Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Corrigan, the book reviewer for NPR's Fresh Air and mystery columnist for the Washington Post, makes her own book debut with an often longwinded and tedious account of how books have shaped her life. It's clear from every page that Corrigan is obsessed with reading books. Her compulsion is a bit far reaching, however: she offers books as the reason why she delayed getting married and why she adopted her daughter in China. She intersperses lengthy descriptions and analysis of her favorite books, like Jane Eyre, Lucky Jim and Karen (Marie Killilea's memoir of her daughter) with stories from her own life. At times, the book reads like a feminist diatribe against the injustices female authors (and graduate students) have endured and the stereotypical portrayal of female characters. In its favor, the book allows readers to reexperience some perennial favorites, such as Pride and Prejudice and The Maltese Falcon. Corrigan does speak to the ability of books to provide escape and solace, and for the creation of characters we can relate to, but these few gems are buried deep in text so thick and analytical that the reader is often left gasping for air.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Corrigan's passion for books has led her to become an English professor, a book reviewer for NPR's Fresh Air, and the author of the Washington Post's detective-fiction column. Corrigan now celebrates the joys of reading in a peppery narrative that blends glimpses into her personal life, especially her joy in adopting her and her husband's Chinese daughter, with smart and socially conscious literary criticism. We read, Corrigan opines, in search of authenticity, which can be found in several popular genres. The first is what Corrigan calls "the female extreme-adventure tale," fiction about the inner lives of women whose adventures often require more waiting then globe-trotting, more caring for others than daredevilry. Her examples range from Jane Austen to Anna Quindlen. The second literary gold mine is detective fiction, which she prizes for its insight into questions of class. Corrigan then considers the indelible Catholic narratives she read as a girl. Immensely likable, eclectic, and dynamic, Corrigan is as adept in her analysis of life as she is in her fresh and significant interpretations of books. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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说实话,一开始拿到这本书,我还有点担心它会过于沉闷,毕竟书名本身就带着一种强烈的疏离感。但出乎意料的是,作者的叙事节奏掌握得非常到位,像是一场精心编排的交响乐,有低沉的铺陈,也有激昂的高潮。那些关于自我发现和成长的片段,写得特别到位,没有说教式的空洞口号,全是通过角色的实际行动和内心的独白来展现的。我尤其欣赏作者在处理复杂人际关系时的那种克制和精准,情感的流动自然而然,没有矫揉造作的痕迹。有那么几个段落,我甚至需要停下来,反复阅读几遍,才能完全体会到其中蕴含的深层含义,那是一种文字的张力,让人拍案叫绝。这本书的语言风格有一种独特的韵律感,读起来非常流畅,仿佛作者是在对着你低语,分享着一个深藏已久的秘密。如果你是一个追求文字美感和深度思考的读者,这本书绝对能满足你对“好故事”的期待。它不是那种读完就忘的快餐文学,更像是一坛需要时间去品味的陈年佳酿。
评分这本小说简直是夏日午后的完美伴侣,那种沉浸感让人瞬间忘记了外界的喧嚣。故事的开篇处理得极其巧妙,作者没有急于抛出核心冲突,而是用细腻的笔触描绘了主人公日常生活中的那些微小的不安与渴望。我特别喜欢那种通过环境描写来烘托人物心境的手法,比如书中对老旧图书馆里尘埃飞舞的光束,以及雨夜中街道上湿漉漉的倒影的描绘,都充满了诗意。主角的内心挣扎非常真实可信,她面对抉择时的犹豫和自我怀疑,让我这个读者也跟着一起揪心。情节推进得不疾不徐,却总能在不经意间设置一个小小的悬念,让你忍不住想翻到下一页去探个究竟。尤其值得称赞的是,作者对于配角的塑造也毫不马虎,即便是昙花一现的角色,也都有其独特的性格烙印,使得整个世界观显得立体而饱满。这本书的魅力就在于,它不是那种靠爆炸性情节抓人眼球的作品,而是靠着扎实的文字功底和对人性的深刻洞察,慢慢地将你拉入它的世界,等你回过神来,才发现自己已经完全沉醉其中,无法自拔。
评分我向来对结构复杂的叙事不太感冒,总觉得容易让人迷失方向,但这本书的章节编排简直是教科书级别的示范。作者巧妙地运用了倒叙和插叙的技巧,将过去的回响和现在的困境交织在一起,使得人物的动机和行为逻辑更加立体清晰。阅读过程中,我感觉自己像个侦探,一点点拼凑出人物完整的生命图景,那种被引导和发现的感觉非常过瘾。更难得的是,尽管主题有些沉重,但全书的基调却保持了一种难得的平衡感,时而幽默,时而深沉,让阅读过程充满了张力和层次感。那些关于选择与代价的讨论,引发了我很多关于自身生活的反思。这本书的价值就在于,它提供了一个安全、封闭的空间,让我们可以暂时抽离日常的琐碎,专注于探讨更本质的“我是谁”和“我想要什么”的终极问题。读完后,内心久久不能平静,需要时间去消化其中丰富的情感和哲思。
评分这本书最让我感到惊喜的是它对于“空间”的运用。作者不仅仅是把故事发生地当作一个背景板,而是让环境本身成为了叙事的一部分,充满了象征意义。每一次主角转换场景,都伴随着她心境的微妙变化,这种虚实结合的手法处理得非常高明。我甚至能在脑海中清晰地勾勒出那些场景的立体画面,气味、温度仿佛都能透过纸面传递过来。情节的发展虽然不是那种大开大合的类型,但其中的每一次转折都显得水到渠成,合乎逻辑,却又常常出乎意料。作者似乎很擅长捕捉那些稍纵即逝的情绪碎片,并将其放大,让读者能够感同身受。我喜欢它对“孤独”这个主题的探讨,它没有把它描绘成一种悲剧,反而呈现出一种选择的自由和内在的丰盈。这本书的阅读体验非常独特,它要求你慢下来,去体会那些隐藏在对话和动作之下的暗流涌动。它更像是一次心灵的漫步,而不是一次紧张的追逐。
评分这本书的对话设计堪称一绝,角色之间的交流往往充满了言外之意,你得仔细揣摩那些停顿和省略号背后的真实情绪。作者对语言的驾驭能力极强,同样一个词汇,在不同角色的口中,表达出来的意义和重量是完全不同的,这极大地丰富了文本的解读空间。我特别欣赏作者对细节的执着,无论是人物的习惯性小动作,还是对某一特定物品的反复提及,都为后来的情节发展埋下了精妙的伏笔。这本书的结构更偏向于一种“体验式阅读”,它不给你明确的答案,而是邀请你参与到探索的过程中。我发现自己常常在读完一个段落后,会忍不住回头去看前文,确认自己是否错过了什么重要的线索。对于那些喜欢深度挖掘文本内涵、享受“抽丝剥茧”阅读乐趣的读者来说,这本书无疑是一个宝藏。它不是那种会大声喧哗吸引注意力的作品,但一旦你沉下心来倾听,它会用最温柔而坚定的力量,触动你内心最柔软的部分。
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