From Publishers Weekly Smith, author of the bestselling The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency and some 50 other books, nimbly examines the mysteries of dating in this captivating collection. The stories, which take place in various locales-Africa, Australia, Italy-and in periods from the 1950s and '60s to today, explore the timeless, intricate dance of love and courtship, and make wise, often compassionate observations. In the lovely title story, a young woman summering in Tuscany has an assignation with an angel ("It may be unusual in other places, but here, there seemed nothing extraordinary about it") and finds herself pregnant with a miraculous child. In the arch "Intimate Accounts," the protagonist, a jaded psychiatrist, noting that "terrible things can happen on dates-traumatic things-which can trouble people to the very depths of their psyches," helps a narcissistic patient discover that his best date might be with himself. Two members of a "dating [service] for fatties" share a comic dinner in "Fat Date"; two wealthy Swiss singles make friends with the younger generation and learn the joys of sharing in "Wonderful Date," while in "Maternal Influence," a young man mollycoddled and emasculated by his mother, "the Mayoress," finally takes a stand when he meets a girl he likes. Smith's nine stories, with their light humor and touching moments, should inspire smiles and sighs in tenderhearted readers everywhere. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Booklist Smith departs from his successful mystery series (The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency , et al.) with a collection of offbeat stories about dating and love. The author's fondness for globetrotting settings is once again in evidence, with the tales taking place in various European countries, Australia, and, of course, southern Africa (the mysteries are set in Botswana). Some of the stories are curiously peculiar (in "Nice Little Date," a rock star, intending to seduce a teenage girl, finds instead she's a boy); some are darkly funny (in "Far North," a date goes so awry that the guy's death is a relief, even it means the woman goes to jail); but all of them remind us of why dating is such a precarious endeavor. Smith's characters possess the quirkiness of Hiaasen creations; just imagine them on an episode of Blind Date . For love stories without the sap, you can't go wrong here. Mary Frances WilkensCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved See all Editorial Reviews
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这本小说集简直是一场感官的盛宴,作者对人际互动的细腻捕捉能力令人叹为观止。我尤其欣赏作者是如何描绘那些微妙的眼神交流和不经意的肢体接触,那种电力十足的张力在你阅读时几乎能让你感受到。故事的节奏掌握得恰到好处,每一个场景的铺陈都像是精心编排的舞蹈,引人入胜却又绝不拖沓。其中一个短篇里,两位主角在一家老式咖啡馆里的对话,那种你来我往、试探与反试探的交锋,简直是教科书级别的调情艺术。你会发现,真正的火花往往不在于激烈的言辞,而在于那些欲言又止的停顿和心照不宣的默契。作者似乎对人类心理有着深刻的洞察,能够准确地勾勒出初次心动时那种既兴奋又惶恐的复杂情绪。读完后,你会忍不住回味那些场景,思考自己过往经历中那些擦肩而过的美丽瞬间。这本书不仅仅是关于爱情的探索,更是对“连接”这一人类基本需求的一次深情致敬。它让人重新审视日常生活中那些被我们忽略的美好互动,提醒我们要对周围可能出现的浪漫信号保持开放和警觉。
评分我必须承认,这本书在叙事手法上的创新性给了我极大的惊喜。不同于传统线性叙事,作者似乎更偏爱在时间和空间中进行跳跃,用碎片化的信息拼凑出完整的人物画像和情感轨迹。这种手法初看起来可能略显晦涩,但一旦你适应了作者的节奏,就会发现其中的精妙之处——它完美地模拟了记忆和情感的非线性涌现。例如,在讲述一段关系从萌芽到成熟的过程中,作者可能会突然插入一个多年后的场景,让你在对比中深刻体会到时间的雕刻力量。这种结构上的挑战性,反而让阅读过程充满了探索的乐趣,仿佛你本人也是一个侦探,在字里行间搜寻着线索,以构建自己的理解。更令人称道的是,尽管结构复杂,但作者对情感核心的把握始终坚定不移,没有因为形式上的玩弄而牺牲掉故事的真挚性。这种对叙事实验的大胆尝试,在当代文学中是十分罕见的,它拓宽了“浪漫故事”的定义边界,让它超越了简单的情节驱动,上升到了对体验本身的描绘。
评分从整体氛围来看,这本书成功地营造了一种介于梦幻与现实之间的独特“氛围感”。它捕捉到了那种短暂的、几乎不真实的完美瞬间,即我们在邂逅某人时,世界似乎暂时停止运转,所有背景噪音都退去,只剩下眼前这个特定的连接。这种感觉是如此脆弱和珍贵,作者用一种近乎诗意的笔触将其牢牢地定格下来。书中的“约会”不仅仅是两个人的社交活动,它们更像是一种仪式,一种对未知可能性的共同探索。读完全书,你会被一种温柔的怀旧感所笼罩,那不是对过去特定事件的怀念,而是对那种纯粹的、充满期待的心灵状态的眷恋。它让人相信,即使在最平凡的日子里,只要我们愿意保持开放的心态,生活依然有能力为我们准备出一些稍纵即逝、却能温暖余生的美好遭遇。这本书成功地将“期盼”本身变成了一种值得品味的体验。
评分这本书的语言风格极其华丽且富有音乐性,简直是一场文字的饕餮盛宴。我常常会因为一句措辞的绝妙而停下来,反复朗读几遍,感受音节在舌尖上的流动和回荡。作者的词汇量令人惊叹,但更重要的是,她知道如何在恰当的时候使用最精准、最富有画面感的词语,而不是单纯地炫技。那些关于环境的描写,比如黄昏时分洒在皮肤上的光影,或是微风中带来的某种特定的花香,都被描绘得栩栩如生,仿佛你真的置身于那个特定的时空。这种对感官细节的极致追求,使得书中的每一个“约会”场景都具有了强烈的沉浸感。它不像是在阅读一个故事,更像是在观看一部高成本制作的艺术电影,你不仅能“看”到人物的互动,更能“闻到”、“触摸到”他们所处的氛围。对于追求文字美感的读者来说,这本书的价值是无可估量的,它证明了通俗题材也可以被赋予高度的文学性。
评分我特别欣赏作者在塑造人物性格时所展现出的那种不带偏见的深度。这些角色都不是完美无缺的英雄或妖女,他们充满了矛盾、犹豫和自我怀疑,这使得他们的每一次靠近和每一次退缩都显得无比真实可信。在处理那些“若即若离”的关系时,作者没有急于将问题简单化或戏剧化,而是深入挖掘了造成隔阂的社会背景、个人创伤,甚至是仅仅是沟通的障碍。我喜欢这种对“不完美”的肯定,它承认了现实生活中的爱情往往是曲折和充满妥协的。其中一位女性角色处理职业抱负与情感需求之间的冲突时所展现出的那种挣扎,让我深感共鸣,那不是简单的“鱼和熊掌不可兼得”的陈词滥调,而是对现代身份认同困境的深刻反思。这种对复杂人性的诚实描绘,让这本书超越了一般的浪漫消遣,具备了更持久的回味价值。
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