In Maeve Binchy s timely and topical tale, Quentins, Ella Brady is a documentary filmmaker who wants to bring the tale of the eponymous Dublin restaurant to the screen. Quentins has had its fair share of ups and downs over the years and has become the meeting point for a lot of characters, including some familiar faces from previous Binchy novels. As Ella makes more and more headway with her documentary, the secrets, betrayals, and stories of love that emerge make her question whether or not she wants to bring the tale of Quentins to the screen after all; especially as she is also forced to confront a devastating dilemma from her own past.
Regarded by many as the true queen of the romantic Irish drama, Binchy has once again produced another fine page-turner that will please her army of loyal fans and hopefully win her many more. She has a real eye for character and exploring the often painful choices people are forced to make in their everyday lives. This is a tale of normal people, ordinary folk and the heartaches that have made them who they are. Fans will welcome the return of some familiar Binchy characters and Ella is a strong, likeable heroine, a woman who, in exploring the lives of these people, is forced to consider some choices she has made in her own life. So make a reservation at Quentins, sit back, and relax--you ll be in very good company. --Jane Warren, Amazon.co.uk
From Publishers Weekly
Fans of the bestselling Binchy will be grateful that the basic formula is still intact-decent people pulling through hard times-and that some favorite characters from previous novels reappear: Cathy Scarlet from Scarlet Feather, Nora from Evening Class, Ria from Tara Road and others. When Dubliner Ella Brady s affair with a married financial consultant turns sour-he bilks his clients of their hard-earned money and then hightails it to Spain-she decides to throw herself into something productive: she agrees to help with a documentary about Quentins, a once-modest Dublin restaurant whose increasing success and sophistication over the past 30 years mirrors the changing fortunes of the city itself. Ella collects stories of customers who recall celebrating life s milestones at Quentins. These vignettes (about a man who learns he s to be a grandfather, a girl who finishes school with honors, and other regular folks) are meant to fill out the too-thin tale, but most of them end a little too neatly to be satisfying. Binchy doesn t exactly trade in suspense (can there ever be any doubt that a Binchy heroine will do the right thing? Or that goodness will ultimately be rewarded?), but this novel is more tepid than other works in her oeuvre. Still, readers who love hardworking, honest-living characters with strong values can get their fix here.
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这部作品的叙事节奏简直像一趟没有停歇的过山车,情节跌宕起伏,让人完全沉浸其中,几乎无法喘息。作者对细节的捕捉能力令人惊叹,那些微小的环境描写,比如清晨薄雾中泥土散发出的那种特有的湿润气息,或是某个角色紧张时指尖轻扣桌面的声音,都鲜活得仿佛能触摸到。尤其喜欢作者处理人物内心挣扎的方式,那些犹豫、自我怀疑和最终的抉择,都写得极其真实且富有层次感,让人在阅读时忍不住代入思考。故事的主线宏大而复杂,但作者巧妙地穿插了许多支线,每条支线都得到了恰当的铺陈和收束,使得整个故事结构非常饱满,绝非那种只顾及主干而忽略枝叶的平庸之作。我常常在读到某个关键转折点时,会放下书本,走到窗边凝视许久,试图理清思绪,这种被强行拉出阅读状态去思考的体验,恰恰说明了故事的张力和深度。这种对叙事节奏的精准拿捏,让即便是最平淡的对话,也充满了潜在的张力,生怕错过任何一个细微的暗示。
评分从文学技巧的角度来看,这部作品的语言运用达到了令人叹服的境界。它没有过度追求华丽辞藻的堆砌,反而有一种返璞归真的力量感。作者似乎对词汇的选择有着近乎偏执的考究,每一个动词和形容词都像是经过千锤百炼才落定在那个位置,既精准地传达了意图,又极大地增强了画面的质感。尤其是场景的转换和时间跨度的处理,高明之处在于其流畅性,有时可以跨越数年而叙事线索清晰可见,有时又会将几秒钟的对峙拉长到几十页,通过极慢的镜头切换,捕捉到每一个瞬间的细微变化。这种对“时间感”的驾驭能力,是很多作家穷尽一生也难以企及的。我甚至怀疑作者是否为这本书设计了一套专属的“语言节奏图谱”,因为在不同的章节,叙事的语调会发生明显的、但又完全和谐的转变,时而如低沉的挽歌,时而如激昂的战鼓,这种听觉上的变化,极大地丰富了阅读体验。
评分这本书最让我印象深刻的是它对情感细腻入微的刻画,简直是情感描写的教科书级别。它不是那种直白地喊出“我爱你”或者“我好痛苦”的写作手法,而是通过一系列极其微妙的行为和眼神,将人物复杂的情绪层层剥开。比如,某位角色在面对巨大压力时,选择用异常刻意的、近乎强迫症的方式整理书架上的书籍,那份对秩序的维护,其实是对内心失控的恐惧的投射。又比如,两位久未谋面的老友重逢,他们之间那种试探性的寒暄,每一个停顿、每一个不自觉的回避眼神,都比任何长篇的内心独白更能说明他们之间那些未解的心结。作者似乎对人性的幽暗面和光辉面都有着深刻的洞察力,笔下的角色都不是非黑即白的概念化符号,他们会犯错,会嫉妒,会做出违背自己初衷的决定,但正是这些不完美,才让他们的挣扎显得如此动人。读完合上书本时,那些角色的影子似乎还停留在我的脑海里,久久不散,感觉像是在与一群真实的朋友告别。
评分我很少遇到能让我如此强烈感受到世界观构建之宏大与严谨的作品。它所构建的世界不仅仅是一个故事发生的背景板,更是一个拥有自己完整历史、社会结构、甚至独特哲学体系的实体。作者似乎花了大量的心血去设计这个世界的运行规则,并且,最关键的是,他始终忠实于自己设定的这些规则。即便是最匪夷所思的设定,也会在故事中找到合理的逻辑支撑点,让人心悦诚服地接受。阅读过程中,我多次暂停下来,不是为了休息,而是为了在脑海中勾勒出这个世界的地理分布图和权力结构图。这种沉浸式的体验,要求读者必须全身心地投入,去理解那些复杂的术语、历史事件的隐喻以及社会阶层的微妙关系。它不是那种可以边看手机边读的小说,它要求你给予绝对的尊重和专注,而回报给读者的,是一个完整、自洽且令人信服的全新宇宙。
评分这部小说的结构设计简直是鬼斧神工,充满了智慧的布局和令人拍案叫绝的反转,但这种反转绝非廉价的噱头,而是建立在多年精心铺垫之上的必然爆发。阅读体验就像是参与一个极其复杂的拼图游戏,一开始你看到的是一堆零散的碎片,充满了困惑和不解,各种人物动机和事件似乎都毫无关联。然而,随着故事的深入,作者不动声色地将那些看似无关紧要的细节,比如一句不经意的预言、一个反复出现的物件,巧妙地串联起来。当真相最终揭晓的那一刻,所有的疑惑瞬间烟消云散,取而代之的是一种“原来如此”的顿悟感,以及对作者高明布局的深深敬佩。这种阅读的快感是极其稀有的,它奖励了那些细心观察、愿意追溯前文的读者,让每一次回顾都带来新的发现,证明了这部作品的耐读性和重读价值,绝非一次性消费品。
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