具體描述
內容簡介
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.作者簡介
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.精彩書評
"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.
繁星下的迷霧:一部關於追尋與迷失的史詩 書名: 《群星的低語》 作者: 艾拉·凡納 裝幀: 精裝 頁數: 680頁 簡介: 《群星的低語》並非一部描繪既定曆史或觸手可及未來的作品,它是一次對人類精神深處、對時間與記憶本質的深刻探尋。故事的舞颱設定在一個被遺忘的“蒼穹之域”——一個橫跨多個世紀,由古老、失落的科技與神秘的自然力量共同編織而成的廣袤大陸。 故事的主綫圍繞著一位名叫凱爾·雷恩的製圖師展開。凱爾生活在一個嚴苛的、以“循環紀律”為最高準則的社會結構中。在這個世界裏,所有知識都被封存在巨大的、漂浮於空中的“編目塔”中,由一群被稱為“守秘者”的精英階層所壟斷和解釋。人們相信,過去的每一次嘗試都是失敗的,隻有嚴格遵循古老的圖譜,纔能維持現有的脆弱平衡。 凱爾的工作本該是日復一日地描摹那些早已被精確標注的地理特徵,確保每一條河流、每一座山脈都與“官方地圖”分毫不差。然而,凱爾內心深處湧動著一種無法抑製的探求欲。他常常在夜深人靜時,麵對著傢族遺留的一份殘破的星盤——一個非官方的、描繪著“未曾被允許的星辰”的古物。這份星盤,如同一個無聲的挑釁,暗示著官方曆史的巨大空洞。 轉摺點發生在一個“彗星之蝕”的夜晚。那天,天空被一種奇異的、不屬於已知天象的紫色光芒籠罩。在那一刻,凱爾無意中發現瞭一張被隱藏在編目塔底層禁區——“灰燼檔案室”中的古老羊皮紙。這份羊皮紙並非地圖,而是一係列晦澀難懂的詩歌與數學公式,它們似乎指嚮瞭“蒼穹之域”被建立之前的“大崩塌”時期,以及一個被稱為“織網者”的神秘文明。 羊皮紙上的信息暗示瞭一個驚人的事實:蒼穹之域並非世界的全部,它隻是一個被精心維護的“局部樣本”。真正的世界,充滿瞭尚未被探索的維度和生命形態。凱爾意識到,他所信仰的一切秩序,可能都建立在一個精心策劃的謊言之上。 帶著這份危險的知識,凱爾開始瞭逃亡。他沒有選擇傳統的逃跑路綫,而是決定追隨羊皮紙中零散的綫索,去尋找傳說中能夠“閱讀時間殘影”的隱士——“空寂者”。 他的旅程充滿瞭艱辛與悖論。他穿越瞭“靜默之海”,那裏的水域並非由液體構成,而是由凝固的聲波組成,任何過度的聲響都會導緻船隻的解體。他攀登瞭“迴音山脈”,那裏山石會無限期地重復任何進入者發齣的最後一個聲音。在這些超乎想象的地理環境中,凱爾必須運用他作為製圖師的邏輯思維,結閤“空寂者”留下的謎題,纔能勉強前行。 旅途中,凱爾遇到瞭形形色色的人。有堅持自己信念的“守秘者”追捕隊,他們代錶著對秩序的絕對忠誠,視凱爾為打破宇宙和諧的病毒;也有一些流浪的“拾荒者”,他們生活在文明的邊緣,收集著舊時代的碎片,對宏大敘事嗤之以鼻,隻相信眼前可見的物質。 其中,最引人注目的是一位名叫莉婭的年輕學者。莉婭曾是編目塔中最有前途的檔案管理員,她對“循環紀律”深信不疑。然而,她通過自己的研究,偶然發現瞭一個被篡改的“起源聖典”。莉婭的加入,不僅為凱爾提供瞭必要的學術支持,更重要的是,她代錶瞭對既定知識體係的內部反思與動搖。她必須在對真理的追求和對現有安穩生活的眷戀之間做齣抉擇。 隨著凱爾和莉婭的深入,他們發現“織網者”文明留下的遺産並非是高高在上的神跡,而是一套復雜的“平衡係統”。這個係統旨在防止宇宙中某種失控的“熵增”——一種吞噬一切意義和結構的力量。而編目塔的“守秘者”,實際上是這個平衡係統的最低層維護者,他們被剝奪瞭完整的知識,隻知道機械性的執行,因為完整的知識被認為過於危險,可能導緻人類主動加速熵增。 故事的高潮發生在“永恒之井”——傳說中時間流動最為緩慢的地方。在那裏,凱爾和莉婭終於找到瞭“空寂者”。這位年邁的隱士並非擁有神力,他隻是能以一種非綫性的方式感知信息。他揭示瞭最後的真相:所謂的“大崩塌”,並非是一場災難,而是一次有意識的“收縮”,是為瞭將核心的知識碎片安全地隱藏起來,以應對未來的更大威脅。 凱爾麵臨著最終的抉擇:是選擇將完整的真相公之於眾,打破所有人的生活和信仰,引發不可預測的混亂,還是選擇繼承“織網者”的使命,成為下一代的“守護者”,繼續維持這個看似虛假卻能保障存續的“局部樣本”? 《群星的低語》探討瞭知識的重量、自由意誌的代價,以及在麵對浩瀚的未知時,人類的渺小與韌性。它沒有提供一個簡單的答案,而是將選擇的重負放在瞭讀者和主角的心上。故事的結局是開放的,凱爾的選擇將決定“蒼穹之域”的未來,也可能影響到遙遠星係中其他被遺忘的文明的命運。這是一部關於記憶的考古學,關於在無盡的黑暗中,如何點燃一簇屬於自己的、微弱卻堅定的光芒的史詩。