A Drinking Life

出版者:Back Bay Books

作者:Pete Hamill

页数:265

出版时间:1995-4-1

价格:USD 15.99

装帧:Paperback

isbn号码:9780316341028

具体描述

Rugged prose and a rare attention to telling detail have long distinguished Pete Hamill's unique brand of journalism and his universally well received fiction. Twenty years after his last drink, he examines the years he spent as a full-time member of the drinking culture. The result is A Drinking Life, a stirring and exhilarating memoir float is his most personal writing to date. The eldest son of Irish immigrants, Hamill learned from his Brooklyn upbringing during the Depression and World War II that drinking was an essential part of being a man; he only had to accompany his father up the street to the warm, amber-colored world of Gallagher's bar to see that drinking was what men did. It played a crucial role in mourning the death of relatives or the loss of a job, in celebrations of all kinds, even in religion. In the navy and the world of newspapers, he learned that bonds of friendship, romance, and professional camaraderie were sealed with drink. It was later that he discovered that drink had the power to destroy those very bonds and corrode any writer's most valuable tools: clarity, consciousness, memory. It was almost too late when he left drinking behind forever. Neither sentimental nor self-righteous, this is a seasoned writer's vivid portrait of the first four decades of his life and the slow, steady way that alcohol became an essential part of that life. Along the way, he summons the mood of a time and a place gone forever, with the bittersweet fondness of a lifetime New Yorker. It is his best work yet.

用户评价

从文学性的角度来看，这本书的语言风格简直是一场华丽的辞藻探戈。我很少读到像这样将日常对话和深刻的哲学思考融合得如此天衣无缝的作品。作者的遣词造句充满了古典的韵味，但又绝不显得矫揉造作或脱离生活。它有一种不动声色的力量，将宏大的主题——比如时间的流逝、人与人之间难以跨越的疏离感——包裹在最日常的场景之中。让我印象深刻的是其中关于“记忆碎片”的处理方式，这些记忆并非按时间线索排列，而是像被随机投入酒杯中的冰块一样，在主角的思绪中不时地冒出来，带着特有的冰凉和刺痛感。这种非线性的叙事结构，要求读者付出更多的注意力，但回报是极其丰厚的——你会发现自己正在参与到构建故事意义的过程中，而不是被动地接受信息。总而言之，这是一部需要被反复阅读、细细咀嚼才能品出所有味道的上乘之作。

我必须说，这本书的叙事节奏掌握得像一位技艺精湛的调酒师，精准而富有层次感。它不像那种快速消耗的通俗小说，反而更像一部需要细细品味的艺术作品。作者似乎对“等待”和“沉默”有着深刻的理解，大量的篇幅被用来描绘那些主角在等待事物发生或在独处时的内心活动。这些片段并非冗余，反而构筑了人物性格的深度。比如，主角在面对重大抉择前的内心挣扎，不是通过激烈的独白来表达，而是通过他对手中酒杯边缘的摩挲、目光在房间里游移的轨迹来实现的。这种“减法”的写作手法，反而将情感的张力推向了极致。阅读过程中，我多次停下来，不是因为情节的冲击，而是因为某一句措辞的精妙，或者是对某种生活状态的精准概括。这种缓慢却坚定的叙事力量，迫使读者放慢自己的步调，去真正“感受”而非仅仅“阅读”故事。它提供了一种难得的喘息空间，让人在喧嚣的生活中找到一个可以安静沉思的锚点。

老实说，我最初是被这本书的某个极富诗意的书评吸引而拿起它的，但阅读体验超出了我所有的预期。它探讨了一个非常核心的人类困境：如何在不断变化的世界中锚定自我，或者说，如何接受不被锚定的事实。作者没有提供廉价的安慰或戏剧性的顿悟，而是将主角置于一种持续的、温和的拉扯之中。这本书的魅力在于它的“不动声色”。它没有刻意煽情，但你会在不经意间被触动。也许是主角对某一个物件的凝视，也许是午夜时分对窗外街景的描绘，这些瞬间的捕捉都极其精准地触及了当代人普遍存在的疏离感和对某种“真实连接”的渴望。它像一面镜子，映照出我们如何在日常的重复性动作中，试图寻找某种意义的庇护所。读完之后，留下的不是故事的结局，而是一种对生活本身的、更为复杂和深刻的提问。这是一部需要耐心去消化的作品，它属于那些不满足于表面故事的读者。

这本书带给我的最直观感受是氛围的饱和度极高。它成功地构建了一个自洽且密不透风的世界观，在这个世界里，灯光、声音、气味构成了一种近乎催眠的仪式感。我尤其欣赏作者对配角的刻画，即使是只出现寥寥数语的过客，也都有着清晰的轮廓和未被完全揭示的背景故事。他们如同背景板上的油彩，为主角的孤独旅程提供了必要的色彩对比。酒吧老板的沉默、偶尔路过的侍者的匆忙，每一个微小的存在都强化了主角那种置身事外又深深嵌入其中的矛盾感。读这本书的过程，感觉就像是潜入了一部老电影的片场，所有的布景、灯光、演员都已就位，只等着你这位观众去解读那尚未被喊停的瞬间。这种沉浸感让人几乎忘了自己身处何地，完全沉浸在那种特有的、略带忧郁的怀旧氛围之中，让人感觉世界仿佛慢了下来，只剩下主角和他周遭那些沉默的元素。

这本小说简直是场味蕾的盛宴，作者对细节的捕捉能力令人叹为观止。从主角第一次踏入那家昏暗小酒馆的描写开始，我就被牢牢吸引住了。空气中弥漫的陈年木头味、啤酒花的微苦香气，甚至连吧台师傅擦拭玻璃杯时发出的那种特有的吱吱声，都被刻画得栩栩如生。你仿佛能真切地感受到那种午后阳光穿过蒙尘玻璃洒在旧木地板上的那种慵懒与沉静。故事的推进并不是那种轰轰烈烈的叙事，而是像老酒一样，慢慢释放出它的醇厚。我特别喜欢作者对不同饮品的描绘，不仅仅是文字上的堆砌，而是赋予了每一种酒水一种情绪和记忆的载体。比如，主角在谈论某件心事时，总会点一杯特定的威士忌，那琥珀色的液体似乎承载了他所有的未言之语。这种将环境、动作和人物内心世界无缝融合的技巧，让阅读体验变得异常丰富和立体。每一次翻页，都像是在探访一个熟悉而又充满神秘感的老地方，让人流连忘返，回味无穷。读完之后，我竟然有些口渴，想立刻找个安静的角落，点一杯和书中主角相似的饮品，重温那种微妙的沉浸感。

Writing was lucid and words carefully chosen. Overall, the story of an Irish-American growing up in Brooklyn didn’t resonate with me much. I didn’t quite feel the emotions. Perhaps because Pete was a man. But I liked reading about the life of a writer and discovering what writing meant for him.

Writing was lucid and words carefully chosen. Overall, the story of an Irish-American growing up in Brooklyn didn’t resonate with me much. I didn’t quite feel the emotions. Perhaps because Pete was a man. But I liked reading about the life of a writer and discovering what writing meant for him.

Writing was lucid and words carefully chosen. Overall, the story of an Irish-American growing up in Brooklyn didn’t resonate with me much. I didn’t quite feel the emotions. Perhaps because Pete was a man. But I liked reading about the life of a writer and discovering what writing meant for him.

Writing was lucid and words carefully chosen. Overall, the story of an Irish-American growing up in Brooklyn didn’t resonate with me much. I didn’t quite feel the emotions. Perhaps because Pete was a man. But I liked reading about the life of a writer and discovering what writing meant for him.

Writing was lucid and words carefully chosen. Overall, the story of an Irish-American growing up in Brooklyn didn’t resonate with me much. I didn’t quite feel the emotions. Perhaps because Pete was a man. But I liked reading about the life of a writer and discovering what writing meant for him.