SignatureReviewed by Christine KenneallyThe ways language and thought intertwine have long intrigued scientists. Does language shape the way we see the world? Does the world influence the structure of language? Do we think in words? Such lofty questions pondered in many an ivory tower would go unanswered without the mostly anonymous work of field linguists. These scholars venture into isolated communities and wrestle with culture shock, broken tape recorders and dysentery—all to learn an unfamiliar language from the ground up. Their work is painstaking, and no matter how smart or how educated they are, their projects must begin with the most elementary communicative tactics—they point at a rock or a tree or a bird, and whether they are in Australia's Western Desert, the remote islands of Indonesia or the jungles of Brazil, their interlocutor will respond, rock or tree or bird in the native tongue. Dan Everett's life as a field linguist began when he entered a Pirahã village in the Amazonian jungle in December 1977. After being greeted by a happy, chattering crowd, he walked over to a man cooking on a small fire. First, he tapped his own chest and said, Daniel, then he pointed at the animal being cooked on the fire. Káixihí, said the man. Everett pointed at a stick. Xií said the man. Everett dropped the stick and said, I drop the xii. Xií xi bigí kíobíi, his new friend replied, meaning stick it ground falls. Thus began 30 years of dedication to the Pirahã and their native tongue, a mystifying system of sound and rules unrelated to any other language in the world. In this fascinating and candid account of life with the Pirahã, Everett describes how he learned to speak fluent Pirahã (pausing occasionally to club the snakes that harassed him in his Amazonian office). He also explains his discoveries about the language—findings that have kicked off more than one academic brouhaha. Everett learned that Pirahã does not use what are supposed to be universal aspects of grammar, an observation that runs counter to linguistic dogma about how culture, the brain and language connect. For Everett, Pirahã is evidence that culture plays a crucial and previously unacknowledged role in the creation of language.Everett's life with the Pirahã cost him dearly. He almost lost two family members to malaria, and his first marriage broke down after years of highly productive shared field work. But life in the Amazon taught him a great deal about human nature, too, perhaps more about his own than that of the Pirahã. Everett began his linguistic work as a Christian missionary, but the Pirahã were marvelously impervious to his promise of a life with Jesus. They pointed out that Everett simply had no proof for the supernatural world he described, and in the end he found himself agreeing with them. He left the church, choosing a world that more honestly integrated his goals as a scholar with the world view of his Pirahã friends—one where evidence matters. (Nov. 11)Christine Kenneally is the author of The First Word: The Search for the Origins of Language, a finalist for the L.A. Times Book Prize.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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我通常不太偏爱这类题材的作品,但这本书的独特之处在于,它将焦点从外部的威胁,巧妙地转移到了内部的瓦解上。外部环境的恶劣固然是推动情节发展的引擎,但真正令人脊背发凉的是角色之间关系的微妙变化。信任,这个我们在日常生活中视为理所当然的基石,在这里被一遍遍地敲打、质疑,直至彻底崩塌。作者极其擅长通过对话和沉默来展现人性的脆弱。那些本应相互扶持的个体,因为恐惧和自保的本能,逐渐异化成了彼此的威胁。我特别关注了其中几组人物的互动,那种试探、那种心照不宣的背叛,比任何外部的冲突都要来得更具穿透力。阅读过程中,我多次感到一阵寒意,那不是因为故事里的情节有多么血腥,而是因为我看到了自己身上,或者说,在任何一个普通人身上,都有可能被激发出的那种黑暗的潜能。这本书仿佛是一面镜子,映照出社会契约崩塌时,人类最原始的算计和自私,让人不得不重新审视“文明”这个概念的本质。
评分这本书的结构处理非常大胆且高明。它不像传统的故事那样线性推进,而是采用了多层次的叙事结构,时间线经常在过去和现在之间跳跃,每一次切换都精准地揭示了当前困境的一个关键背景信息。起初,这种跳跃感可能会让读者感到一丝迷惘,需要集中精力去拼凑完整的画面,但这正是作者设置的陷阱——它模仿了人在极端压力下记忆和认知的碎片化状态。当所有碎片最终组合在一起时,那种豁然开朗的顿悟感,伴随着更深层次的绝望感,是极其震撼的。此外,全书的意象运用非常出色,那些反复出现的、具有象征意义的物件或场景,在不同的上下文中被赋予了新的含义,使得阅读体验如同在解一个复杂的谜题。与其说这是一部小说,不如说它是一部精心设计的心理迷宫,引导着读者在迷雾中摸索,直到找到出口——或者,直到被迷宫本身所吞噬。对于喜欢复杂叙事和深度解析的读者来说,这本书无疑是上乘之作,它拒绝喂食简单的信息,而是要求你参与到构建意义的过程中去。
评分这本书的文字功力,老实说,达到了某种令人敬畏的境界。它不是那种追求华丽辞藻堆砌的作品,而是以一种近乎冷酷的简洁,构建了一个宏大而又极其细致的生存图景。作者对细节的偏执几乎令人发指——从某种植物的叶脉纹理到微风吹过时发出的特定声响,都被刻画得栩栩如生。这种精细的描摹,非但没有拖慢叙事,反而极大地增强了沉浸感,让你仿佛能闻到空气中的湿土味和某种腐败的甜腥味。更令人称奇的是,作者似乎拥有某种魔力,能够将抽象的哲学思考,巧妙地融入到具体的、充满张力的事件链条中。我们不仅仅是在看角色如何逃生,更是在思考“何为生存的价值”、“在失去一切后,人性还剩下多少存量”这些宏大命题。我喜欢它没有提供廉价的答案,而是将这些沉甸甸的问题直接抛给了读者,让读者在合上书本后,依然要在自己的脑海中继续这场辩论。这种后劲十足的阅读体验,在我近期的阅读清单中,绝对是名列前茅的。它要求你慢下来,去品味那些看似不经意的片段,因为真正的危险往往就隐藏在这些被忽略的角落里。
评分这本书简直是场彻头彻尾的噩梦,但那种让人欲罢不能的噩梦。我得承认,我读这本书的时候,好几次都得放下书,深吸一口气,然后告诉自己:这只是故事。作者的笔触精准得像手术刀,每一个场景的描绘都充满了令人不安的真实感,让你感觉自己不是在阅读,而是被硬生生地拽进了那个阴暗、潮湿、充满未知威胁的世界。书中的叙事节奏掌控得极好,时而缓慢得让人在期待中煎熬,时而又突然爆发出一连串的冲击,让你措手不及。那种持续的、低沉的恐惧感,不是靠突然的惊吓堆砌起来的,而是源自于对环境和人性的深刻洞察。它探讨了在极端压力下,人类的本能和道德是如何被一点点蚕食殆尽的。我尤其佩服作者在构建心理侧写方面的功力,那些角色的内心独白,扭曲、脆弱,却又无比清晰地映照出我们自身可能隐藏的黑暗面。读完之后,我感觉自己像是经历了一场漫长的、消耗巨大的心理拉锯战,直到最后一页合上的那一刻,才像是从一个漫长的梦魇中挣扎着醒来。强烈推荐给喜欢挑战自己心理承受极限的读者,但请确保你在一个光线充足、绝对安全的环境下阅读,因为这本书真的会让你对周围的一切产生怀疑。
评分坦率地说,这本书的氛围营造达到了一个近乎完美的平衡点——它在提供极度紧张感的同时,又始终保持着一种冷静的、近乎纪录片的客观视角。作者似乎站在一个超然的外部观察者的角度,记录下这一切的发生,没有过多的煽情和道德评判,正是这种克制,才使得事件的残酷性显得更加真实和不可回避。我欣赏作者在描述高潮冲突场景时的克制,那不是好莱坞式的爆炸和嘶吼,而是更接近于一种沉闷的、机械性的磨损。角色们的反应往往不是戏剧性的,而是疲惫的、带着宿命感的顺从。这种“反高潮”的处理手法,反而让最终的悲剧性力量更加深远,因为它暗示了:有些绝境,即使用尽全力,也无法改变其既定的走向。读完之后,我的心情久久不能平复,不是愤怒,而是一种深刻的无力感,仿佛亲眼目睹了某种不可逆转的自然规律的运作。这本书不提供慰藉,它提供的是一种近乎残酷的清醒,让你直面那些被我们刻意忽略的生命底色。
评分Very interesting book on culture, language and how they impact each other. An easy read with good stories.
评分Very interesting book on culture, language and how they impact each other. An easy read with good stories.
评分Very interesting book on culture, language and how they impact each other. An easy read with good stories.
评分Very interesting book on culture, language and how they impact each other. An easy read with good stories.
评分Very interesting book on culture, language and how they impact each other. An easy read with good stories.
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