Ruins

作者:Obejas, Achy

页数:205

出版时间:2009-4

价格:$ 18.02

isbn号码:9781933354699

具体描述

"Ruins" has been selected for the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers program "A true believer is faced with a choice between love for his family and the Cuban Revolution." "Daring, tough, and deeply compassionate, Achy Obejas's "Ruins" is a breathtaker. Obejas writes like an angel, which is to say: gloriously . . . one of the Cuba's most important writers."

--Junot Diaz, Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction "In the Havana of "Ruins, " scarcity can only be fought with ingenuity, and the characters work very hard at the exquisite art of getting by. The plot rests on the schemes of its weary, obsessive, dreamy hero--a character so brilliantly drawn that he can't be dismissed or forgotten. A tender and wildly accurate portrait, in a gem of a novel."

--Joan Silber, author of "The Size of the World" "Obejas evinces a new, focused lyricism as she penetrates to the very heart of the Cuban paradox in a story as pared down and intense as its narrator's life."

--"Booklist" (*starred review*) "Compassionate and intriguing . . . Obejas plays out the book's] conflicts in measured, simple prose, allowing her descriptions of the mundane--houses, food, dominoes--to illuminate a setting filled with heartbreak, confusion and decay . . . At her best, Obejas controls the mixture of humor and pathos that suffuse this poor community."

--"Los Angeles Times" ""Ruins" is a beautifully written novel, a moving testament to the human spirit of an unlikely hero who remains unbroken even as the world collapses around him . . . A fine literary achievement, it's Achy Obejas at her very best."

"--El Paso Times" " A] superb novel . . . Highly recommended."

"--Library Journal" " An] honest and superbly written book."

"--Miami Herald" "With the deft and evocative detail of a poet's, Obejas's prose is as illuminating and honest as her struggling protagonist."

--"Publishers Weekly" Usnavy has always been a true believer. When the Cuban Revolution triumphed in 1959, he was just a young man and eagerly signed on for all of its promises. But as the years have passed, the sacrifices have outweighed the glories and he's become increasingly isolated in his revolutionary zeal. His friends openly mock him, his wife dreams of owning a car totally outside their reach, and his beloved fourteen-year-old daughter haunts the coast of Havana, staring north. In the summer of 1994, a few years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the government allows Cubans to leave at will and on whatever will float. More than 100,000 flee--including Usnavy's best friend. Things seem to brighten when he stumbles across what may or may not be a priceless Tiffany lamp that reveals a lost family secret and fuels his long repressed feelings . . . But now Usnavy is faced with a choice between love for his family and the Revolution that has shaped his entire life. Achy Obejas is the author of various books, including the award-winning novel "Days of Awe" and the best-selling poetry chapbook "This Is What Happened in Our Other Life." She is the editor of Akashic's critically acclaimed crime-fiction anthology "Havana Noir, " and the translator (into Spanish) for Junot Diaz's "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao." Currently, she is the Sor Juana Writer in Residence at DePaul University in Chicago. She was born in Havana and continues to spend extended time there.

用户评价

从阅读体验上来说，这本书的结构设计堪称一绝。它并非严格按照时间顺序线性展开，而是采取了一种类似碎片化记忆的拼贴方式，将过去、现在（考古发掘的当下）与对未来的某种隐晦的预言穿插在一起。这种非线性的叙事，反而更贴合“废墟”这一主题——当我们面对一堆残垣断壁时，我们的大脑自动进行的就是这种跳跃式的重构。书中穿插了大量的“想象的对话”，那是作者根据出土的铭文和艺术品，大胆地为这些失语的古人赋予的灵魂与声音。这些想象的片段充满了张力，有时是激烈的争论，有时是温柔的诀别，它们极大地丰富了文本的层次感，避免了纯粹的学术论述可能带来的单调。我尤其欣赏作者在描述那些被遗弃的艺术品时的态度，那是一种混合了敬畏与痛惜的情感，似乎在提醒我们，每一个文明的消亡，都是对人类集体智慧和美学表达的巨大损失。这本书读完后，会留下一种难以名状的失落感，像是在一场盛大的宴会结束后，独自面对空旷的大厅。

这本书的语言风格带着一种独特的冷峻美学。它不像某些历史类书籍那样追求通俗易懂，反而大量运用了一些富有古典韵味的词汇和略显晦涩的句式，这初读时可能会让人稍感吃力，但一旦适应了作者的“语境”，你会发现，正是这种语言的厚重感，才配得上所描述的那些伟大而又悲剧性的历史进程。我花了比预想中更长的时间来阅读，不是因为内容晦涩难懂，而是因为我常常需要在读完一个段落后停下来，回味其中精妙的比喻和构思。有一个章节专门探讨了该文明如何看待“时间”和“永恒”，作者将他们的哲学观念与他们修建的那些历经千年不倒的巨型建筑联系起来，构建了一个关于人类徒劳地对抗消亡的深刻意象。这种将物质遗迹与抽象思维完美融合的写法，体现了作者深厚的文学功底和对人类境遇的深刻洞察。总而言之，如果你期待的是一个轻松愉快的下午读物，那这本书可能会让你失望，但如果你愿意接受一次智识上的挑战和审美上的洗礼，它绝对是物超所值的。

我必须要指出这本书在情绪渲染上的高超技巧。作者似乎深谙如何通过环境的描写来烘托人物内心的波澜，尤其是在描述环境的剧变时，笔力显得格外雄浑有力。比如，书中有一段描绘了最后一次大洪水来临前夕的景象，这不是灾难片的渲染，而是通过聚焦于普通人在面对无法抗拒的命运时的最后挣扎和微小的温情瞬间——一个母亲紧紧抱着孩子的剪影，一盏在风雨中摇曳的油灯——这些细节的处理极其精准且动人。这本书成功地将宏大的历史悲剧，转化为了一个个可以被读者感同身受的个体经验。它没有提供任何廉价的希望或救赎，完全直面了文明的终结这一残酷事实，但正是在这种彻底的坦诚中，反而产生了一种令人肃然起敬的力量。它迫使我们去思考，我们今天所珍视的一切，在未来又将以何种面貌被时间所筛选和遗忘。这本书与其说是在讲述一个古老的故事，不如说是在探讨我们自身存在的脆弱性与必然的归宿。

说实话，这本书的阅读体验是复杂而多维的。它不像那种情节跌宕起伏的小说，更像是一首悠长而深邃的挽歌。我最欣赏的是作者那种近乎偏执的细节考据，但这种考据却丝毫没有影响到故事的流畅性，反而为其增添了无可辩驳的真实感。例如，关于某种失传的农业技术的描述，作者引用了大量看似无关紧要的植物学知识和地理数据，但最终却汇集成一个关于生存与适应的宏大主题，展现了人类在面对自然环境时的智慧与脆弱。我尤其对其中关于社会结构瓦解的部分印象深刻，作者没有用宏观的社会学理论去解释，而是通过几个关键人物的视角——一位坚守传统的老匠人、一位试图引进新思想的年轻贵族——展现了内部矛盾是如何像慢性毒药一样侵蚀着这个庞大体系的。这种微观到宏观的切换，使得整体的叙事张力非常饱满，让人在为逝去的一切感到惋惜的同时，也对人类文明的发展规律产生更深层次的思考。这本书需要静下心来品读，它不是快消品，而更像是一坛需要时间去感受其醇厚的陈酿。

这本书的书名本身就带着一种沉甸甸的历史感，让人忍不住想一探究竟。拿到实体书的时候，首先注意到的是那种略带粗粝的纸张质感，仿佛能从指尖触摸到那些斑驳的墙体和被岁月侵蚀的痕迹。我原本以为这会是一本枯燥的历史考古报告，没想到它却以一种极其细腻且富有画面感的笔触，带我走进了一个早已湮灭的文明的内心世界。作者的叙事节奏把握得恰到好处，既有对宏大历史背景的铺陈，又不乏对个体命运的深刻描摹。比如书中对某个祭祀场景的描写，不是简单地罗列仪式步骤，而是通过对光影、气味乃至空气中微尘的捕捉，营造出一种令人屏息的肃穆与神秘，让人仿佛能听见远古的低语。这种强烈的沉浸感，让我不得不放下手边的一切，沉浸在作者构建的那个世界里，去感受那些文明在达到顶峰后，又是如何一步步走向无可挽回的衰落。书中的一些考古发现被巧妙地融入了叙事线索，它们不再是冰冷的文物，而是承载着无数未解之谜和逝去情感的载体，极大地激发了我的好奇心，让人读完之后依然忍不住在脑海中反复推敲那些留下的线索。

不同的国度，革命的后遗症却如此相似。

不同的国度，革命的后遗症却如此相似。

不同的国度，革命的后遗症却如此相似。

不同的国度，革命的后遗症却如此相似。

不同的国度，革命的后遗症却如此相似。