Billy Ray's Farm

作者:Brown, Larry

页数:205

价格:178.00 元

isbn号码:9781565121676

具体描述

From Publishers Weekly Celebrated for depicting the dark， seamy side of Southern life， Mississippi novelist Brown (Fay; Father and Son) turns to sunnier topics in this loose-jointed collection of essays paying tribute to the people and places that influenced his writing. The title piece， a rueful reflection on son Billy Ray's persistent bad luck with cattle， sets the tone: despite dead calves， misbehaving bulls， rampaging coyotes and dilapidated fences， father and son remain optimistic. "Billy Ray's farm does not yet exist on an earthly plane，" writes Brown. "On Billy Ray's farm there will be total harmony， wooden fence rows straight as a plumb line， clean， with no weeds， no rusted barbed wire." As Brown details his own efforts to impose harmony on his farm by building a house ("Shack")， protecting his stock from predators ("Goatsongs")， clearing brush and stocking fish ("By the Pond")， he balances pastoral odes with a clear-eyed accounting of the costs of country living. That realism gives Brown's narratives a plainspoken truth that makes more believable the simple pleasures he takes in these simple tasks. The writer's home life in Oxford， Miss.， is more compelling than his chronicles of book tours and writers conferences ("The Whore in Me")， but the latter is kept to a minimum. More successful are the tributes to literary mentors Harry Crews and Madison Jones and to the men who taught him "the fine points of guns and dogs" after his father's death， when Brown was 16. These humble personal essays， which provide a glimpse at the long apprenticeship of a writer who came up the hard way， leave the reader hoping Brown will soon tackle a full-blown autobiography. (Apr.) Forecast: Brown receives rave reviews for his novels and has a devoted following. This should sell well for Algonquin， especially in the South.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information， Inc. From Library Journal In the prolog to this collection of essays， Brown (Fay， On Fire， Big Bad Love) states， "You can't pick where you're born or raised. You take what you're given， whether it's the cornfields of the Midwest or the coal mines of West Virginia， and you make your fiction out of it. It's all you have. And somehow， wherever you are， it always seems to be enough." His essays underscore this sense of place with descriptions of life on his land near Oxford， MI. These essays read much like good fiction. They offer intrigue (will he get the free fish as part of the big deal on the spillway at Enid Reservoir or bag the coyote that has torn open the throats of their baby goats?)， humor (holding the tail of his son's young Holstein bull while they try to get it into the pasture at Billy Ray's farm)， and experience (with mentors， literary conferences， and book-signing tours). Recommended for all libraries. Sue Samson， Univ. of Montana Lib.， Missoula Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information， Inc. See all Editorial Reviews

用户评价

这本关于农场生活的书，简直让人沉浸其中，仿佛真的能闻到泥土的芬芳和动物的气息。作者的文笔非常细腻，对乡村日常的描摹细致入微，从清晨的第一缕阳光洒在谷仓上的景象，到傍晚炊烟袅袅升起的温馨画面，每一个场景都被刻画得栩栩如生。我特别喜欢他描述那些农作物的段落，无论是茁壮成长的玉米还是低垂着果实的苹果树，都充满了生命力和希望。阅读过程中，我仿佛跟随书中的主人公一起，体验了春耕的辛劳、夏日的炎热、秋收的喜悦以及冬藏的宁静。这本书不仅仅是记录了农场的生活，更是传达了一种与自然和谐相处的哲学，让人在快节奏的现代生活中寻找到一份难得的心灵慰藉。读完之后，我脑海中挥之不去的是那些关于自给自足、脚踏实地的美好想象，强烈推荐给所有渴望回归田园生活，或者只是想暂时逃离城市喧嚣的人们。那种质朴而真诚的情感流露，是任何华丽辞藻都无法替代的。

不得不说，这本书的叙事节奏掌握得极为高明，它并非平铺直叙地讲述一个农场的故事，而是像一位经验丰富的讲故事者，在关键时刻抛出引人入胜的悬念，又在恰当的时机给予恰到好处的解答。我本来以为这会是一本枯燥的农业记录，却惊喜地发现其中蕴含着复杂的人际关系和深刻的时代变迁。作者巧妙地将农场主的个人挣扎，与周边社区的变迁交织在一起，使得故事拥有了更广阔的维度。其中关于如何应对突发天气灾害那几章，情节跌宕起伏，让人不禁屏住呼吸，为书中的人物捏一把汗。这种将生活中的真实困境与史诗般的自然力量相结合的手法，使得整本书的张力十足。与其说它是一本关于农场经营的书，不如说它是一部关于韧性、关于如何在变幻莫测的世界中坚守家园的史诗。那种阅读时产生的强烈代入感和情感共鸣，是极少数作品才能达到的境界。

坦白讲，我通常对这种题材的书籍兴趣不大，总觉得它们过于聚焦于琐碎的细节，缺乏宏大的主题。然而，这本书彻底颠覆了我的固有印象。它成功地将微观的农场日常，升华为对“劳动价值”和“传承意义”的深刻探讨。作者没有美化艰辛，而是直面了农耕生活中的枯燥、疲惫与孤独，这使得书中偶尔闪现的温情和满足感显得尤为珍贵。我尤其欣赏作者对几代人之间关系的处理，祖辈的经验主义与后代引进新技术的冲突与融合，描绘出了一种充满张力的代际对话。这种对“留下什么”和“改变什么”的思考，超越了单纯的农场背景，触及到了更普遍的人类困境——如何在继承传统的同时拥抱进步。这本书的深度远超我的预期，它提供了一个观察社会变迁的独特窗口。

我以一个纯粹的文学鉴赏者的角度来看待这本书，它的语言运用简直是教科书级别的范例。作者似乎拥有一种魔力，能将最寻常的词汇组合成充满诗意的句子。比如，他对光影的捕捉，对季节更迭时色彩变化的描绘，精准得令人赞叹。我记得有一段描写黄昏时分，远处的山峦被夕阳染成紫罗兰色，空气中弥漫着收割后的干草味，那种感官上的体验是如此丰富，让人忍不住放下书本，望向窗外，试图在现实中寻找那份意境。更难能可贵的是，作者在保持文学性的同时，并未牺牲故事的可读性。人物对话自然流畅，充满了地方色彩和生活智慧，绝非那种矫揉造作的“文学腔”。这证明了优秀的写作，即是艺术，也是对生活最真诚的致敬。对于那些注重文字美感和叙事技巧的读者来说，这本书绝对值得反复品味。

从包装和装帧来看，这本书的装帧设计就透露出一种低调的质感，与内容完美契合。我喜欢它选用那种略带粗粝感的纸张，拿在手里有一种沉甸甸的真实感。内容方面，如果说有什么让我印象深刻，那就是其中蕴含的对“耐心”的赞颂。在今天的即时满足文化中，这本书提醒我们，真正的收获需要时间的沉淀，无论是等待一季作物的成熟，还是一段关系的深入了解。作者没有使用任何戏剧性的夸张手法来推动情节，一切都以一种符合自然规律的节奏缓缓展开，这种“慢叙事”反而形成了一种强大的治愈力量。它让你学会放慢脚步，去关注那些日常中容易被忽视的美好瞬间：露珠在叶片上滚动，雨水敲打屋顶的韵律，或者仅仅是和老伙计们在门廊下的一杯咖啡。它不提供快速的答案，而是教会你如何更好地提出问题，如何更平静地生活。