具体描述
Amazon.com Review
This French bestseller revels in life's small pleasures. Whether it be a croissant in the street, the Tour de France, a potluck, shelling peas, a glass of port, the smell of apples, the mobile library, a garden in August, getting your espadrilles wet, or an autumn sweater, these 34 short essays delight in the simple. In colorful, sensory language that's perfect for reading out loud, author Philippe Delerm paints a world of possibility and profound joy.
From the title essay:
It's the almost that counts, and the use of the conditional. The suggestion seems absurd at first. It's only the beginning of March and there's been nothing but rain, wind and showers all week. And now this. Since this morning, the sun's been shining with a sort of dull intensity, a calm persistence. Lunch is ready, and the table's been laid. But everything seems different somehow, even inside. The window's slightly ajar, there's an audible hum from outside and the air feels fresh.
Though it could easily be read in one sitting, this book is the kind to savor piece by piece like the delicacies of day-to-day life the author serves up as small, precious gifts. --Kathryn True
From Kirkus Reviews
Another attempt to jump on the bandwagon of the so-called simplicity movement, this time with a Gallic twist. This is French bestseller Delerms first book to be published in the US, and at first glance it would seem to fit quite comfortably among the hordes of books currently exhorting Americans to slow down and enjoy the mundane joys of life. Unfortunately, the author tends to wring the pleasure from most of the simple things he recommends for appreciation. The book, which consists of 34 short chapters (none more than three pages long), extols the virtues of, for instance, blackberry picking, going to the movies, and looking through a kaleidoscope, and its quite possible that readers will go and perform the activities Delerm describes, if only to escape his precious and overwrought prose. His rhapsody on an autumn sweater could double as an entry in the J. Peterman catalog: Time for a new sweater. Time to dress in autumn tones: sweet chestnut, brushwood, conker husk, russula pink. Time to wear the season on your woollen sleeve. To celebrate the blaze before it burns itself out. Though its armchair philosophy is tiresome, the book is somewhat attractive as armchair travel, since a number of the pleasures that Delerm endorses are specifically French, such as the moving walkway in the Montparnasse metro station or the best way to play ptanque. And his descriptions of food and drink, which uphold Frances position as a nation of gourmands, will delight foodiesespecially the chapter on A Sunday Morning Box of Pastries, which puts American delicacies like Krispy Kremes to shame. Well intentioned, but remarkably tedious for such a short book. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
The number-one bestseller in France: A charming medititation on the pleasures of life, from shelling peas to reading on the beach.
"A tiny breeze of delirious wisdom which changes everything and nothing...We could almost eat outside."
An enchanting valentine to the everyday delights life has to offer, this short book captured the imagination of the French public last year and became a number-one bestseller. Sales are now over 600,000 copies. In each brief chapter the author contemplates the seemingly ordinary experiences that add joy to life, whether it's the first sip of beer, the snowstorm inside a paperweight, reading an Agatha Christie novel, or the smell of apples.
At once uniquely French and yet universal, told with a lively, almost childlike curiosity, this charming book reminds us to enjoy and appreciate the small things that make life worthwhile.
作者简介
目录信息
读后感
用户评价
我尝试将这本书推荐给几位风格迥异的朋友，结果出人意料地发现，它几乎适合所有人，尽管每个人的切入点不同。一位热衷于极简主义的朋友，被书中描述的“拥有一件物品带来的完整性”所吸引，认为它精炼地概括了物质与精神的平衡；而一位终日忙碌于高压金融行业的同行，则告诉我，书中关于“在通勤路上观察行人的鞋子”那段描写，让他第一次停下来，真切地体会到自己也是这座巨大机器中一个有血有肉的齿轮，而非仅仅是计算数字的机器。这种跨越年龄、职业和兴趣的普适性，并非因为它讨论了宏大的主题，而是因为它触及了人类共通的情感需求：渴望被理解、渴望在混乱中找到秩序，以及对“归属感”的原始追寻。它像一面温和的镜子，每个人都能在其中照见自己被遗忘的那一部分自我，那个曾经热衷于收集鹅卵石、或者痴迷于观察天空颜色的孩子。它没有提供解决方案，但提供了共鸣。
我曾以为，文学的价值在于宏大叙事，在于对人类困境的深刻剖析，在于史诗般的结构和波澜壮阔的情节。然而，这本书提供了一种截然不同的阅读体验——它像一个技艺高超的匠人，将日常生活的边角料打磨成了闪光的宝石。作者的笔触极其细腻，他捕捉的那些瞬间，比如清晨第一缕阳光穿过百叶窗在木地板上投下的几何图形，或者雨后泥土散发出的那种带着湿气的、略带野性的芬芳，这些场景在日常生活中常常被我们匆忙地忽略。他的叙述没有强加的哲学说教，而是如同一个老朋友在午后茶叙时，不经意间流露出的生活智慧。读完一章，你不会感到知识上的爆炸，反而会有一种微妙的、舒缓的满足感，仿佛是胃里被填满了最温暖的、最熨帖的食物。他成功地做到了“化平凡为神奇”，不是通过夸张的修辞，而是通过近乎虔诚的观察力，让我们重新审视自己习以为常的客厅、厨房、乃至一个生锈的门把手。这种“慢看世界”的视角，让人对生活产生了一种久违的、深切的依恋和感激之情。
这本书的装帧设计简直是视觉上的享受。那种磨砂质感的封面，触感温润细腻，仿佛握着一块经过岁月打磨的鹅卵石。油墨的印刷精良，字体的选择古典又不失现代气息，尤其是书名那几行，恰到好处地运用了留白，让人在翻开之前就已经感受到一种宁静和被珍视的感觉。内页纸张的选择也极考究，米白色的纸张减少了阅读时的视觉疲劳，即便是长时间沉浸其中，眼睛也不会感到酸涩。我尤其欣赏作者或出版方在细节上投入的心思：扉页上那几行不起眼的致谢，用了一种手写体的摹仿印刷，平添了几分人情味，仿佛是作者在深夜里，伴着一盏昏黄的灯，认真地写下的心语。装帧不仅仅是保护内容，它本身就是一种表达，这本书的装帧告诉我：里面的文字是值得被温柔对待的，是需要你放慢脚步，用心去感受的“小宝藏”。这种对实体书工艺的尊重，在如今这个电子阅读盛行的时代，显得尤为珍贵，它让阅读行为本身变成了一种仪式，一种与世界暂时隔离的、专注的享受。当你把它放在书架上时，它不仅仅是一个信息载体，它更像是家中一件低调却有品位的艺术品，静静地散发着一种岁月沉淀下来的温柔光芒。
这本书的语言本身就是一种精妙的音乐。它不像某些散文那样，为了追求华丽而堆砌辞藻，导致阅读时有一种被口水话包裹的滞涩感。相反，作者的用词精准而富有画面感，他的遣词造句带着一种老派的韵味，仿佛是从一本保存完好的旧信箱里翻出来的信件。比如，他描述“壁炉里木柴燃烧殆尽后的灰烬”时，用了“沉静的遗骸”这个词，瞬间就将一种物体的衰败赋予了庄严的历史感。更绝妙的是，他对于节奏的把控。长句悠长，如同一条缓缓流淌的小溪，让人心绪平和；短句则如同水滴溅落，清晰有力，引人注意。这种长短句的交替，使得阅读体验如同聆听一场精心编排的室内乐，每一个停顿、每一个强音都恰到好处。这种对语言工具的纯粹驾驭能力，即便抛开内容不谈，单从文字艺术的角度来看，这本书也值得被反复品味和学习，它展示了如何用最朴素的词汇，构建出最丰富、最持久的情感回响。
阅读这本书的过程，与其说是“阅读”，不如说是一种深呼吸的练习。它的节奏感非常独特，没有那种急于求成的线性叙事压力。每一篇文章都像是一首独立的短诗，自成一体，却又在整体的氛围中相互呼应。我可以随意地翻开任何一页，开始阅读，然后沉浸其中，完全不用担心会错过任何前因后果。这种结构上的自由度，非常适合现代人碎片化的时间安排。有时候，我可能只有十分钟的空闲，我会打开它，读上两三页关于“旧冰箱里结霜的声音”的片段，那种微小的、规律的嗡鸣声，仿佛真的在我耳边响起，瞬间就将我从堆积如山的工作邮件中抽离出来。更有趣的是，作者的幽默感是那种非常内敛的、带着淡淡苦涩的自嘲，它不张扬，却能让人会心一笑，笑声过后，留下的却是对生活本质更深一层的理解。这种阅读体验是极具疗愈性的，它没有强迫你变得更“成功”或更“深刻”，它只是邀请你，暂且卸下所有社会身份，单纯地作为一个体验者，去感受此时此刻，呼吸的空气的温度。
