具体描述
Amazon.com
Such is Ian McEwan's genius that, despite rambling nature walks and the naming of birds, his subject matter remains hermetically sealed in the hearts of two people.
It is 1962 when Edward and Florence, 23 and 22 respectively, marry and repair to a hotel on the Dorset coast for their honeymoon. They are both virgins, both apprehensive about what's next and in Florence's case, utterly and blindly terrified and repelled by the little she knows. Through a tense dinner in their room, because Florence has decided that the weather is not fine enough to dine on the terrace, they are attended by two local boys acting as waiters. The cameo appearances of the boys and Edward and Florence's parents and siblings serve only to underline the emotional isolation of the two principals. Florence says of herself: "...she lacked some simple mental trick that everyone else had, a mechanism so ordinary that no one ever mentioned it, an immediate sensual connection to people and events, and to her own needs and desires...."
They are on the cusp of a rather ordinary marital undertaking in differing states of readiness, willingness and ardor. McEwan says: "Where he merely suffered conventional first-night nerves, she experienced a visceral dread, a helpless disgust as palpable as seasickness." Edward, having denied himself even the release of self-pleasuring for a week, in order to be tip-top for Florence, is mentally pawing the ground. His sensitivity keeps him from being obvious, but he is getting anxious. Florence, on the other hand, knows that she is not capable of the kind of arousal that will make any of this easy. She has held Edward off for a year, and now the reckoning is upon her.
McEwan is the master of the defining moment, that place and time when, once it has taken place, nothing will ever be the same after it. It does not go well and Florence flees the room. "As she understood it, there were no words to name what had happened, there existed no shared language in which two sane adults could describe such events to each other." Edward eventually follows her and they have a poignant and painful conversation where accusations are made, ugly things are said and roads are taken from which, in the case of these two, the way back cannot be found. Late in Edward's life he realizes: "Love and patience--if only he had them both at once--would surely have seen them both through." This beautifully told sad story could have been conceived and written only by Ian McEwan. --Valerie Ryan --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. It should not come as a surprise that Florence and Edward, newlyweds who cannot discuss their previous sexual experiences (or lack thereof), do not communicate out loud with one another until all their emotions boil over at the conclusion of the first night of their honeymoon. That their lives are constructed as narratives and memories makes this novella a particularly good choice for McEwan to perform his own work. McEwan provides a deft sense of cadence, timing and emphasis. McEwan reads this poignant, sad and occasionally amusing gem with entrancing skill, precision and perfect pace. In short, McEwan's performance is mesmerizing. An excellent addition to the recording is a thoughtful interview with the author. The conversation provides insight into McEwan's choice of setting, time period (1962) and characters. McEwan reveals that he tries out his works in progress on audiences, a technique that pays off beautifully. This author-read work is outstanding.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
作者简介
目录信息
读后感
用户评价
这本书的叙事节奏把握得极其精准，从一开始那种略带局促、充满期待的氛围，到故事核心矛盾爆发时的那种戛然而止，让人读完后心脏仿佛被一只冰冷的手紧紧攥住，久久无法松开。作者对人物内心世界的刻画细致入微，每一个犹豫、每一次眼神的闪躲，都蕴含着巨大的信息量。我特别欣赏作者如何通过环境描写来烘托人物心境的微妙变化，比如海边湿冷、略带咸味的空气，仿佛就是人物情感纠结状态的一种具象化。那种青涩、笨拙却又带着全身心投入的尝试，被描绘得既真实又带着一丝令人心碎的纯真。全书没有宏大的历史背景，所有的冲突都聚焦在两个人，两个试图跨越内心障碍的个体身上，这种极度的聚焦反而带来了巨大的情感冲击力。读完后，我忍不住合上书页，盯着天花板看了很久，脑海中不断回放那些关键的对话和动作，思考着“如果当初……”的可能性。这不是一本读完就忘的作品，它更像一根细小的针，轻轻扎在记忆深处，时不时地提醒你，有些遗憾是如此轻易地就能铸成永恒。
这本书的氛围营造达到了极高的水准，它成功地将一个私密的、情感驱动的故事，提升到了一种具有普遍性的象征意义。海滩这个场景本身就充满了矛盾性——它是开阔的边界，也是脆弱的交界地带，一脚踩在坚实的陆地，另一脚则浸在变幻莫测的海洋中。作者巧妙地利用了这种环境的象征性，来映射人物关系的脆弱性。我感觉自己像是被邀请到一场非常私密的、带着羞涩和紧张的夏日派对上，空气中弥漫着荷尔蒙、酒精和尚未言明的期待。而最终的破裂，并非源于恶意或背叛，而是源于两个个体在面对“真实”与“期望”交汇点时的措手不及。这种“优雅的瓦解”比任何戏剧性的分手都更令人心碎，因为它暗示了这种结局或许从一开始就刻在故事的底色之中。读完后，那种感觉更像是经历了一场漫长而痛苦的梦醒，留下的只有清晨的微凉和对过往细节的清晰回味。
我必须说，这本书的语言风格简直是一场盛宴，充满了英国文学特有的那种克制而又精确的美感。它不是那种华丽堆砌辞藻的文字，而是像打磨光滑的鹅卵石，每一句话都恰到好处，带着一种内敛的力量。尤其是在描述人物的肢体语言和微妙的交流时，作者的功力显露无遗——那种欲言又止的沉默，比任何激烈的争吵都更具杀伤力。书中的对话场景设计得非常巧妙，总是在最不经意间，抛出一个足以改变一切的信号，但人物往往因为过于紧张或缺乏经验而错失了抓住它的机会。我甚至能感觉到作者在叙事过程中，似乎也在用一种成年人的视角，带着一种近乎悲悯的怀旧感回望那段青葱岁月。这种复杂的叙事滤镜，让读者在体验人物的迷茫时，也多了一层对“必然性”的叹息。如果你喜欢那种不靠爆炸性情节推动，而是依靠内心波澜和精确的文字捕捉人性的作品，这本书绝对值得你细细品味，感受那种“只差一点点”的无力感。
作为读者，我体验到了一种强烈的代入感，但这种代入感伴随着一种令人窒息的焦虑。故事的主角们，他们的青春期困境和初次面对成人世界复杂性的挣扎，简直就像是把我的旧日日记本摊开来读一样。作者没有将人物塑造成完美的英雄或彻底的失败者，他们是真实存在的，充满了自我矛盾和不安全感。特别是他们试图用一套从书本上学来的、或者从别人那里听来的模板来处理极度个人化的问题时，那种错位感带来的荒谬和痛苦，是如此的真实。这本书的伟大之处在于，它没有提供任何廉价的安慰或简单的解决方案。它只是坦诚地展示了：在某些特定的情境下，爱、意愿和行动之间，存在着一道看似无法逾越的鸿沟。这本书让你思考的不是“他们 seharusnya (应该)”做什么，而是“当一个人真正被困在自己的思维模式里时，他能做什么”。
这本书的结构安排是极其高明的。它采用了一种近乎对称的布局，将故事的开端与最终的转折点紧密地关联起来，形成了一种宿命般的循环感。整个故事似乎都围绕着一个核心的“未完成”在运转。作者非常擅长营造一种“即将发生什么”的张力，这种张力不是来源于外部威胁，而是完全来自于人物自身对未知和对承诺的恐惧。我特别喜欢那些用来过渡场景的短小章节，它们就像一个个快速闪过的镜头，将时间线拉伸或压缩，使得关键时刻的慢镜头处理更加令人印象深刻。读到中后段时，我已经能预感到某些事情无法避免，但作者依然用近乎残酷的细腻，将那个瞬间呈现出来，让你无力阻止，只能眼睁睁看着船只偏离航道。这不仅是对一段关系的审视，更像是一次对“错过”这一主题的深度探讨，它揭示了我们生活中那些因为一个微小的、看似无关紧要的决定所带来的巨大连锁反应。
论性教育的重要性？
论性教育的重要性？
结尾有作者采访。
论性教育的重要性？
结尾有作者采访。
