之中的，从未以生硬的论断形式出现。作者的文字功底扎实到令人发指，特别是那些描绘自然环境和城市氛围的段落，简直是触手可及的感官体验。无论是暴风雨来临前空气中弥漫的硫磺味，还是古老图书馆中纸张特有的尘封气味，都被描摹得纤毫毕现，让人仿佛置身其中，甚至能感受到皮肤上细微的温度变化。这种对细节的极致追求，使得整个故事的真实感达到了一个新的高度。看完之后，我发现自己不止是对故事中人物的命运耿耿于怀，更是对那种在逆境中仍旧闪耀的人性光辉，产生了更深层次的敬畏。