具体描述
Amazon.com Lifelong best friends Margaret and Letty are in their mid-30s. Margaret has just quit her teaching job to write a novel in Manhattan; Letty， her husband， and her four children are enjoying their first taste of worldly success in Los Angeles. Margaret soon discovers that writing is not as easy as it looks， and Letty finds herself financially over her head in the one-upmanship of L.A. living. Reading Letty's hilarious e-mails， Margaret realizes that a great story is unfolding right in front of her， and she begins a new novel based on her friend's travails. Hungry for more drama in her novel， she pushes Letty deeper and deeper into debt. Christina Schwartz's diabolical All Is Vanity sends up so many different things， you need a list to keep track of them all. Taking a drubbing are: the pretensions of would-be writers ("How many people believe they have a novel fully formed in the backs of their brains ... and are convinced if only they could manage to tear themselves away from much more important work， they would just 'write it up'?"); the consumerist frenzy of L.A. (Letty's realtor tells her that her yard "could be 'emotional' with the right landscaping'"); and， of course， the uses and abuses of female friendship. Schwartz， author of the bestseller Drowning Ruth， draws us in with farce， then changes course and gives us a bittersweet indictment of personal ambition. In the process， she shows herself as a writer both compassionate and hilariously cruel--no mean trick. --Claire Dederer From Publishers Weekly The die was cast for Margaret and Letty back when they were childhood friends， in Pasadena， Calif. "Even in our games， she was always Robin to my Batman， Watson to my Holmes， Boswell to my Johnson，" the grown-up Margaret muses in the East Village， where she now lives with her husband， Ted. Margaret has decided to quit teaching English to rich kids and write a meaningful novel. The trouble is， she doesn't have a plot. She strains to invent a hero， Robert Martin， who interminably makes breakfast while remembering Vietnam. But it is more fun to use her computer to exchange e-mails with Letty， a devoted mom whose world is turned upside down when her husband， Michael， lands a big-deal museum job in L.A. and the couple begin spending beyond their means. A while after the reader has figured out that Margaret would rather script Letty's life than Robert's， Margaret gloms onto the weird equation. The deeper Letty sinks into debt and degradation， the better the chances that Margaret can write a bestseller about her and make enough money to save them both. Exit Robert， enter Lexie， based on the Lettie whom Margaret manipulates electronically while feigning a best friend's concern. Schwarz (Drowning Ruth) has a wicked eye for human foibles. Ted's relentless accountancy (he records the purchase of Tic-Tacs)， successful writer Sally Sternforth's insufferable ego， the cavalier ways of literary agent Heather Mendelson Blake， Michael's blind ambition: Schwarz nails them all. As funny as it is cruel， the novel sweeps you along on its fast-track slide to hell. While some readers may cavil at a morality play without redemption， others will respect the no-exit spin on ambition and greed.Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information， Inc. See all Editorial Reviews
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这本书初读时，那种扑面而来的历史的厚重感和人物内心的挣扎，简直让人无法喘息。作者对于细节的捕捉，达到了近乎病态的精准，每一个场景的描绘，仿佛都能闻到空气中弥漫的尘土和旧羊皮纸的味道。我尤其欣赏他对社会阶层的微妙描摹，那些看似不经意的对话和服饰选择，都在无声地揭示着错综复杂的人际关系和潜在的权力斗争。主人公的抉择，在当时的社会背景下显得既合理又令人心痛，你不得不跟着他一起在道德的泥潭里摸爬滚打，质疑自己对于“正确”的定义。书中对环境的烘托也极具感染力，那种压抑的、略带腐朽的氛围，牢牢地抓住了读者的心神，让人一页接一页地读下去，既渴望知道结局，又害怕面对真相。叙事节奏的把握堪称教科书级别，时而如潺潺溪水般舒缓细腻，时而又如山洪暴发般猛烈冲击，将读者的情绪推向高潮。这种张弛有度，让整个阅读体验充满了层次感和回味无穷的张力。
评分这部作品的节奏感和文学性是毋庸置疑的，但它也绝对不是一本轻松的读物。它更像是一次漫长而艰辛的智力攀登，每一步都需要你集中全部的注意力去辨识脚下的落脚点。作者构建的世界观极其完整且自洽，即便充满了荒诞的元素，也总能让人信服其内在逻辑。我反复去阅读书中关于“记忆如何塑造个体”的那几段论述，发现那简直是一篇篇精彩的心理学论文被巧妙地编织进了故事的肌理之中。它最引人入胜的地方在于，它让你在阅读过程中不断地产生“哦，原来是这样！”的顿悟感，但这些顿悟往往是带着苦涩的，因为你发现自己看到的，可能是人性中最不愿承认的那一面。这本书需要时间去消化，它不是读完就结束了，它在你心中埋下了一个种子，会在未来的某个不经意瞬间，重新发芽，让你再次想起那些晦暗的角落和不朽的追问。
评分这本书给我带来的震撼，更多来自于它对“欲望”根源的剖析。它不是那种直白地批判贪婪的小说，而是更深入地探讨了，当一个人拥有了某种特权或者达到了某种高度后，他内心的空洞感是如何通过外在的攫取来试图填补的。文字里有一种老派的优雅，但这种优雅的外壳下，涌动着的是最原始、最不加掩饰的私心和恐惧。我特别留意到作者在处理几场关键的“宴会”场景时，笔力之强，那与其说是描绘社交，不如说是一场精心设计的权力展示与心理战。光线、食物、交谈的内容，无不透露着精心算计。这种将生活表象与内心腐朽进行强烈对比的手法，效果拔群。读完后，我能清晰地感受到，自己对于现实生活中那些光鲜亮丽的场面，有了一种更深层次的、近乎警惕的理解。它迫使你反思，我们追求的“成功”或“体面”，究竟是喂养了灵魂，还是仅仅装饰了一个空壳？
评分读完这本书，我感到一种深刻的虚无感，但这并非是空洞的绝望，而是一种经过提炼和沉淀后的哲学思考。作者的笔触极其克制，他从不直接告诉你“思考人生吧”，而是通过一系列看似琐碎、实则暗流涌动的事件，让你自己去建构对“存在”的理解。叙事视角的变化非常巧妙，有时是局外人的冷眼旁观，有时又是某个配角近乎偏执的内心独白，这种多维度的审视，极大地丰富了故事的解读空间。我最佩服的是他对“时间”的处理，过去、现在和未来似乎是交织在一起的，历史的幽灵始终徘徊在当下，影响着每一个角色的每一个决定。那些看似不合时宜的闪回，实际上是理解人物动机的关键钥匙。整本书读起来像是一部结构精巧的迷宫，你以为走出了困境，却发现自己只是进入了另一个更复杂的岔路口。读完合上书本的那一刻，我花了很长时间才从那种沉浸式的体验中抽离出来，那份久久不能散去的意境，才是真正优秀文学的标志。
评分坦白说，这本书的阅读门槛不低，初看可能会觉得人物众多，情节略显松散，但只要耐心熬过前几章，一旦那些散落的线索开始交织，你会发现每一个被提及的人，甚至是一件不起眼的道具，都承载着不可或缺的意义。作者的语言风格极为冷峻，不带多余的感情色彩，像一台精准的记录仪，记录着人性的幽微与复杂。它没有给你明确的道德标杆，而是将一堆矛盾体抛给你，让你自己去判断，去感受那种撕扯。我特别喜欢他对于“沉默”的描绘，那种无声的对抗和妥协，比任何激烈的争吵都更具杀伤力。那种空气中凝固的紧张感，让我甚至忍不住放慢了阅读速度，生怕错过任何一个细微的表情变化所暗示的深意。这本书挑战了传统的叙事模式，它更像是一幅宏大的、多层次的社会浮世绘，需要读者投入极大的专注力和同理心才能真正领略其精髓。
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