From Publishers Weekly
A year after 12-year-old Alyssa Merrimon disappeared on her way home from the library in an unnamed rural North Carolina town, her twin brother, Johnny, continues to search the town, street by street, even visiting the homes of known sex offenders, in this chilling novel from Edgar-winner Hart (Down River). Det. Clyde Hunt, the lead cop on Alyssa's case, keeps a watchful eye on Johnny and his mother, who has deteriorated since Alyssa's abduction and her husband's departure soon afterward. When a second girl is snatched, Johnny is even more determined to find his sister, convinced that the perpetrator is the same person who took Alyssa. But what he unearths is more sinister than anyone imagined, sending shock waves through the community and putting Johnny's own life in danger. Despite a tendency to dip into melodrama, Hart spins an impressively layered tale of broken families and secrets that can kill. 175,000 first printing; author tour. (May)
From Bookmarks Magazine
Most critics sang the praises of Hart's third novel, a dark and violent edge-of-your-seat mystery that still manages to poignantly examine the ties between family and friends. Hart's ability to portray his characters as living, breathing individuals -- particularly Johnny, "an amalgam of Opie Taylor and Scout Finch with a hint of Huck Finn" (Raleigh News & Observer) -- and his acute assessment of human nature result in a horrifying, heartbreaking tale that steps up the suspense to agonizing levels. The sole voice of dissent, stalwart crime-reviewer Marilyn Stasio from the New York Times Book Review, faulted the writer's unoriginal characters and lackluster prose. But majority rules. Most readers will agree that The Last Child is "one of the best thrillers of the year" (Providence Journal).
John Hart always wanted to be a novelist, but writing books, he found, was hard, and life contrived to distract him along the way. He sailed twice across the Atlantic Ocean and worked on helicopters in Alaska. He drew pints in a pub in London, worked as a tutor in France and on sailboats on the Carolina coast. He earned degrees in French, accounting and law, then pursued careers in banking, law and investment management.
And he tried to write. A little here, a little there.
Eventually he managed to write two novels that never found a publisher. Convinced he could do better, John took a gamble and quit his law practice to take a stab at chasing the only dream he ever had. He gave himself a year and finished his third novel in eleven months and two weeks. That book, THE KING OF LIES, went through six printings and spent multiple weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. His next novel, DOWN RIVER, won the Edgar Award for Best Novel and spent weeks on both the New York Times and London Times bestseller list. THE LAST CHILD, his third novel, will be released in May of 2009.
Now published in twenty-six languages and over thirty countries, John writes full-time. He is having an absolute blast and regrets none of the steps that led him to such a wonderful place.
不得不承认,John Hart是一位比较NB的作家。故事结构严谨,情节跌宕起伏,人物刻画深刻,语言顺畅坦直,基本满足了我对严肃小说的所有期望。 深刻而不说教,悲伤而不绝望,最重要的是,阖上最后一页,你没有办法不深呼一口气,在心里默默地欣慰地想:这是一个多么勇敢的孩子,...
评分回首的孩子、密林与曙光——曙光在前。 如此的封设搭配并不抢眼,腰封上写的各样得奖和听着如何响亮的封号,多少有些招摇,不过拿掉之后也无碍。自用的一套黑红色的书签,随读随插,没有问题。很好的装帧,符合文意的配图,用纸也好,开本略大,书厚,旅途阅读,过手颇有质感...
评分回首的孩子、密林与曙光——曙光在前。 如此的封设搭配并不抢眼,腰封上写的各样得奖和听着如何响亮的封号,多少有些招摇,不过拿掉之后也无碍。自用的一套黑红色的书签,随读随插,没有问题。很好的装帧,符合文意的配图,用纸也好,开本略大,书厚,旅途阅读,过手颇有质感...
评分这是我首次阅读约翰哈特小说,自从我一开始阅读就爱不释手。 我三天读完了。 这是一个耐人寻味的故事,他失去了她的妹妹,她找了一年多。我认为这是一本不错的书,并期待着阅读他的下一本书。
评分小说的讲故事功夫是非常老道的,在中国读者甚至都觉得有点太玄妙的感觉,用纯文学手法写通俗题材的力作!
这本小说,初翻开时,我几乎被那股扑面而来的、带着海盐气息的忧郁感所笼罩。作者对于环境的描摹,简直达到了令人发指的细腻程度。你几乎能闻到被潮湿空气浸透的木头发霉的味道,感受到暴风雨来临前那种令人窒息的静默。故事的主线,围绕着一群看似与世隔绝的岛屿居民展开,他们每个人都仿佛被某种古老的诅咒所束缚,一举一动都透露着一种宿命般的无力感。书中对于人物内心挣扎的刻画尤为出色,那些隐晦的嫉妒、压抑的爱恋,以及对未知未来的恐惧,都被作者用近乎诗意的语言层层剥开。我尤其欣赏其中几处关于时间流逝的思考,时间在这里不是线性的,更像是一种循环往复的潮汐,将所有秘密和谎言最终都带回起点。阅读的过程中,我常常需要停下来,不是因为情节跌宕起伏,而是因为某些句子如同精巧的机关,需要细细品味其中蕴含的哲理和隐喻。总而言之,这是一部需要沉下心来,细细咀嚼的文学作品,它不提供廉价的娱乐,却能给予深刻的心灵触动。
评分这本书的文风,用一个词来形容,就是“坚硬”。它不试图用华丽的辞藻来讨好读者,语言是直白、克制,甚至略带粗粝感的。它更侧重于动作和场景的直接呈现,而非冗长的内心独白。我感觉作者像是站在一个冰冷的镜头后面,忠实地记录着事件的发生,毫不掩饰其中的残酷与荒谬。这种叙事策略,意外地增强了故事的真实感和冲击力。特别是当涉及到社会阶层固化和资源分配不均的主题时,作者没有进行说教,而是通过具体的、令人窒息的细节来展示压迫是如何运作的。例如,他们获取饮用水的困难,以及这种困难如何渗透到他们生活的每一个细微角落,都描绘得入木三分。阅读体验是紧张的,像是在走钢丝,你总是担心下一个场景会带来无法挽回的灾难。这本书也许不适合寻求轻松阅读体验的读者,但对于渴望深入探究社会肌理和人性韧性的读者来说,它无疑提供了一次痛快淋漓的阅读冒险。
评分老实说,我对这种探讨“边缘群体”叙事的作品向来持保留态度,总觉得容易落入刻板印象的陷阱。然而,这本书,我必须承认,它成功地避开了这些俗套。作者似乎并未急于将岛上的生活“浪漫化”或“极端化”,而是采取了一种近乎人类学田野调查般的冷静视角去观察。书中对于当地特有的习俗和信仰的细致记录,让我这个外来读者感到既陌生又好奇。特别是关于“记忆的转移”那一章节,那种对个人历史如何被集体无意识所吞噬的描绘,实在是令人不寒而栗。叙事节奏上,它不像传统小说那样步步紧逼,反而更像是一张缓慢展开的挂毯,你得耐着性子去辨认那些错综复杂的线条。它引人入胜的地方,恰恰在于它的“慢”,让读者有机会去思考这些生活在夹缝中的人们,他们的道德困境、他们的生存智慧。这本书的价值在于,它迫使我们重新审视“正常”与“异常”之间的界限,以及在极端环境中,人性所能展现出的复杂光谱。
评分我读完这本书时,感觉像是经历了一场漫长而沉闷的梦境,醒来后依然带着那种挥之不去的奇异的湿冷感。这本书的结构非常特别,它不是一个单一的故事线,而更像是由无数个碎片化的记忆、日记片段和口述历史拼接而成的一座迷宫。这种拼图式的叙事方式,初期读起来确实有点费劲,需要读者自己去寻找那些隐藏的逻辑联系。但是一旦你适应了这种节奏,你会发现这种结构本身就在呼应着主题——即真相的不可完全重构性。书中几次关于“失踪”的描绘,并不是简单的失踪,而是象征着某种社会记忆的断裂。我尤其被作者对“沉默”的运用所震撼,很多时候,最关键的信息并非通过对话传达,而是通过人物刻意的回避、眼神的闪躲,以及长时间的停顿来暗示。这本书的魅力在于其高度的留白,它不把话说死,而是把解释的权利,很大程度上交还给了读者。它更像是一场开放式的邀请,而非一个封闭的答案。
评分这本书的对话设计,是我近期读到的小说中最具特色的一点。这里的交流方式,充满了“言不由衷”的艺术。人物之间的对话往往是双重的,表面上说着风平浪静的话语,但字里行间却充满了潜台词和未尽之意。这种复杂的交际模式,完美地服务于故事所营造的那个充满猜疑和秘密的氛围。我注意到,很多关键的转折点,并不是由突发的事件触发,而是由一次看似不经意的、充满暗示的对话引爆的。此外,作者对不同人物的“口音”和用词习惯的把握非常到位,这使得即使在没有明确标注说话者的情况下,经验丰富的读者也能大致分辨出声音的来源和人物的身份背景。这种精妙的听觉构建,让我仿佛置身于那个特定环境之中,不仅看到了,更“听见”了那个世界的声音。读完后,我发现自己还在不断回味那些对话片段,试图从中挖掘出更多被当时情境遗漏的深层含义。这是一部需要“侧耳倾听”才能完全领略其妙处的作品。
评分这么阴暗的童年,人生路太长
评分目前三本John Hart的小说中我最喜欢的一本,文风越来越精练了,笔锋也更加温柔了,可是我总有一种感觉,照这么发展下去,这位作家迟早有一天会脱离推理小说去写纯文学的……我觉得他那些纠结的故事和情绪脱离推理小说也很出彩呢:p
评分I expect the worst, and the worst rarely disappoints.
评分很好看的小说,构思很完整
评分目前三本John Hart的小说中我最喜欢的一本,文风越来越精练了,笔锋也更加温柔了,可是我总有一种感觉,照这么发展下去,这位作家迟早有一天会脱离推理小说去写纯文学的……我觉得他那些纠结的故事和情绪脱离推理小说也很出彩呢:p
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