From Publishers Weekly From the author of the Blackboard bestseller Waiting in Vain comes this long-awaited second novel, detailing a star-crossed, obsessively erotic odyssey of self-discovery embarked on by the grandson of a Guyanese physician. The guest on a TV travel show being taped in Jamaica, Carey McCullough, a 38-year-old Cambridge-educated New York playwright, meets Frances Carey, owner of a small construction company in Kingston. He recognizes her as the singer he glimpsed on TV five years ago, on the same day he tried to commit suicide at the home of his longtime friend and mentor Kwabena, a charismatic Pentecostal academic. Frances tells McCullough that he is the reincarnation of Karamoko, a mythical hero sold into slavery 500 years ago for eloping with a girl named Feranje and Frances, of course, is the reincarnation of Feranje. McCullough phones Kwabena, who tells him he knows Frances and warns him that she will ruin his life. Overwhelmed by his sexual attraction to her, McCullough misses his plane and arrives two weeks too late to conduct an interview he had scheduled with Kwabena for the New York Times. This delivers a blow to Kwabena's struggling career and their relationship is severely damaged. As he tries to sort out his feelings for Frances, the playwright finds himself the unwitting pawn in Kwabena's deteriorating marriage. Though at times highly lyrical, this uneven, disjointed tale too often retreats into gratuitous and repetitive exposition, and is further marred by tedious erotic passages. However, by evoking a mystique similar to that of Channer's successful debut, this could be another Blackboard hit. 6-city author tour. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. From Library Journal This latest novel by Channer, whose Waiting in Vain was a Blackboard best seller, is a tug-of-war between lust and friendship, love and faith, and ancient African religion and Christianity. New York playwright Carey is a lost soul who is nearing middle age and does not know what he believes in. Thus, he fritters away his youth and talent on a series of self-indulgent affairs and one-night stands. In Jamaica, he meets Frances, a sexually charged free spirit who believes that the two of them are reincarnations of separated African lovers, finally reunited. But Carey's obsession with Frances causes him to betray his best friend, Kwabena, with tragic and violent consequences. Channer's attempt at spiritual romance misses the mark, as one man's soul-searching journey is lost amid empty sexual fantasy. The women characters and their dialog are especially unbelievable, and the novel's ending is confusing and disappointing. For large public libraries only. Ellen Flexman, Indianapolis-Marion Cty. P.L., IN Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. See all Editorial Reviews
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这部作品的氛围营造简直是教科书级别的范例,那种渗透骨髓的孤独感和疏离感,即便是对生活在喧嚣都市的我来说,也感同身受。作者选择的场景设定——那些废弃的工业区、常年笼罩在灰蒙蒙天空下的老城区——都成为了角色心境的完美外化。我能清晰地“闻到”空气中弥漫的潮湿和铁锈味,能“看到”那些剥落的墙皮下隐藏的历史残骸。人物之间的互动与其说是对话,不如说是两个孤独灵魂之间小心翼翼的试探和回避,充满了张力。他们似乎永远在擦肩而过,想要抓住什么,却又总是在最后一刻放手。最让我震撼的是对“沉默”的描绘。很多关键的转折点,都不是通过激烈的冲突达成的,而是通过一段漫长、令人窒息的沉默,让读者自己去填补那些未说出口的真相。这本书的节奏非常缓慢,但这种慢并非拖沓,而是一种蓄力,像是在积聚一场即将到来的情绪风暴,让人屏息以待。它探讨的议题是关于身份的消解和重建,非常深刻,读完后我开始重新审视自己与周遭世界的连接点是否足够稳固。
评分这本书的叙事结构实在是太精妙了,作者对时间线的处理简直如同大师级的编织。它不是那种线性推进的故事,而是像一幅由无数碎片化记忆和跳跃性场景构成的复杂挂毯。我特别喜欢那种突然间,一个微不足道的日常细节,却在故事的后半部分爆发出惊人的情感力量,将之前所有松散的线索猛地收束在一起的感觉。角色的内心独白极其细腻,你几乎能感受到他们每一次呼吸、每一次犹豫背后的重量。尤其是主角在面对那个道德困境时的挣扎,那种‘两难’的选择被描绘得如此真实而残酷,让我好几次不得不放下书,盯着天花板消化那种沉重感。这不是一本读起来轻松愉快的作品,它要求读者投入极大的专注力去捕捉那些隐藏在对话之下的潜台词和象征意义。读完最后一页,我有一种强烈的错觉,仿佛我不是读完了一个故事,而是亲身经历了一段漫长而曲折的人生旅程,那些情感的余烬久久不能散去,甚至影响了我接下来几天的思维模式。它的文字密度非常高,每一句话似乎都承载着双重甚至三重含义,初读时可能有些晦涩,但随着深入,那种韵味和层次感便会逐渐显现,让人不得不赞叹作者驾驭语言的炉火纯青。
评分说实话,刚开始阅读时,我对故事的走向感到有些迷茫,它似乎在故意避开那些读者期待的戏剧性高潮。但随着情节的深入,我开始意识到,这种“避开”本身就是作者想要表达的主题——生活的真相往往是平淡的、循环往复的、充满未竟之事的。这本书与其说是在讲述一个故事,不如说是在描绘一种持续进行的状态。它对人性的幽暗面有着近乎残酷的坦诚,没有美化任何人的弱点,却也因此让人对这些有缺陷的角色产生了更深层次的共鸣。你看到的不是英雄或恶棍,而是一个个活生生的、被环境和自身局限性所困的人。我最欣赏的是,作者在处理冲突时,采用了“消解”而非“解决”的方式。那些看似无法调和的矛盾,最后往往是以一种近乎自然腐朽的方式慢慢淡化、被时间冲刷掉。这种处理方式非常成熟,它提醒我们,很多困扰我们至深的问题,可能根本就没有一个清晰的“答案”,我们能做的,只是带着伤痕继续前行。整本书读下来,收获的不是慰藉,而是一种清醒的、带着敬畏的平静。
评分我必须得说,作者的叙事视角切换简直是天才之举!一开始我有些不适应,因为它不断地在第一人称的内心独白和一种近乎全知视角的冷峻观察之间来回跳跃。这种处理方式有效地避免了将故事局限在单一角色的认知框架内,反而形成了一种多维度的、更接近现实的认知体验。我们看到的不再是一个单纯的主角,而是一群被命运推着走的众生相,每个人都有自己的盲区和未被揭示的动机。特别是其中一个配角的命运线,作者只用寥寥数笔勾勒,却留下了巨大的想象空间,让我忍不住去构建他背后的完整故事。这本书最厉害的一点是,它没有给出任何廉价的答案或圆满的结局。它将所有难题原封不动地抛给了读者,让我们带着书中人物的困惑继续生活。这是一种非常勇敢的写作态度,敢于直面生活的模糊性和不确定性,而不是试图用虚假的安慰来敷衍读者。这种不确定性,正是它最迷人的地方,让它具备了极高的重读价值。
评分从文学技巧的角度来看,这部小说的语言风格极其华丽,但又带着一种令人不安的克制感。它不像某些强调情感爆发的文学作品那样声嘶力竭,而是像一把打磨光滑的冰刀,锋利却冰冷。作者对意象的运用达到了出神入化的地步,比如反复出现的“破碎的镜子”和“永不熄灭的灯塔”,这些意象不仅仅是装饰,它们是驱动情节发展的内在逻辑。每次读到那些极具画面感的段落,我都忍不住停下来,在脑海中反复咀嚼那些词语的排列组合。这本书的结构仿佛一个精密的钟表,每一个齿轮都必须准确无误地咬合,否则整个机制就会停摆。我特别欣赏作者如何巧妙地将哲学思考融入到日常生活的琐碎细节中,让你在为角色准备晚餐或修理电器时,突然被抛入关于存在意义的沉思之中。它成功地做到了既有极高的艺术性,又不失对普通人情感的深刻洞察力,这在当代文学中实属难得。
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