Throughout history, precious stones have inspired passions and poetry, quests and curses, sacred writings and unsacred actions. In this scintillating book, journalist Victoria Finlay embarks on her own globe-circling search for the real stories behind some of the gems we prize most. Blending adventure travel, geology, exciting new research, and her own irresistible charm, Finlay has fashioned a treasure hunt for some of the most valuable, glamorous, and mysterious substances on earth.
With the same intense curiosity and narrative flair she displayed in her widely-praised book Color, Finlay journeys from the underground opal churches of outback Australia to the once pearl-rich rivers of Scotland; from the peridot mines on an Apache reservation in Arizona to the remote ruby mines in the mountains of northern Burma. She risks confronting scorpions to crawl through Cleopatra’s long-deserted emerald mines, tries her hand at gem cutting in the dusty Sri Lankan city where Marco Polo bartered for sapphires, and investigates a rumor that fifty years ago most of the world’s amber was mined by prisoners in a Soviet gulag.
Jewels is a unique and often exhilarating voyage through history, across cultures, deep into the earth’s mantle, and up to the glittering heights of fame, power, and wealth. From the fabled curse of the Hope Diamond, to the disturbing truths about how pearls are cultured, to the peasants who were once executed for carrying amber to the centuries-old quest by magicians and scientists to make a perfect diamond, Jewels tells dazzling stories with a wonderment and brilliance truly worthy of its subjects.
From the Hardcover edition.
Amber Succinite: amber Succinum is the Latin term for a substance that is ultimately derived from sap (succus is Latin for sap or juice). The Greeks called amber elektron, meaning "the sun," because it comes in all the colors of the sun, bright yellow and s...
评分Amber Succinite: amber Succinum is the Latin term for a substance that is ultimately derived from sap (succus is Latin for sap or juice). The Greeks called amber elektron, meaning "the sun," because it comes in all the colors of the sun, bright yellow and s...
评分Amber Succinite: amber Succinum is the Latin term for a substance that is ultimately derived from sap (succus is Latin for sap or juice). The Greeks called amber elektron, meaning "the sun," because it comes in all the colors of the sun, bright yellow and s...
评分Amber Succinite: amber Succinum is the Latin term for a substance that is ultimately derived from sap (succus is Latin for sap or juice). The Greeks called amber elektron, meaning "the sun," because it comes in all the colors of the sun, bright yellow and s...
评分Amber Succinite: amber Succinum is the Latin term for a substance that is ultimately derived from sap (succus is Latin for sap or juice). The Greeks called amber elektron, meaning "the sun," because it comes in all the colors of the sun, bright yellow and s...
这本书最让我欣赏的一点,是它成功地避免了陷入一般悬疑小说常见的套路化叙事。它没有依赖廉价的惊吓或突兀的反转来维持读者的兴趣,而是通过层层递进的线索和人物间微妙的权力博弈来构建张力。每当读者以为自己已经洞悉了某些秘密时,作者总能适时地抛出新的信息,将视角再次拉回到更广阔的图景之中。这种“不断超越预期”的写作方式,体现了作者对故事掌控力的绝对自信。它要求读者保持高度的专注力,因为每一个看似不经意的细节,都可能是在未来某个时刻揭示关键的伏笔,阅读体验充满了智力上的挑战与乐趣。
评分这本书的叙事节奏把握得相当到位,从一开始就抛出了一个引人入胜的谜团,让人迫不及待地想深究下去。作者对人物心理的刻画细腻入微,主角们在面对道德困境和内心挣扎时的那种真实感,让人在阅读过程中仿佛能感同身受。尤其是一些关键情节的转折,处理得非常巧妙,既出乎意料,又在逻辑上能自洽其说,展现了作者高超的布局能力。书中对历史背景的考据也颇为扎实,那些被时代洪流掩盖的细节被重新打捞出来,赋予了故事更深厚的底蕴。整个阅读体验如同解开一个层层叠叠的古老谜题,每揭开一层,都有新的惊奇与思考随之而来。那种沉浸式的阅读快感,是近来少有的佳作所能提供的。
评分我必须得说,这本书的文字功底达到了一个令人惊叹的高度。它不像某些当代小说那样追求快餐式的流畅,而是用一种近乎古典的、富有韵律感的笔触,构建出一个既华丽又苍凉的叙事世界。那些对场景和氛围的描摹,简直可以用“如诗如画”来形容,每一个词语的选择都像是经过了千锤百炼,精准地传达出作者想要营造的情绪张力。特别是对话部分,人物的言谈举止充满了那个时代特有的优雅与疏离感,极大地增强了故事的真实感和历史厚重感。尽管篇幅不短,但阅读过程却丝毫不觉冗长,反而是享受一种缓慢、精致的审美体验,让人愿意反复品味那些精妙的措辞和深邃的隐喻。
评分总的来说,这是一部需要静下心来细细品味的佳作。它在处理复杂的角色关系方面表现出色,没有简单的“好人”或“坏人”,每个人物都有其难以言说的动机和合理的行为逻辑,即使是反派,其行为逻辑也建立在合理的个人世界观之上。这种对人性的复杂性的拥抱,使得整个故事的基调既严肃又充满了人性温暖的光辉。我特别喜欢作者处理情感高潮的方式,它往往不是通过激烈的冲突爆发,而是通过人物之间一次眼神的交汇,一次沉默的对峙来完成,那份压抑在文字背后的情感能量,比直接的宣泄更具穿透力,让人回味无穷,强烈推荐给追求深度和文学性的读者。
评分从结构上看,这部作品的野心是显而易见的,它试图在宏大的历史背景下,探讨一些关于权力、信仰和人性救赎的永恒主题。作者并非简单地复述历史事件,而是巧妙地将虚构的人物命运与真实的历史节点交织在一起,形成了一种虚实相生的迷人效果。这种叙事手法要求极高的技巧,稍有不慎便会显得刻意或生硬,但在这本书里,过渡自然流畅,历史的重量感被有效地转化为了驱动情节发展的内在动力。读完合上书本的那一刻,留给我的不仅仅是故事的结局,更是关于“真相的代价”这个命题的深刻反思,思考良久,久久不能平息。
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