具体描述
内容简介
It is the world of the near future, and Offred is a Handmaid in the home of the Commander and his wife. She is allowed out once a day to the food market, she is not permitted to read, and she is hoping the Commander makes her pregnant, because she is only valued if her ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the years before, when she was an independent woman, had a job of her own, a husband and child. But all of that is gone now...everything has changed.作者简介
When Margaret Atwood announced to her friends that she wanted to be a writer, she was only 16 years old. It was Canada. It was the 1950s. No one knew what to think. Nonetheless, Atwood began her writing career as a poet. Published In 1964 while she was still a student at Harvard, her second poetry anthology, The Circle Game, was awarded the Governor General's Award, one of Canada's most esteemed literary prizes. Since then, Atwood has gone on to publish many more volumes of poetry (as well as literary criticism, essays, and short stories), but it is her novels for which she is best known.
Atwood's first foray into fiction was 1966's The Edible Woman, an arresting story about a woman who stops eating because she feels her life is consuming her. Grabbing the attention of critics, who applauded its startlingly original premise, the novel explored feminist themes Atwood has revisited time and time again during her long, prolific literary career. She is famous for strong, compelling female protagonists -- from the breast cancer survivor in Bodily Harm to the rueful artist in Cat's Eye to the fatefully intertwined sisters in her Booker Prize-winning novel The Blind Asassin.
Perhaps Atwood's most legendary character is Offred, the tragic "breeder" in what is arguably her most famous book, 1985's The Handmaid's Tale. Part fable, part science fiction, and part dystopian nightmare, this novel presented a harrowing vision of women's lives in an oppressive futuristic society. The Washington Post compared it (favorably) to George Orwell's iconic 1984.
As if her status as a multi-award-winning, triple-threat writer (fiction, poetry, and essays) were not enough, Atwood has also produced several children's books, including Princess Prunella and the Purple Peanut (1995) and Rude Ramsay and the Roaring Radishes (2003) -- delicious alliterative delights that introduce a wealth of new vocabulary to young readers.精彩书评
"In this Orwellian dramatization, religion becomes a tool of repression and social control to force women into the roles of stay-at-home wives, domestic staff, prostitutes, or surrogate mothers. They have no rights to their bodies or property and are completely dependent upon men. Those women who have had at least one child find themselves forced into the role of breeding machine, producing children for childless couples. References to 20th-century issues abound, including Agent Orange, abortion, women's rights, and escape attempts to Canada. At least 14 different readers make it easy for the listener to distinguish among the various characters. Despite sound effects and some indistinguishable white noise, there are a few spots with dead air. This program will be of interest to Atwood fans and those interested in futuristic tales. Recommended for public and academic libraries."
--Laurie Selwyn, Grayson Cty. Law Lib.
繁星下的迷雾:一部关于追寻与迷失的史诗 书名: 《群星的低语》 作者: 艾拉·凡纳 装帧: 精装 页数: 680页 简介: 《群星的低语》并非一部描绘既定历史或触手可及未来的作品,它是一次对人类精神深处、对时间与记忆本质的深刻探寻。故事的舞台设定在一个被遗忘的“苍穹之域”——一个横跨多个世纪,由古老、失落的科技与神秘的自然力量共同编织而成的广袤大陆。 故事的主线围绕着一位名叫凯尔·雷恩的制图师展开。凯尔生活在一个严苛的、以“循环纪律”为最高准则的社会结构中。在这个世界里,所有知识都被封存在巨大的、漂浮于空中的“编目塔”中,由一群被称为“守秘者”的精英阶层所垄断和解释。人们相信,过去的每一次尝试都是失败的,只有严格遵循古老的图谱,才能维持现有的脆弱平衡。 凯尔的工作本该是日复一日地描摹那些早已被精确标注的地理特征,确保每一条河流、每一座山脉都与“官方地图”分毫不差。然而,凯尔内心深处涌动着一种无法抑制的探求欲。他常常在夜深人静时,面对着家族遗留的一份残破的星盘——一个非官方的、描绘着“未曾被允许的星辰”的古物。这份星盘,如同一个无声的挑衅,暗示着官方历史的巨大空洞。 转折点发生在一个“彗星之蚀”的夜晚。那天,天空被一种奇异的、不属于已知天象的紫色光芒笼罩。在那一刻,凯尔无意中发现了一张被隐藏在编目塔底层禁区——“灰烬档案室”中的古老羊皮纸。这份羊皮纸并非地图,而是一系列晦涩难懂的诗歌与数学公式,它们似乎指向了“苍穹之域”被建立之前的“大崩塌”时期,以及一个被称为“织网者”的神秘文明。 羊皮纸上的信息暗示了一个惊人的事实:苍穹之域并非世界的全部,它只是一个被精心维护的“局部样本”。真正的世界,充满了尚未被探索的维度和生命形态。凯尔意识到,他所信仰的一切秩序,可能都建立在一个精心策划的谎言之上。 带着这份危险的知识,凯尔开始了逃亡。他没有选择传统的逃跑路线,而是决定追随羊皮纸中零散的线索,去寻找传说中能够“阅读时间残影”的隐士——“空寂者”。 他的旅程充满了艰辛与悖论。他穿越了“静默之海”,那里的水域并非由液体构成,而是由凝固的声波组成,任何过度的声响都会导致船只的解体。他攀登了“回音山脉”,那里山石会无限期地重复任何进入者发出的最后一个声音。在这些超乎想象的地理环境中,凯尔必须运用他作为制图师的逻辑思维,结合“空寂者”留下的谜题,才能勉强前行。 旅途中,凯尔遇到了形形色色的人。有坚持自己信念的“守秘者”追捕队,他们代表着对秩序的绝对忠诚,视凯尔为打破宇宙和谐的病毒;也有一些流浪的“拾荒者”,他们生活在文明的边缘,收集着旧时代的碎片,对宏大叙事嗤之以鼻,只相信眼前可见的物质。 其中,最引人注目的是一位名叫莉娅的年轻学者。莉娅曾是编目塔中最有前途的档案管理员,她对“循环纪律”深信不疑。然而,她通过自己的研究,偶然发现了一个被篡改的“起源圣典”。莉娅的加入,不仅为凯尔提供了必要的学术支持,更重要的是,她代表了对既定知识体系的内部反思与动摇。她必须在对真理的追求和对现有安稳生活的眷恋之间做出抉择。 随着凯尔和莉娅的深入,他们发现“织网者”文明留下的遗产并非是高高在上的神迹,而是一套复杂的“平衡系统”。这个系统旨在防止宇宙中某种失控的“熵增”——一种吞噬一切意义和结构的力量。而编目塔的“守秘者”,实际上是这个平衡系统的最低层维护者,他们被剥夺了完整的知识,只知道机械性的执行,因为完整的知识被认为过于危险,可能导致人类主动加速熵增。 故事的高潮发生在“永恒之井”——传说中时间流动最为缓慢的地方。在那里,凯尔和莉娅终于找到了“空寂者”。这位年迈的隐士并非拥有神力,他只是能以一种非线性的方式感知信息。他揭示了最后的真相:所谓的“大崩塌”,并非是一场灾难,而是一次有意识的“收缩”,是为了将核心的知识碎片安全地隐藏起来,以应对未来的更大威胁。 凯尔面临着最终的抉择:是选择将完整的真相公之于众,打破所有人的生活和信仰,引发不可预测的混乱,还是选择继承“织网者”的使命,成为下一代的“守护者”,继续维持这个看似虚假却能保障存续的“局部样本”? 《群星的低语》探讨了知识的重量、自由意志的代价,以及在面对浩瀚的未知时,人类的渺小与韧性。它没有提供一个简单的答案,而是将选择的重负放在了读者和主角的心上。故事的结局是开放的,凯尔的选择将决定“苍穹之域”的未来,也可能影响到遥远星系中其他被遗忘的文明的命运。这是一部关于记忆的考古学,关于在无尽的黑暗中,如何点燃一簇属于自己的、微弱却坚定的光芒的史诗。