Here is an unprecedented fiction debut that is cause for celebration. Growing up in a family that valued the art of storytelling and the power of oral history, Thomas Steinbeck now follows in his father’s footsteps with a brilliant story collection. Down to a Soundless Sea resonates with the rich history and culture of California, recalling vivid details of life in Monterey County from the turn of the century through the 1930s. Steinbeck accomplishes an amazing feat: his stories have the feel of classic literature, but his haunting voice, forceful narrative drive, and dazzling imagery are unmistakably his own.
In seven stories, Steinbeck traces the fates and dreams of an eccentric cast of characters, from sailors and ranchers, to doctors and immigrants—as each struggles to carve out a living in the often inhospitable environment of rocky cliffs, crashing surf, and rough patches of land along the California coast and the Big Sur. In “Blind Luck,” a wayward orphan finds his calling at sea, only to learn that life must concede to the whims of authority and the ravages of nature. In “Dark Watcher,” with the country at the start of the Great Depression, a professor craves a plausible discovery to boost his academic standing—and encounters the Indian myth of a shadowed horsemen that may ruin his career. “An Unbecoming Grace” tracks the route of a country physician who cares for an ill-tempered cur—but feels more concern for the well-being of the patient’s beleaguered young wife. The collection concludes with “Sing Fat and the Imperial Duchess of Woo,” a novella that follows the tragic love story between a young apothecary and the woman he hopes to marry.
Deeply felt and richly imagined, full of compelling drama and historical authenticity, Down to a Soundless Sea heralds the arrival of a bold new voice in fiction. Thomas Steinbeck has written stories as memorable and rugged as the coastline that inspired them.
From the Hardcover edition.
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这本书最让我感到震撼的,是它所营造出的那种近乎史诗般的孤独感。它探讨的不是一朝一夕的烦恼,而是根植于人类历史深处的疏离和无根感。角色们仿佛被放置在一个广袤而冷漠的背景之中,他们的努力、他们的爱恨情仇,在宏大的时间面前显得如此微不足道,却又因此显得尤为珍贵。这种对比的处理,让情感张力达到了一个非常高的境界。我不是说这本书很“沉重”,而是说它让你直面存在的本质问题,它处理悲剧的方式不是煽情,而是用一种近乎冷静的、宇宙学的视角来审视个体的命运。读完后,世界好像变得更安静了,而我,也更清醒地认识到了自身的位置。
评分这本书的叙事节奏实在是太抓人了,从一开始那种缓慢、沉浸式的氛围营造,到后续情节的层层递进,简直让人喘不过气来。作者对于人物内心世界的刻画极其细腻,每一个微小的挣扎、每一次隐秘的渴望,都被笔触精准地捕捉并放大。我尤其欣赏它在处理复杂情感时的那种克制与爆发的平衡感,它不像某些小说那样直接把情绪砸在你脸上,而是通过环境、对话的间隙,让你自己去感受那种逐渐累积的张力。读完之后,很多情节的片段都会在你脑海里反复回放,那种挥之不去的感觉,表明了它在艺术层面上是成功的。它不仅仅是一个故事,更像是一次对人类生存困境的深刻反思,引人深思,值得反复咀嚼。那种在看似平静的表象下涌动着的暗流,才是最令人着迷的部分。
评分从结构上看,这本书的布局堪称精妙,尤其是它在叙事线索的交织上所展现出的掌控力,令人叹为观止。作者毫不犹豫地打破了传统的线性叙事,通过碎片化的闪回、不同时间轴的并置,构建了一个复杂但又逻辑自洽的拼图。初读时可能会感到一丝迷惘,需要集中精力去梳理这些看似散乱的片段,但一旦那些隐藏的联系被你捕捉到,那种豁然开朗的体验是极其震撼的。这种叙事上的“反常规”处理,不仅增加了阅读的挑战性,更有效地服务于故事主题——即现实的破碎与重构。这本书的结构本身,就是对主题最强有力的阐释。
评分说实话,我起初对这种题材并不抱太大希望,总觉得这类作品容易陷入故作高深的泥潭。然而,这本书却奇迹般地做到了既有深度又不失可读性。它的主题是宏大的,涉及了时间、记忆和身份认同等哲学命题,但作者却巧妙地将其包裹在一个非常个人化、非常贴近生活的故事内核之中。你不会觉得它在说教,而是感觉自己是主角命运的见证者,一同经历着这些关于“我是谁”的探索。我喜欢它留给读者的解读空间,它没有给出所有明确的答案,很多关键的转折点都允许不同的解读角度,这种开放性让这本书的生命力延长了许多,每次重读可能都会有新的感悟。
评分这本书的语言风格简直是一场文字的盛宴,我必须承认,有些段落我甚至需要放慢速度,细细品味那些词语的排列组合。它没有刻意追求华丽辞藻的堆砌,但每一个词汇的选择都像是经过了最精心的打磨,带着一种冷峻的美感和无可辩驳的力量。特别是对一些环境场景的描绘,那种触觉、嗅觉、视觉的调动,让我仿佛真的身处那个世界,空气中的湿度、光线的角度,都清晰可见。这种高度的文学性,让阅读过程变成了一种享受,即使在情节相对平淡的地方,光是欣赏文字本身就已经值回票价了。这绝对不是一本可以囫囵吞枣的书,它要求读者投入百分之百的专注力,才能真正领略到作者文字功力的一二。
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