The Washington Post praised Mako Yoshikawa’s extraordinary first novel, One Hundred and One Ways, as “strikingly assured.” The Orlando Sentinel called it “an impressive accomplishment.” In Once Removed, Yoshikawa continues in the tradition of Alice Walker and Amy Tan with a powerful story of two women from different cultures who form a deep friendship that, though severely tested, can never be broken.
It has been many long years since Claudia last saw her Japanese-American stepsister. Once upon a time, Claudia’s Jewish father fell in love with Rei’s Japanese mother and abandoned his family to be with her. Though Claudia resented this new family her father so readily embraced, from the moment she and Rei met, the two girls formed a bond not even their parents understood. Their long-standing joke is that they are mirror reflections of each other--though in truth they are striking opposites. Claudia is blond and large-boned; Rei is dark-haired and thin, with distinct Asian features.
Now in their early thirties, Claudia and Rei have found a way back into each other’s troubled life. As impulsively affectionate as ever, Rei has come to Boston to recuperate from a potentially life-threatening illness, while the typically cautious Claudia has found herself replicating the behavior of her step-mother by falling in love with a married man. As they come together, the two women realize they must strike a balance between the friendship they long to recover and the secrets they have learned to keep. And they discover that despite the distance that has grown between them, their bond is as strong as ever--and could help them repair the other wounded relationships in their lives.
Lyrical, evocative, and richly imagined, Once Removed is an exceptional tale of two families, two cultures, and the connection between two women that survives the betrayals of those around them. Taking us from the exotic Japan of the 1940s and ’50s, to the verdant English countryside, to the urban streets of Boston, Mako Yoshikawa is a gifted storyteller who has firmly established her place in contemporary fiction.
From the Hardcover edition.
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如果用一个词来形容这本书,那一定是“空旷”。作者擅长利用大量的留白和场景的寂静来烘托人物内心的巨大空虚感,尽管故事发生在喧嚣的都市背景下,但那种被疏离感包裹的氛围却扑面而来。这种对“缺席”的描写,比直接描述冲突更有力量。我特别喜欢那些关于自然场景的描写,它们成为了主角们内心世界的隐喻——暴风雨前的宁静,或者无边无际的海洋,都成了情感的载体。从文学技法上来说,它对我最大的启发是关于叙事视角的切换,有时候是全知全能的上帝视角,有时候又骤然切换到某个边缘角色的片面感知,这种切换非常流畅且有效地制造了叙事的不确定性,迫使读者不断地去质疑“真相”到底是什么。这是一部需要细细品味、值得反复阅读的书,因为它每一次重读,都会在你以为已经理解的结构下,发现新的、隐藏的意义。
评分我必须承认,这本书的文笔简直是如诗如画,充满了古典的韵味和哲学的思辨,但阅读体验却丝毫没有沉闷感。作者对于环境和氛围的营造达到了出神入化的地步,每一处景物的描写都仿佛带着某种象征意义,与人物的情绪状态完美地交织在一起。我特别喜欢那些长句的运用,它们不拖沓,反而像一条条精密编织的丝线,将复杂的思想层层展开,让人在阅读时必须全神贯注。这本书的对话部分尤其精彩,充满了潜台词和言外之意,你总能感觉到角色们话语之下隐藏的巨大暗流。它探讨的主题非常宏大,关于记忆的不可靠性、时间和空间如何塑造个体身份,但作者处理得极其克制和优雅,没有落入说教的窠臼。每一次阅读都像是在参与一场智力与情感的双重冒险,需要读者投入极大的耐心和思考。对于那些追求文字美感和思想深度的读者来说,这本书无疑是一份盛宴。我甚至会时不时地回翻几页,只是为了再次体会那种被文字浸润的感觉。
评分这本小说简直是一场情感的过山车,作者的笔力非凡,将人性的复杂与纠葛刻画得淋漓尽致。故事的开端就牢牢抓住了我的注意力,那种细微的、几乎难以察觉的裂痕,是如何一步步扩大,最终导致一场无可挽回的悲剧。我尤其欣赏作者在处理人物内心挣扎时的细腻手法,那些犹豫、自我欺骗和最终的清醒,都处理得无比真实,仿佛我就是那个在命运十字路口徘徊的主人公。阅读过程中,我好几次需要停下来,深吸一口气,消化那些猛烈的情感冲击。叙事节奏的张弛有度也值得称赞,时而急促如暴雨,时而缓慢如凝脂,完美地烘托了情节的张力。它不仅仅是一个关于家庭和选择的故事,更像是一面镜子,映照出我们每个人在面对生活巨大压力时,可能做出的选择和必须承受的后果。读完合上书本的那一刻,心头那种沉甸甸的感觉久久不能散去,它强迫你审视自己的人生轨迹,思考那些你以为已经翻篇的往事。这本书的后劲太大了,绝对是今年读到的最令人难忘的作品之一,强烈推荐给喜欢深度文学和复杂人物刻画的读者。
评分这本书带给我的感觉,更像是一次深入心灵的“手术”。它毫不留情地剖开了人际关系中最脆弱、最容易被忽略的部分——那些因为爱而产生的控制欲,以及无法弥合的代沟。角色的塑造极其立体,没有绝对的好人或坏人,每个人都有其自洽的逻辑和痛苦的根源。我特别佩服作者塑造反派角色的手法,他们所有的“恶行”似乎都建立在某种扭曲的“善意”之上,这让冲突变得极其复杂和难以评判。更令人惊叹的是,尽管主题如此沉重,书中偶尔闪现的幽默感却处理得非常自然,像是阳光穿过厚厚的云层,带来短暂的喘息。这种光明与黑暗的交织,让整部作品的层次感更加丰富。读完后,我感觉自己对身边的某些人有了更深一层的理解,这是一种非常难得的、具有教育意义的阅读体验,它让你学会带着更少的评判去看待他人的挣扎。
评分说实话,这本书的开局稍微有点慢热,我差点以为自己抓不住它的精髓,但一旦情节的齿轮开始咬合,我就完全被吸进去了。它最成功的地方在于对“时间感”的处理,不同的时间线并行交错,但作者的叙事结构非常清晰,像一个技艺高超的钟表匠,确保每一个发条都在正确的时间运转,共同推动着宏大的机械向前。我很少看到一部小说能将历史的厚重感与现代的焦虑感结合得如此自然。那些关于家族秘密的揭示,不是突兀的爆料,而是像剥洋葱一样,一层层剥开,每揭开一层,你对前面积累的所有认知都会被重新审视。这种叙事上的精妙设计,让我在阅读过程中充满了“啊,原来是这样!”的惊喜时刻。它成功地做到了既有传统叙事的严谨性,又不失现代小说对读者参与感的调动。如果你喜欢那种需要动脑筋去拼凑碎片化信息的阅读体验,这本书绝对能满足你。
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