From Publishers Weekly Adler ( Fortune Is a Woman ) keeps her latest, ingeniously plotted saga fairly racing toward its conclusion. In 1883, Lily Molyneux, daughter of a noble Irish family, is raped by the scion of an equally prominent family. Pregnant and afraid that she will be forced to marry her molester, she names as the father the lowly stableboy Finn O'Keeffe, hoping that she will then be allowed to remain unwed. But her plan backfires: Lily is banished and Finn and his brother Daniel must flee for their lives. All three find themselves on the same boat to America. Their heady and romantic adventures unfold against a panorama of Irish country estates, squalid Boston slums and the New York City bustle of Broadway and Wall Street. The author brackets this turn-of-the-century drama with a present-day mystery: real-estate tycoon Bob Keeffe, Finn's descendant, has died of a gunshot wound and been ruled a suicide. His daughter, however, is sure that he was murdered, and she reaches back into the past for clues. Spiced with betrayal, revenge, lust and scandal, this is an intoxicating brew, served with panache. Literary Guild and Doub le day Book Club selections. Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Kirkus Reviews In a narrative that purrs like a Rolls, Adler (Fortune is a Woman, The Property of a Lady, etc.) once again weaves and spins her story threads so skillfully that the aged pop-dynasty staples- -dust to diamonds, coincidental meetings, one-shot pregnancies-- meld into the relentlessly charming surrounds. The wildly tangled fortunes of the doughty O'Keeffe boys, Dan and Finn, and exquisite Lily of the titled Molyneux family are revealed--Arabian Nights-fashion--by ancient Maudie Molyneux in the fine old family house (``Ardnavarna'') in Connemara, Ireland. Maudie's audience is composed of two young people new to her- -orphaned Shannon O'Keeffe, who's certain that her father, Bob, a rich American powerbroker, has been murdered; and Eddie Sheridan, who's also from the States and eager for connection. The clues that both found in old cottages in Nantucket have brought them to Ardnavarna. Maudie, who dresses for dinner every evening in her 1920's-30's-style Schiaparellis and Diors, slowly reveals the personality of the beautiful Lily Molyneux, Maudie's late aunt. In Ireland, Lily's hasty cruelties mean banishment for Dan, as well as for Finn, whom she has begun to love, and her reckless pursuit of a rotter causes a pregnancy and a never-darken-this-door-again edict from Lord Molyneux. It's off to America then, where the brothers eventually float upward--to the top in Boston business and politics--and where Lily is rescued by adoring actor Ned Sheridan, has a baby, suffers, marries twice, produces another child--and, meanwhile, guess who lives just around the corner? While three men deal with Lily's lure, the Molyneux family--back in the auld country--disintegrates. Thanks to Maudie in the present, the family trees are espaliered for plain viewing--before she and an ancient housekeeper travel to the States to to confront a killer. A peppering of teasing secrets in a mix of favorite pop gimmicks--by one of the more accomplished plotsters and tellers of tales. (Literary Guild Dual Selection for October) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. See all Editorial Reviews
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我必须强调这本书在氛围营造上的卓越成就。它成功地在“历史的厚重感”与“个人命运的脆弱性”之间找到了一个完美的平衡点。阅读体验就像是行走在一个雾气弥漫的迷宫中,你总能感受到有某种宏大的、看不见的力量在背后推动着一切,但你又必须依靠自己的智慧去辨别眼前的道路。书中对环境的描述,尤其是对自然元素——风声、古树的阴影、季节的更迭——的运用,达到了象征主义的境界,它们似乎拥有自己的意识,默默地见证着尘世间的爱恨情仇。这本书的魅力并不在于它讲述了多么惊天动地的事件,而在于它如何将这些事件嵌入到普通人的日常生活中,展现了在巨大历史洪流面前,个体所能展现出的韧性与尊严。它最终给予读者的感受,不是一个轰轰烈烈的结局,而是一种深沉的、带着一丝忧郁的平静,仿佛看透了世事循环的本质,非常耐人寻味。
评分坦白讲,这本书的开篇可能会让一些习惯了直截了当叙事的读者感到些许挑战。它需要你投入时间和耐心去适应它的节奏,去理解那些缓慢堆叠的背景信息和人物关系网。然而,一旦你跨过了最初的门槛,你会发现自己已经被牢牢地吸附进了这个世界。其中关于“记忆的不可靠性”这一主题的探讨,简直是神来之笔。作者通过不同角色对同一事件的不同回忆和叙述,深刻地揭示了历史如何被个人情感和时代滤镜所扭曲。这种对主观现实的解构,让整个故事充满了悬疑的张力,你永远无法完全确定你所知道的是否就是真相。这本书的结构设计非常巧妙,它像一个精密的机械钟表,每一个齿轮(无论是时间、地点还是人物)都必须完美咬合才能驱动下一步的进程。这种扎实的结构支撑,使得即便是最奇特的转折,读起来也完全合乎逻辑,令人信服。
评分读完之后,我感到自己仿佛经历了一场漫长而又充满启示的智力探险。这本书的魅力在于它拒绝提供简单的答案,而是将复杂的道德困境和历史的灰色地带完整地呈现在读者面前。叙事手法上,它巧妙地采用了多重视角和时间线交错的结构,让读者像考古学家一样,从不同的碎片中拼凑出完整的图景。这种处理方式极大地增强了阅读的参与感,每一次新的发现都伴随着对之前所有认知的修正和颠覆。我花了很长时间去回味那些看似不经意却暗藏玄机的对话,它们充满了双关和潜台词,每一次重读都能发现新的层次。书中对人性中那些阴暗面,比如嫉妒、权力欲望和被误解的爱,探讨得非常深入,毫不留情地揭示了光环之下的人性弱点。它挑战了我们对“英雄”和“恶人”的传统二元对立认知,展现了人性的复杂与多面性。对于那些喜欢深度思考、热衷于解读象征意义和伏笔的读者来说,这本书绝对是一座需要反复挖掘的宝库。
评分这部作品的铺陈实在令人惊叹,它犹如一幅精雕细琢的古老挂毯,每一根丝线都承载着家族数百年的风云变幻。作者对于历史肌理的把握达到了近乎苛求的程度,你仿佛能闻到旧时代图书馆里羊皮纸特有的干燥气息。故事的起点设定在一个被遗忘已久的欧洲小镇,那里弥漫着一种既迷人又压抑的气氛。主角的旅程,从最初对家族往事的一点好奇心萌发,到后来一步步深入那被时间掩埋的真相,整个过程的节奏掌控得张弛有度。书中对人物内心挣扎的刻画尤为细腻,那种背负着世代秘密生活所带来的沉重感,透过文字扑面而来,让人感同身受。尤其是一些关键转折点,并非是突如其来的戏剧性爆发,而是经过长时间的、潜移默化的情感累积,最终以一种近乎宿命的方式揭示出来,这种深沉的叙事力量,是许多当代小说难以企及的。我尤其欣赏作者对环境描写的妙用,那些古老的宅邸、隐秘的信件、甚至是雨夜中摇曳的烛火,都不仅仅是背景,它们本身就是故事的一部分,是沉默的证人,共同编织出这个关于继承、背叛与救赎的宏大叙事。
评分这本书的书写风格,用一个词来形容,那就是“典雅的、不急不躁的内敛力量”。它没有追求时下流行的快节奏叙事,而是沉浸在一种近乎维多利亚时代的、严谨的文学传统中。文字本身就是一种享受,句子的结构和词汇的选择都带着一种精致的韵律感,读起来非常舒服,即便是在描绘最残酷的场景时,也保持着一种克制的、高贵的距离感。这使得情感的冲击力反而更加持久和深刻,因为它不是通过咆哮来表达,而是通过精确的措辞和恰到好处的留白来渗透。我特别欣赏作者在处理那些涉及文化冲突和身份认同的部分时所展现出的尊重和敏感性,它超越了简单的文化标签,深入到个体在传统与现代之间挣扎的内核。这本书读完后,我明显感觉到自己对某些历史事件的理解都被拓宽了,它提供了一个全新的、充满人文关怀的视角去看待那些被教科书简化了的篇章。
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