My Name is Bill

出版者:Pocket Books

作者:Cheever, Susan

页数:320

出版时间:2005-8

价格:119.00元

装帧:Pap

isbn号码:9780743405911

具体描述

In this thoroughly researched and groundbreaking biography of Bill Wilson, cofounder of Alcoholics Anonymous, acclaimed author Susan Cheever creates a remarkably human portrait of a man whose life and work both influenced and saved the lives of millions of people. Drawn from personal letters and diaries, records in a variety of archives, and hundreds of interviews, this definitive biography is the first fully documented account of Bill Wilson's life story. Alcoholics Anonymous is a worldwide organization that since 1935 has helped people break free from the destructive influence of intoxicating and addictive substances. This great wave of comfort and help that has covered the world had its beginning in one man, born shortly before the start of the twentieth century. Utilizing exhaustive research, Cheever traces Bill Wilson's life beginning with his birth in a small town in Vermont, where, following the breakup of his parents' marriage, he was raised primarily by his grandparents. Handsome and intelligent, with a wit and charm that both women and men responded to, he seemed at the outset to be capable of achieving anything he wanted. Wilson, however, also suffered from deep-seated insecurity, and once he was away from the provincial Vermont town, he found that alcohol helped relieve his self-doubts and brought out the charm and wit that had made him a favorite in school. "Help" eventually turned to dependence, and years after his first beer -- consumed at a Newport, Rhode Island, dinner party -- Bill Wilson finally had to come to terms with the fact that, while he loved the way alcohol made him feel, his life was spiraling out of control. Through a painful process of trial anderror, using a blend of experiences, ideas, and medical knowledge gained through several hospitalizations, he was able to stop drinking. A few months later, when he met Dr. Robert Smith of Akron, Ohio, and was able to help him stop drinking also, Alcoholics Anonymous was born. Each man found in the other the support he needed to overcome the hold alcohol had on them. Together they discovered the power they had to help other alcoholics. Success did not come overnight, however, and as Cheever compellingly relates, Wilson had many struggles in a life fraught with controversies, including experiments with LSD and an unconventional fifty-three-year marriage. As one of the most influential and important thinkers of the twentieth century, Bill Wilson changed the way our society deals with addiction, and his ideas in turn have benefited countless individuals and their families. His life was complex, and in Susan Cheever's fascinating biography, he emerges as a man of great passion and courage; it is a story fully told for the first time.

用户评价

这部作品在处理时间线和记忆的交叉方面，达到了近乎迷幻的艺术高度。它并非严格遵循线性叙事，而是如同打碎的镜子，将过去、现在和闪回的瞬间重新拼贴起来。这种碎片化的处理方式，极好地模仿了人类记忆的运作方式——充满了跳跃、遗漏和突然的清晰。读者的任务，很大程度上是成为一个主动的解谜者，将这些时间碎片重新组织，以期拼凑出人物完整的心路历程。这种阅读体验是极具参与感的，读者不再是被动的接受者，而是与作者共同参与到意义的建构过程中。尤其是在描述主人公如何应对早年创伤时，作者极其克制地使用了回忆，而是通过其在当下的反应来侧面烘托过去的阴影，这种“显示而非告知”（Show, Don't Tell）的叙事原则运用得炉火纯青。这种内敛的表达方式，使得情感的爆发更具冲击力，如同地震前的无声，一旦爆发，地动山摇。对于那些厌倦了直白情节推进的读者来说，这本书提供了一个值得深入探索的复杂迷宫。

如果一定要用一个词来形容这部小说的阅读感受，那会是“共振”。这本书触及了许多关于现代人身份焦虑的敏感神经，但它处理得极其优雅，没有丝毫煽情或故作姿态。作者似乎深谙人与环境之间那种微妙的能量交换——城市如何塑造我们，而我们又如何试图反抗这种塑造。令人称奇的是，尽管主题宏大，但叙事始终紧紧围绕着个体的情感核心。例如，书中对于“等待”的描绘，不仅仅是物理上的时间流逝，更是一种精神上的停滞，那种在无休止的选择面前，最终选择“什么都不做”的巨大心理重量，被描绘得入木三分。这本书的后劲很足，读完后，我发现自己走路时步伐都变得更慢了，会下意识地留意那些平日里被忽略的细节——邻居窗帘的颜色，公车上陌生人脸上的疲惫。这便是优秀文学作品的力量所在：它不仅讲述了一个故事，更改变了你感知世界的方式，让你以一种全新的、更具洞察力的目光，重新审视自己生活中的每一个“寻常”瞬间。

这本新近问世的小说，如同一股清新的山风，猛地吹入了当代文学的沉闷格局。从翻开扉页的那一刻起，我就被作者那近乎于手术刀般精准的笔触所吸引。故事的主人公，一个在城市边缘挣扎求生的个体，他的内心世界被描绘得细腻入微，每一个细微的情绪波动，每一次不经意的眼神交流，都被捕捉并放大，如同在显微镜下观察生命本身。我尤其欣赏作者在构建环境氛围上的功力，那种都市的疏离感和个体在庞大系统中的无力感，被渲染得淋漓尽致。街道的灯光、雨夜的气味、人们行色匆匆的背影，这些寻常的元素在他的笔下，都带上了一层充满隐喻的色彩。读到中间部分，情节的推进并非依赖于突如其来的戏剧性事件，而是通过一系列看似平淡的日常片段，层层剥开人物的伪装，直至触及其最脆弱的核心。这种叙事节奏，初读可能略显缓慢，但细品之下，却能体会到它如慢火熬制汤羹般的深厚内力。它迫使读者放慢脚步，去真正“看”和“感受”这个故事，而不是急于求知“接下来会发生什么”。整本书散发着一种克制的、近乎冷峻的哲学思辨，探讨着身份认同在现代社会中的流变与失落，引人深思，绝非泛泛而谈的都市传说。

当我合上这本书时，感受到的不是故事结束后的空虚，而是一种被彻底洗涤过的、略带疲惫的满足感。这本书的结构设计堪称精妙，它采用了多重叙事视角，如同多棱镜折射出的光线，从不同的角度审视着核心冲突。这种手法的好处在于，它极大地丰富了文本的层次性，使得原本可能显得单薄的人物关系，变得立体而富有张力。不同角色的声音彼此交织、相互印证，却又常常在关键时刻产生微妙的矛盾，这种张力构建了全书的情感驱动力。语言风格上，作者展现了惊人的多变性。在描述人物内心独白时，语言是破碎的、充满内在节奏的诗意，仿佛直接截取了思维的电流；而在描绘外部世界时，文字又变得简洁、有力，如同摄影师抓拍的硬照。这种在“内省的迷宫”和“现实的切片”之间流畅切换的能力，是极为高明的。我发现自己不断地被拉入角色的困境中，为他们的选择感到揪心，也为那些未言明的默契而动容。这不是一本提供简单答案的书，它更像是一份邀请函，邀请我们一同进入复杂人性的深水区进行一次勇敢的潜水。

说实话，一开始我对这类探讨现代人精神困境的作品是抱有保留态度的，总担心会落入俗套或故作高深。然而，这部作品的独特之处在于，它成功地将宏大的社会批判，巧妙地嫁接在了极为私密和个人化的叙事骨架之上。它没有采取那种居高临下的说教姿态，而是通过一系列精妙的象征和隐喻，让读者自己去体会“被遗忘”和“不被理解”的重量。比如书中多次出现的关于“钥匙”和“门”的意象，初看只是寻常物件，但随着情节的推进，它们逐渐累积起巨大的象征意义，代表着归属感、隔阂、以及对新开端的渴望。作者对细节的偏执令人赞叹，即便是背景人物，其衣着、口头禅，乃至走路的姿势，都经过了精心雕琢，使得整个世界观坚实可信。阅读过程中，我常常停下来，仅仅是为了回味某一句对白，它们往往信息量巨大，看似平淡却蕴含着哲理的闪光点。这本书的价值，在于它用一种近乎温柔的方式，讲述了最残酷的真相：在这个信息爆炸的时代，我们比任何时候都更接近彼此，却也更可能在精神上背道仰望。