The Confession

出版者:Harper Paperbacks

作者:James E. Mcgreevey

页数:384

出版时间:2007-09-01

价格:USD 16.95

装帧:Paperback

isbn号码:9780061142109

具体描述

In August 2004, Governor James E. McGreevey of New Jersey made history when he stepped before microphones, declared "My truth is that I am a gay American," and announced his resignation. The story made international headlines—but what led to that moment was a human and political drama more complex and fascinating than anyone knew. Now, in this extraordinarily candid memoir, McGreevey shares his story of a life of ambition, moral compromise, and redemption. From childhood, McGreevey lived a kind of idealized American life. The son of working-class Irish Catholic parents, named for an uncle who died at Iwo Jima, he strove to exceed expectations in everything he did, meeting each new challenge as though his "future rode on every move." As a young man he was tempted by the priesthood, yet it was another calling—politics—that he found irresistible. Plunging early into the dangerous waters of New Jersey politics, he won three elections by the age of thirty-six, and soon thereafter nearly toppled the state's popular governor, Christie Todd Whitman, in a photo-finish election. Four years later, he won the governorship by a landslide. Throughout his adult life, however, Jim McGreevey had been forced to suppress a fundamental truth about himself: that he was gay. He knew at once that the only clear path to his dreams was to live a straight life, and so he split in two, accepting the traditional role of family man while denying his deepest emotions. And he discovered, to his surprise, that becoming a political player demanded ethical shortcuts that became as corrosive as living in the closet. In the cutthroat culture of political bosses, backroom deals, and the insidious practice known as "pay-to-play," he writes, "political compromises came easy to me because I'd learned how to keep a part of myself innocent of them." His policy triumphs as governor were tempered by scandal, as the transgressions of his staff came back to haunt him. Yet only when a former lover threatened to expose him did he finally confront his divided soul, and find the authentic self that had always eluded him. More than a coming-out memoir, The Confession is the story of one man's quest to repair the rift between his public and private selves, at a time in our culture when the personal and political have become tangled like frayed electric cables. Teeming with larger-than-life characters, written with honesty, grace, and rare insight into what it means to negotiate the minefields of American public life, it may be among the most honest political memoirs ever written.

用户评价

这是一部需要耐心去“啃食”的作品，但回报绝对是丰厚的。它绝不是那种可以放在通勤路上随便翻阅的轻松读物，它要求你完全沉浸，全身心地投入到它所构建的世界观中去。书中的世界观宏大且充满细节，作者似乎为这个世界设计了完整的历史背景、社会规则甚至是一套独特的哲学体系。即使是背景设定中的一处微小引述，也可能在后续章节中成为至关重要的线索。我花了很长时间去研究那些埋藏在对话和环境描写中的暗示，那种“啊哈！”的顿悟时刻，是阅读过程中最令人兴奋的体验之一。它成功地模糊了虚构与现实的界限，让我读完后感觉自己对现实世界的某些面向有了全新的理解。这是一部值得反复阅读，并在每次重读时都能发现新层次的杰作。

坦白说，这本书的结构设计非常大胆，甚至可以说是有些反传统的。我花了相当一部分时间才完全适应作者在时间线上的跳跃和视角上的频繁切换。起初我有些手足无措，总想在脑海中构建一个清晰的线性时间轴，但很快我领悟到，正是这种看似混乱的编排，才最贴切地反映了记忆和创伤的本质——它们从来都不是按部就班地呈现的。作者通过这种碎片化的叙事，巧妙地引导读者去主动参与到“拼图”的过程中，每一次的片段重组，都带来一种豁然开朗的惊喜，同时也伴随着更深层次的疑问。这种需要读者付出智力努力去解码的写作方式，极大地提升了阅读的参与度和智力上的满足感。尤其是一些关键事件的处理，没有直接给出结论，而是通过不同人物的回忆侧面烘托，留下了广阔的解读空间，让人读完后还能和朋友们热烈地讨论其中隐藏的深意。这是一部需要反复品味的作品，初读是体验故事，再读则是探究结构。

这本书的叙事节奏简直让人欲罢不能，作者对细节的把握达到了令人咋舌的程度。开篇就将我拽入了一个错综复杂的情境之中，那种初读时的困惑与好奇，如同被一只无形的手牵引着，一步步深入故事的核心。我特别欣赏作者在人物塑造上的细腻，即便是看似微不足道的配角，其内心世界的波动和动机的复杂性也被刻画得入木三分。他们的每一次选择、每一次犹豫，都似乎能在我脑海中投射出真实的阴影与光芒。读到某个转折点时，我甚至需要放下书本，仅仅为了消化其中蕴含的情感冲击。那种如同亲历了一场漫长而艰辛的旅程后的释然与疲惫感，久久未能散去。更值得称道的是，作者对环境的描绘，无论是喧嚣的都市街景，还是幽静隐秘的角落，都充满了强烈的画面感，仿佛我就是那个在字里行间穿梭的观察者，耳边能听到风声，鼻尖能嗅到空气中特有的味道。这种沉浸式的体验，是很多作品难以企及的高度。全书的语言风格多变，时而如诗般优美，时而又带着尖锐的批判性，展现了作者深厚的文字功底和广阔的视野。

这本书给我最大的震撼来自于其对人性灰色地带的探索深度。它绝不是那种非黑即白的道德寓言，相反，它将人性的复杂性剥开给读者看，展示了善良与自私、勇气与懦弱是如何在同一个躯壳内共存并相互角力的。书中几位主要角色的“不完美”才是他们最真实、最吸引人的地方。你会看到一个看似光鲜亮丽的人物，其内心深处隐藏着令人不安的秘密和自毁的倾向；也会发现一个长期被边缘化的小人物，却在关键时刻展现出超越常人的洞察力和坚韧。作者没有对这些行为进行简单的道德审判，而是以一种近乎冷酷的客观态度去记录和剖析，这使得读者在阅读过程中不断地进行自我反思：如果是我处于那种境地，又会做出何种选择？这种强迫性的自我审视，让这本书的价值远远超出了单纯的娱乐范畴，它更像是一面映照我们内心深处的镜子。

从文学技巧的角度来看，这部作品的语言运用达到了炉火纯青的地步。作者对语气的掌控力令人叹服，一段话的开篇可能带着一种疏离的讽刺，但随着句子的推进，情绪会自然地累积，最终爆发出一股强烈的情感洪流。特别是那些关于内心独白的描写，笔触极为精准，捕捉到了那种在特定情境下，思绪如同闪电般疾驰的感觉。它没有使用过多华丽的辞藻堆砌，而是追求一种力度和准确性，每一个词语似乎都经过了精心的掂量，恰到好处地落在了情感的靶心上。我尤其喜欢作者在描绘一些高压场景时，句子会变得简短、破碎，节奏随之加快，营造出一种令人窒息的压迫感，这种“形神兼备”的文字运用，是真正高水平作家的标志。