From Publishers Weekly Stevens and a former fashion model drove a tortuous route from the Central African Republic to Europe via Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Mali and Algeria. "Stevens is the author of Night Train to Turkestan ; his offbeat African odyssey is a rollicking successor," asserted PW. Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition. From the Inside Flap Malaria Dreams is a tale of high adventure across Africa, recounted with the wit and humor that delighted readers of Night Train to Turkistan, Stuart Stevens's highly praised first book. The story begins when a "geologist" friend mentions to Stevens that he has a Land Rover in the Central African Republic which he'd like to get back to Europe. It's only later, when Stevens discovers that half of Africa thinks his friend is a spy and the other half is convinced he's a diamond smuggler, that the intrepid author begins to realize he should have asked a few more questions before leaving home. And then there's the small problem of the Land Rover's seizure by the minister of mines, who has appropriated it as his personal car. It is a new Land Rover. The minister likes it very much. Three months later, Stevens and his twenty-three-year-old companion (the only woman to ever transfer from Bryn Mawr to the University of Oklahoma) have somehow managed to drive-though not in the ill-fated Land Rover-across the wildest part of Africa, emerging scathed but still alive on the shores of the Mediterranean. Malaria Dreams takes readers along on close encounters with killer ants in Cameroon, revolutionary soldiers in the middle of Lake Chad (a huge mudhole lacking any water), and strangely frenzied Peace Corps parties in Niger. There's a long search for a functional set of springs in Timbuktu and near disastrous bouts with sickness and automotive malfunctions in the middle of the Sahara. Through it all, Stevens and his ex-fashion model companion battle the odds, and often each other, to return home to tell this unlikely, highly amusing tale. "One of the funniest tales of misadventure to come along in quite a while.... Mr. Stevens has a wonderful eye for the curiosities of human behavior, Third World variety; he is witty, but not at the expense of the Africans."--The New Yorker "Mr. Stevens emerges from the book not only as an engaging, picaresque hero, but also as a clever and observant writer."--The New York Times "For an...Africa veteran, Stuart Stevens's Malaria Dreams will bring the pleasure of recognition. For all readers it brings much laughter."--The Wall Street Journal "[Stevens's] depiction of exotic people and locales is often eloquent. And he succinctly limns the opulent and squalid vestiges of colonialism. Thankfully, he survived the adventure with his dry sense of humor intact."--The Cleveland Plain Dealer "You would have to be out of your mind to go anywhere with Stuart Stevens, but when the travel is only mental, he is the perfect companion: brave, funny, and ever-watchful."--Martin Amis Stuart Stevens is the author of the highly praised Atlantic Monthly Press travel book Night Train to Turkistan and Scorched Earth, "a political love story." He has written for the Emmy Award-winning television series Northern Exposure and I'll Fly Away and has published articles in Esquire, the New Republic, Outside, and other magazines. The Stuart Stevens Group political consulting firm has produced award-winning media campaigns for dozens of senatorial, congressional, and gubernatorial races around the country. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
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这本书的文笔真是让人耳目一新,作者的叙事方式充满了画面感,仿佛能透过文字直接感受到那些异域的风情和紧张的氛围。尤其是在描绘自然环境和当地风俗习惯的部分,那种细腻入微的观察和充满情感的笔触,让人对故事发生的那个遥远的地方产生了强烈的代入感。故事情节的推进张弛有度,没有那种刻意的煽情或突兀的转折,一切都显得水到渠成,自然而然地将读者带入一个又一个意想不到的境地。我特别欣赏作者对于人物内心世界的刻画,那些复杂的情感纠葛、在困境中的挣扎与成长,都被描绘得入木三分,让人不禁思考,如果身处彼地,自己又会做出何种选择。整本书读下来,留下的不仅是故事的余韵,更是一种对未知世界的敬畏和对人类精神力量的重新审视。它不只是一场阅读体验,更像是一次心灵的洗礼,让你在合上书本后,还能久久地沉浸在那片充满神秘色彩的土地之上,回味无穷。这种深度和广度兼具的作品,在当下的出版物中实属难得,值得每一个热爱深度阅读的读者细细品味。
评分我必须指出,这本书在情感表达上达到了一个罕见的平衡点——它既有强烈的个人情感投射,却又保持着一种恰到好处的疏离感,避免了陷入自恋式的叙事泥潭。作者对于“失落感”和“归属感”的探讨尤为深刻。主角在异乡的每一个微小的成功或失败,都折射出人类面对环境变迁时普遍的焦虑。那些关于友谊的建立和随之而来的背叛,关于信任的试探与最终的瓦解,都不是简单的好人与坏人的二元对立,而是基于文化差异和生存压力下的复杂人性博弈。阅读过程中,我常常为书中某些角色的命运感到唏嘘,他们并非是传统意义上的英雄或恶棍,而是活生生、有缺陷、充满矛盾的个体。这本书的伟大之处或许就在于,它没有试图给出廉价的答案或圆满的结局,而是将那些关于生存、道德和身份认同的沉重议题,诚实地摆在了读者面前,任由我们自己去消化和评判。它迫使你进行深刻的自我对话。
评分这本书的结构处理得极为巧妙,它采用了多线叙事的技巧,但切换之间却异常流畅,丝毫不会让人产生迷失感。时而跳跃到过去的回忆,揭示某个关键情节点的人物动机;时而又聚焦于当下迫在眉睫的危机,使得悬念始终保持在一个极高的水准上。这种叙事节奏的掌控,简直是教科书级别的范例。特别是当作者在描述一些突发事件时,那种急促的短句和不断叠加的感官细节,能瞬间将读者的心跳频率拉高。然而,这种紧张感很快就会被对环境的哲学性反思所取代,让读者有机会喘息,并重新审视刚刚发生的事件。这种“高潮——沉思——再高潮”的循环模式,极大地增强了阅读的粘性。我经常发现自己因为想知道下一刻会发生什么,而不得不熬夜去阅读。这种能将人完全“吸入”书中的魔力,是许多畅销书都难以企及的境界,它展现了作者对故事架构的深刻理解和高超的驾驭能力。
评分从纯粹的文学手法来看,这本书的语言组织简直是一种享受。作者似乎对词汇的掌握达到了出神入化的地步,每一个形容词和动词的选择都精确地服务于其想要营造的氛围。例如,描绘炎热时,他不会简单地使用“很热”一词,而是会调动起皮肤上的灼烧感、空气的粘稠度以及光线的刺目感,构建出一个立体的酷热场景。更难能可贵的是,这种华丽的辞藻运用并未成为炫技的工具,而是完美地融入了叙事的血肉之中,使故事的质感得到了极大的提升。这种对语言的精雕细琢,让即便是描述日常片段也充满了诗意和张力。读这本书的过程,就像是在欣赏一幅由文字精心绘制的壁画,每一个细节都值得驻足欣赏。对于追求文字美感的读者来说,这本书提供的体验是极其丰厚的,它证明了故事内容与叙事形式可以完美地结合,共同服务于一个宏大的主题表达,实属近期阅读中的一大惊喜。
评分初读这本书时,我其实抱着一种相当怀疑的态度,毕竟市面上关于探险或异域经历的书籍浩如烟海,真正能让人眼前一亮的少之又少。然而,这本书成功地打破了我的预期。它没有沉溺于表面的奇观展示,而是深入挖掘了文化冲突与个体适应的复杂性。叙述者(或者说,故事中的主角)在面对全新社会结构和生存法则时的那种步步为营的谨慎,以及偶尔流露出的文化优越感与随后的自我修正,都处理得极其真实可信。这种坦诚让角色立刻鲜活了起来,不再是扁平化的“冒险家”形象。更值得称赞的是,作者对背景知识的整合运用非常高明,既没有让专业术语堆砌成阅读障碍,也没有为了简化而牺牲掉细节的真实性。每一次情节的推进,都仿佛是经过深思熟虑的棋局,每一步都似乎预示着更深层次的含义。读完后,我感觉自己不仅是看了一个故事,更是上了一堂生动的社会人类学课程,而且是用最引人入胜的方式完成的。强烈推荐给那些对“他者”文化抱有真诚好奇心的读者。
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