Sneaking Into the Flying Circus

出版者:Simon & Schuster

作者:Pelosi, Alexandra

页数:320

出版时间:2005-5

价格:$ 25.00

装帧:HRD

isbn号码:9780743263047

具体描述

Alexandra Pelosi, creator of the Emmy award-winning film Journeys with George and of Diary of a Political Tourist , makes her literary debut with an intimate look at the frenzied and grueling underbelly of presidential campaigning and the puppet role of the media. Pelosi went along on the campaign trail in order to, as she puts it, "document the absurd hazing rituals that our presidential candidates have to go through." With this savvy, well-connected, and fearless guide, it's a rollicking, breakneck journey unlike any other. Pelosi's one-on-one time with the 2004 presidential candidates affords an up-close perspective on the highs and lows of campaign life: the genuine thrill of seeing America, the unrelenting grind of endless campaign stops, the hope and heartache of poll results. While the candidates try to stick to tightly constructed scripts, Pelosi's nonnetwork angle makes for revealing portraits of the men who wanted to be president. But even more, Pelosi's approach reveals fundamental flaws in the media's election coverage. A former member of the campaign press corps, she turns her gimlet eye on the media, which are busy enacting their own election-time rituals: "Every election cycle journalists defy the theory of evolution, living sequestered on a bus, with no sleep, few showers, and tons of junk food, going town-to-town listening to the same speech over and over. You're stuck in this dysfunctional relationship between the news organization that has you there to do their bidding and the campaign that is trying to co-opt you." And herein lies Pelosi's driving point: politicians and journalists don't trust each other, and so, in election coverage and in politics in general, the press is utterly hamstrung. Since the candidates never say anything unscripted and the journalists have to make nice in order to maintain access, modern presidential campaigns have become little more than media events. Politicians and journalists alike are going through the motions, and the voters have no idea who the candidates really are. But Pelosi says the public are not fools: "Everyone knows that the media do not give them an accurate portrait of a person." No wonder people are apathetic. But whose fault is it? Are the candidates driving people away from the political process, or are the media keeping them out? Probing, insightful, and lively, Sneaking into the Flying Circus exposes the election process for what it is: a three-ring gala production that comes to town every four years. As a nation and an audience, we're often willing to suspend disbelief -- and we often can't resist when the clowns try to get us in on the act. It is, after all, the greatest show on earth.

用户评价

从排版和装帧的角度来说，这个版本的出版质量也值得称赞。纸张的触感非常舒适，内封的设计采用了某种仿羊皮纸的纹理，配上烫金的标题字体，透露着一种古典的厚重感。但最妙的是，书中穿插的那些据说是“原始手稿”的插图，虽然只是简单的线条勾勒，却极大地丰富了想象空间。这些图画看起来像是早期探险家或记录者的速写，它们用一种粗粝的、近乎不完整的视觉语言，暗示了太多关于古代文明和失落技术的线索，成功地在文字叙事之外，营造了另一种信息流。这种跨媒介的信息补充，对于沉浸式阅读来说是绝佳的辅助。我甚至愿意花时间去研究那些图画中的符号，试图从中寻找与正文的对应关系。这种对细节的极致追求，让整本书的“体感”价值大大提升，绝对是值得收藏的珍品，而不是那种读完一次就束之高阁的快消品。

读完这部作品，我感到了一种久违的、近乎于“沉浸式”的阅读体验。它的文笔极其细腻，仿佛带着某种古老的韵律感，尤其是在描写那些被遗忘的遗迹和荒芜的行星时，那种萧瑟、宏伟又带着一丝腐朽的美感，透过文字扑面而来。我常常需要停下来，仅仅是为了回味那些绝妙的比喻和排比句式，它们不仅仅是辞藻的堆砌，更是作者对这个世界观深刻理解的投射。故事的节奏把握得非常巧妙，大部分时间都保持着一种缓慢而深沉的基调，让你有足够的时间去感受角色的内心波动和环境的压抑感，但每当关键冲突爆发时，笔锋又会突然变得犀利、迅猛，如同刀光剑影，让人肾上腺素飙升。这本书的对话部分也处理得非常出色，充满了潜台词和机锋，不同阶层、不同文明背景的人物，他们的言语习惯、俚语的使用都做了细致的区分，这极大地增强了故事的真实感和层次感。对我来说，这本书已经超越了一般的娱乐产品，更像是一部值得反复品味的文学作品。

我必须得承认，这本书在角色塑造上的功力深厚得令人发指。很少有作品能让我对反派角色产生如此复杂的情感。这里的“坏人”往往不是脸谱化的邪恶，他们有着自己坚不可摧的信念和近乎偏执的逻辑支撑，他们的行为虽然带来了灾难，但在他们自身的体系内，却是完全合理的，甚至是必要的牺牲。这种道德上的模糊地带，让阅读体验变得极其引人入胜。我不断地在心里与作者的观点交锋，思考如果是我处于那种境地，我会做出何种选择。那些主要人物之间的情感纠葛，尤其是那种基于共同经历而产生的、超越了简单爱情或友谊的羁绊，处理得非常克制而有力，没有落入俗套的煽情陷阱。每一次重逢或诀别，都伴随着重大的世界观转变，让人读完后久久不能平静，甚至会反思自己与身边人的关系。总而言之，这是一群有血有肉、有遗憾、有光芒的灵魂的史诗。

说实话，我一开始对这类题材是持保留态度的，总觉得太过晦涩，充满了各种晦涩的术语和复杂的设定，很容易让人望而却步。然而，这本书的叙事视角转换得非常成功，它并没有一开始就抛出所有设定，而是像剥洋葱一样，通过一个相对普通（但很快发现并不普通）的侦探视角，一步步将我们带入这个错综复杂的权力网络之中。这个侦探角色简直是神来之笔，他的观察力和逻辑推理能力虽然超群，但他对于这个世界的无知和困惑，恰恰就是我们读者的最佳“替身”。我们跟着他一起探索那些隐藏在霓虹灯光背后的阴谋，一起揭露那些被掩盖的真相。这种“共同解谜”的过程，让我全程保持了高度的参与感。而且，这本书对社会批判的力度也相当到位，它探讨了技术异化、精英阶层的固化与底层人民的反抗，这些主题放在今天来看，仍然具有强烈的现实意义，绝非是老生常谈的空泛说教，而是真正融入了故事血液中的深刻思考。

这本书真是让人大呼过瘾！我向来对那种糅合了古典与未来元素的科幻作品情有独钟，而这本书在这方面简直做到了极致。作者对于宏大叙事背景的构建能力令人叹为观止，那些架空的星际帝国、古老的机械神祇以及底层社会挣扎的群像，每一个细节都处理得入木三分，丝毫没有为了“大”而“大”的空洞感。特别是它对于时间线错位和多重宇宙理论的探讨，虽然概念复杂，但作者的叙述手法非常高明，总能用极其生活化的场景将那些艰深的物理学概念包裹起来，让即便是对硬核科幻不甚熟悉的读者也能跟上节奏，并且被那种“原来世界可以这样运作”的震撼感所吸引。我尤其欣赏主角群在面对命运抉择时的那种挣扎与人性光辉的展现，他们不是传统的完美英雄，他们会犯错、会恐惧，但正是这种不完美，使得他们在那个冰冷的宇宙背景下显得格外鲜活和动人。我一口气读完了前三卷，现在已经迫不及待地想知道后续的篇章里，那些埋下的伏笔究竟会如何一一揭开，那种悬念的张力，真是太折磨人了，但也太美妙了。