The Sign of the Book

出版者:Simon & Schuster

作者:Dunning, John

页数:368

出版时间:2005-3

价格:198.00元

装帧:HRD

isbn号码:9780743255059

具体描述

From "New York Times" bestselling author John Dunning comes a riveting new Cliff Janeway Bookman novel, combining captivating book lore with page-turning suspense.Denver bookman and ex-cop Cliff Janeway is enjoying the good life, buying and selling the books he adores as he ekes out a living in his store on seedy East Colfax. And it doesn't hurt that superstar lawyer Erin D'Angelo has joined him as a partner in both business and love.Erin is a special lady, so it's hard for Janeway to refuse her when she asks a favor. Will he travel to the little mountain town of Paradise, Colorado, to check on one of Erin's girlhood friends who's in deep trouble? Laura Marshall sits in the county jail, accused of murdering her husband, Bobby.The situation is delicate because Bobby and Erin were a couple before he married Laura. In fact, it was Laura's affair with Bobby that ended Erin's relationship with each of them, and the women have been estranged ever since. Now Laura has called on Erin for help, but Erin's not sure she even wants to see her onetime best friend, let alone get involved in her case. Could Janeway visit Laura on Erin's behalf and try to find out what happened the night Bobby died?The clincher for Janeway: Bobby Marshall was a book collector, and Janeway can't resist a house full of books any more than he can resist Erin's uncharacteristic request. His normally self-sufficient girlfriend is clearly at loose ends. He drives to Paradise the next day.Janeway soon discovers that neither he nor Erin is likely to be able to save Laura Marshall. The young wife and mother is terrified of something and has already admitted to the arresting officer -- a smarmy local deputy with a huge chip on his shoulder -- that she shot her husband and then tried to dispose of the bloody evidence.But did everything really happen as Laura claims? And what about the books? Bobby had a vast library, but at a casual glance, the titles seem ordinary, even to a seasoned bookman like Janeway. Could they possibly be a motive for murder?Janeway, Erin, and local attorney Parley McNamara discover that the case against Laura Marshall is far more complicated than it seems. Professionally, Erin must decide whether to represent Laura; and personally, whether a decades-old friendship can be resurrected. Janeway wants to know the significance of Bobby's book collection. He senses their importance, and under his careful scrutiny, the rows of unremarkable volumes could reveal a killer's motive.Rich with the intricacies of book collecting that only an expert like John Dunning can offer, "The Sign of the Book" is a beautifully crafted, enthralling novel of suspense from the consummate bookman himself.

用户评价

这本书简直是场灾难，从头到尾都充满了令人困惑的叙事和莫名其妙的角色动机。我花了整整两天的时间试图理解作者到底想表达什么，结果除了更多的困惑之外一无所获。情节的推进慢得像蜗牛爬行，中间穿插了大量与主线毫无关联的内心独白和对不存在的细节的冗长描述。比如说，有一整章都在描写主角如何选择早餐麦片，这种无关痛痒的细节堆砌，让阅读体验变得极其折磨。更要命的是，角色的对话毫无火花，像是两块木头在互相敲击。我甚至怀疑作者是不是在写这本书的时候根本没想过要让读者感到任何乐趣。看到一半的时候，我差点就想直接把它扔到角落里积灰，幸亏我还有点职业操守，硬着头皮读完了最后几页，结果发现结局比中间还稀烂，开放得简直像个未完成的草稿。如果你期待一个完整、有逻辑的故事，请务必远离这部作品，它只会浪费你宝贵的阅读时间，留下满心的问号和一种被愚弄的感觉。我强烈建议出版社重新审视一下，到底是什么让他们觉得这种水平的作品可以付梓印刷。

说实话，这本书的结构简直是反人类的设计。我感觉我像是在一个巨大的迷宫里打转，每当我以为要找到出口的时候，作者又把我扔回了起点，而且还用一种更古怪的视角来描述我刚刚走过的路。时间线是完全打乱的，前一秒还在描述一个成年人的回忆，后一秒就跳到了几十年前的某个无关紧要的事件，然后又突然拉回到现在，没有任何明确的标记或过渡。我不得不频繁地翻阅前面的章节，试图拼凑出一个连贯的叙事脉络，但最终还是放弃了。这与其说是艺术上的尝试，不如说是对读者耐心的恶意考验。如果作者的目的是想探讨“非线性叙事”的边界，那么他无疑是成功了——成功地让所有人都望而却步。我甚至怀疑这本书的校对工作是不是也采用了这种混乱的逻辑，因为我发现了好几处明显的前后矛盾，让人对作者的严谨程度产生严重的怀疑。

天呐，这本书的文笔简直是令人耳目一新，它有一种老派的、近乎于诗意的细腻感，读起来就像是品尝一杯陈年的红酒，需要慢慢咂摸，才能体会到其中深藏的复杂层次。作者对环境的描绘达到了令人发指的程度，那些关于光影、气味和触感的文字，仿佛能瞬间将我拉入故事发生的那个古老的小镇。我尤其欣赏作者在处理人物情感上的克制与精准，那种欲言又止、在留白中爆发出来的巨大张力，比任何直白的宣泄都更具力量。书中主角面对困境时的挣扎与自我怀疑，那种深刻的哲学思考，让我停下来反复阅读了好几遍。这绝不是一本快餐式的娱乐读物，它更像是一面镜子，映照出我们内心深处那些难以启齿的脆弱与渴望。虽然故事节奏稍显缓慢，但正是这种沉静，才为那些偶尔迸发的关键情节提供了足够的重量感。我敢肯定，这本书会成为文学史上的一个经典，值得被反复研读和分析。

这本书的社会批判力度非常到位，它赤裸裸地撕开了现代社会中那些光鲜亮丽的表象，直击腐败与虚伪的核心。作者的笔触犀利而毫不留情，那些对权力的讽刺，对阶级固化的揭露，都充满了力量和洞察力。书中的反派角色塑造得极其成功，他们不是脸谱化的恶人，而是由环境和自身的贪婪共同塑造出来的悲剧性人物，让人在痛恨之余，还能感受到一丝同情。我特别喜欢作者运用幽默和讽刺交织的语言风格，这种看似轻松实则沉重的笔法，反而让严肃的主题更容易被大众接受。它迫使我不断反思自己所处的环境，以及我是否有勇气去质疑那些既定的规则。读完之后，我有一种强烈的冲动，想要立即去采取一些行动，去改变身边那些不公的事情。这本书的价值，远超出了娱乐本身，它是一剂清醒剂，让人看清现实的残酷与荒谬。

我花了很长时间才消化完这本书的概念，这简直是一场思维上的极限运动。作者构建了一个极其庞大且复杂的未来世界观，里面充满了各种我闻所未闻的科技名词和复杂的政治体系。我必须承认，前期阅读门槛非常高，每一个新术语的出现都伴随着一长串的背景解释，仿佛我不是在读小说，而是在啃一本厚厚的科技手册。但是，一旦我成功地跨越了最初的适应期，那种被带入一个全新宇宙的震撼感是无与伦比的。作者在想象力方面简直是登峰造极，他对未来社会运作方式的推演逻辑严密到令人发指，每一个设定似乎都有其存在的必然性。我特别欣赏作者在探讨“人工智能的权利”和“人类存在的意义”这些宏大命题时的深度和广度。这本书需要读者全身心地投入，并且做好随时停下来查阅资料或重新阅读段落的准备，但最终的回报是巨大的——它极大地拓展了我对“可能性”的认知边界。