To Catch the Lightning

出版者:Sourcebooks Landmark

作者:Alan Cheuse

页数:528

出版时间:2008-10-1

价格:USD 25.95

装帧:Hardcover

isbn号码:9781402214042

具体描述

""Until someone tells you, you never know in whose dreams you appear..."" "- From the prologue of To Catch the Lightning" What is the price of our dreams? Beginning in the late 1890s, Edward Sheriff Curtis undertook the seemingly overwhelming odyssey of capturing the past, of documenting and photographing the fading way of life of the American Indian. In To Catch the Lightning, Alan Cheuse has created a remarkable portrait of the man who would become a legend. Drawn on his epic journey by a series of female muses, Curtis turns his lens on a landscape of unparalleled beauty and tradition. Curtis' desire to complete his destiny as foretold by Chief Joseph, to photograph all of the hundreds of western American Indian tribes, is a haunting tale of the struggle between ambition and duty. The architect of the finest lasting visual record of a culture close to extinction, Curtis stands as a testament to the power of the sacrifices we make for the dreams that compel us. With the ear of a poet and the eye of a historian, Cheuse has crafted a masterwork of American historical fiction. Lyrical, beautifully written, and impressively researched, To Catch the Lightning is a novel of the American spirit. PRAISE FOR TO CATCH THE LIGHTNING: "To Catch the Lightning is a story of loss - of choices made and prices paid, of the future coming fast and the past disappearing faster. Cheuse's narrative is refracted through multiple voices, each distinct, but each containing its own poetic precision. A wonderful, wonderful book of quiet power and great beauty." - Karen Joy Fowler, author of Wit's End and The Jane Austen Book Club "To Catch the Lightning tells Curtis' story vividly and eloquently. It is a great American story, about a life spent preserving and honoring those elements of life which are most respected and beloved. Alan Cheuse is to be congratulated for this vivid novel." - William Kittredge, author of The Willow Field and The Next Rodeo "Bravo to Cheuse for this incarnation of a major and unfairly forgotten American artist, capturing an era so crucial in native American, and therefore American history. I found it immediate and innovative." - Diane Johnson, author of Le Divorce and Lulu in Marrakech "The photography and cinema of Edward Curtis exist at the intersection of art, history, anthropology, and technology. He was an essentially American kind of genius, and Alan Cheuse has transformed his life into compelling fiction that digs deep into the mystery and sacrifice and selfishness of creative vision." - Charles Frazier, author of Cold Mountain and Thirteen Moons ..". the narrative brims with keen insight." - Publishers Weekly "Curtis devoted his life to creating the most significant and comprehensive retrospective of American Indian culture, which he viewed as 'one of the great races of mankind.' Curtis correctly predicted that the culture was near extinction ... and much of his work remains the only recorded history of a civilization even then becoming the stuff of legend." - ForeWord Magazine

用户评价

坦白说，初看这本书的开篇时，我有些担心它会陷入某种故作高深的泥淖，但很快，那种顾虑就被作者高超的语言驾驭能力所打消了。它的文字是富有音乐性的，语句的断裂与流畅之间切换自如，完美地服务于叙事的情感起伏。举例来说，当描述高潮部分的追逐戏时，句子变得短促、有力，充满了动感，仿佛能听到急促的呼吸声；而转向回忆或内心独白时，语言又变得悠长、富有哲思，充满了古典的韵味。这种风格上的巨大反差，非但没有造成阅读障碍，反而像是一次次精准的镜头切换，将读者瞬间拉入不同的情境维度。更值得称赞的是，作者对于文化符号的运用非常巧妙，一些看似不经意的提及，实则承载了深厚的历史或哲学内涵，需要一定的背景知识才能完全领会，这无疑提升了本书的阅读门槛，但也成就了它独特的精英气质。对于那些追求阅读深度和语言美感的读者而言，这本书无疑是一场盛宴，它挑战你的理解力，同时奖励你的专注。

这部作品的叙事节奏把握得相当精准，初读时便有一种被情节紧紧攫住的感觉，仿佛置身于一个精心编织的迷宫之中，每翻一页，都有新的线索浮现，却又立刻引向更深层次的谜团。作者在环境的描摹上投入了极大的心力，那些雨雾缭绕的古老街道、光线晦暗的地下室，乃至那些弥漫着陈旧气息的图书馆角落，无不栩栩如生，带着一种难以言喻的压抑感和历史的厚重。人物的塑造也极为立体，特别是核心人物面对困境时的挣扎与抉择，让人感同身受。我尤其欣赏其中对人性复杂性的探讨，没有绝对的黑白分明，每个角色都有其灰色的地带，他们的动机和行动都植根于深刻的背景之中，使得整个故事的张力达到了一个很高的水准。这种细腻入微的心理刻画，使得读者不仅仅是在阅读一个故事，更像是在参与一场深刻的内心对话，不断反思“正义”与“生存”之间的微妙平衡。阅读过程中，我多次放下书本，需要时间去消化那些细微的暗示和潜台词，这绝非一部可以轻松一目十行读完的作品，它要求读者全神贯注，回报的却是超越一般娱乐小说的智力与情感的丰厚体验。

对于那些偏爱古典文学的读者来说，这本书或许会带来一种奇妙的混搭体验。虽然叙事内容是现代的、充满悬念的，但其内在的哲学内核和对命运的探讨，却隐隐约约有着荷马史诗般的宿命感。人物的悲剧性并非源于简单的失误，而是源于他们自身性格中的某种无法抗拒的缺陷，这种“宿命论”的基调贯穿始终，使得故事的结局即便在某种程度上可以预见，也仍然令人唏嘘。我对作者在运用象征手法方面的功力深感钦佩，那些反复出现的意象，例如特定的颜色、破碎的镜子、无声的钟声，它们不仅仅是装饰，更是推动情节和揭示人物内心状态的关键钥匙。细细品味这些重复出现的元素，你会发现作者构建了一个比故事本身更为庞大和精密的符号系统，解读这个系统本身就是阅读乐趣的一部分。总而言之，这本书的价值不在于它讲述了什么惊心动魄的事件，而在于它如何用一种近乎古典悲剧的方式，来诠释现代人的生存困境。

这部小说的结构设计简直堪称精妙的建筑艺术。它并非采取线性的叙事手法，而是像一个多维度的立体拼图，碎片化的信息和时间线索交织缠绕，直到最后一百页左右才开始汇聚成清晰的图像。起初，这种跳跃感让人有些手足无措，我不得不频繁地在不同章节间往返查阅，试图理清人物关系和事件发生的先后顺序。但这恰恰是作者的高明之处——他迫使我们像侦探一样去工作，去主动构建故事的逻辑。这种“主动参与”的过程，极大地增强了阅读的沉浸感和智力上的满足感。特别值得一提的是，作者在处理多个视角切换时展现出的控制力，每个角色的叙述口吻和侧重点都截然不同，即便没有明确的标识，读者也能清晰地分辨出谁在说话，这种内敛的区分方式，比生硬的章节命名要高明得多。最终，当所有的谜团被揭开，那种豁然开朗的感觉，带来的震撼远超那些一目了然的故事。

我不得不承认，这是一部极具“时代感”的作品。它探讨的主题远远超越了单纯的个人恩怨或情节反转，而是深入触及了当代社会中普遍存在的信任危机和信息过载的困境。故事背景虽然设定在虚构的城市，但其中对官僚主义的讽刺、对科技异化的描摹，以及对真相被权力层层掩盖的描绘，都与我们现实世界中的诸多现象产生了强烈的共鸣。这种共鸣感是如此强烈，以至于读完后，我需要很长一段时间才能从那种被“警醒”的状态中抽离出来。作者没有给出廉价的答案，也没有提供英雄式的救赎，留给读者的更多是一种持续的、理性的反思——我们所依赖的体系是否真的稳固？我们获取的信息是否真的可靠？这种发人深省的力量，是许多肤浅的流行小说所不具备的，它让这本书的价值经久不衰，成为值得反复品读的佳作。