具體描述
內容簡介
Winner of the 2008 John Sargent, Sr. First Novel Prize * A Washington Post Best Book of 2008 * A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2008
Richly imagined and gothically spooky, The Good Thief introduces one of the most appealing young heroes in contemporary fiction and ratifies Hannah Tinti as one of our most exciting talents writing today.
Twelve year-old Ren is missing his left hand. How it was lost is a mystery that Ren has been trying to solve for his entire life, as well as who his parents are, and why he was abandoned as an infant at Saint Anthony’s Orphanage for boys. When a young man named Benjamin Nab appears, claiming to be Ren’s long-lost brother, his convincing tale of how Ren lost his hand persuades the monks at the orphanage to release the boy and to give Ren some hope. But is Benjamin really who he says he is? As Ren is introduced to a life of hardscrabble adventure filled with outrageous scam artists, grave robbers, and petty thieves, he begins to suspect that Benjamin not only holds the key to his future, but to his past as well…. 作者簡介
Hannah Tinti's work has appeared in magazines and anthologies, including The Best American Mystery Stories 2003. Her short-story collection, Animal Crackers, has been sold in fifteen countries, and was a runner-up for the PEN/Hemingway Award. She is the editor of One Story magazine.
From the Hardcover edition.,, 精彩書評
"Every once in a while — if you are very lucky — you come upon a novel so marvelous and enchanting and rare that you wish everyone in the world would read it, as well. The Good Thief is just such a book — a beautifully composed work of literary magic."—Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love
"Darkly transporting ... [In] The Good Thief, the reader can find plain-spoken fiction full of traditional virtues: strong plotting, pure lucidity, visceral momentum and a total absence of writerly mannerisms. In Ms. Tinti’s case that means an American Dickensian tale with touches of Harry Potterish whimsy, along with a macabre streak of spooky New England history."—New York Times
"Tinti, like John Barth with his postmodern picturesque classic, The Sot-Weed Factor, has created one of the freshest, most beguiling narratives this side of Oliver Twist."—O: The Oprah Magazine
"Hannah Tinti has written a lightning strike of a novel—beautiful and haunting and ever so bright. She is a 21st century Robert Louis Stevenson, an adventuress who lays bare her character's hearts with a precision and a fearlessness that will leave you shaken." —Junot Díaz, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critic’s Circle Award for The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
"The Good Thief's characters are weird and wonderful.... [It] has all the makings of a classic—a hero, a villain and a rollicking good tale set in 19th century New England about a good boy who gets mixed up with a lot of bad men.... All of that, along with its humor, ingenuity and fast pace, make The Good Thief compelling."—San Francisco Chronicle
“Ren lives every child's fantasy, to leave a mundane life for an adventure in which he discovers who he was supposed to be and who he could yet become…. [His] mischievous ways earned the character comparisons to Huck Finn and Oliver Twist. And the plot, which winds its way through a mousetrap factory and the memory of a family tragedy, certainly give him a literary playground in which to frolic.”—Associated Press
"The Good Thief is a dark, Dickensian fable filled with enough surprises to keep a reader turning pages long past midnight. Irresistibly strange, and just plain irresistible."—Karl Iagnemma
“The Good Thief is wry, wise, deeply felt and ingeniously plotted, a wonderful, riveting spin on the tale of abandoned boys gone bad, or good, or both. Move over Huck Finn and Oliver Twist, make room for Ren, The Good Thief's one handed but quick fingered and witted orphan, thief, hero — I loved him, and his book.” — Brock Clarke, author of An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England
"The Good Thief is a book that deserves comparison to the work of classic authors like Robert Louis Stevenson and Charles Dickens—not only because it's a remarkable piece of work, but also because it reminded me of what it used to be like, when I was a kid, to be truly engrossed in a book. You lift your head and hours have passed, and you realize that you've been utterly drawn into a world that is as vivid and real as your own. A masterful achievement."—Dan Chaon, author of National Book Award finalist Among the Missing, and You Remind Me of Me
“The Good Thief is a magical book. Everything worth writing about is in it: love, death and—more than anything else—family. ?I wish I'd written it.”—Daniel Wallace author of Mr. Sebastian and the Negro Magician
"Hannah Tinti writes with uncommon grace and stunning insight. Her quirky tribe of outcasts will break into your dreams and steal your spirit. Surrender to them! Let your heart be broken! Only then will you know the tender thrill of their wild companionship. The Good Thief is pure delight. When you wake from this dream, you will wake bedazzled".—Melanie Rae Thon, author of Iona Moon and Sweet Hearts
“The key to Tinti's success with this novel is the constant tension between tenderness and peril, a tension that she ratchets up until the final pages…. [With] enough harrowing scrapes and turns to satisfy your inner Dickens.”—Washington Post Book World
“A debut novel so rich that you'll hope it becomes the first in a series…. Part coming-of-age tale and part pure adventure, The Good Thief evokes Charles Dickens with its blend of humor, social commentary and poignancy.”—Cleveland Plain Dealer
“Tightly plotted, unmannered, irresistible. Tinti writes in a lean, pitch-perfect prose that grabs the reader's mind and won't let go. The incidents she relates are dark and grim, but the telling leaves room for humanity and humor.”—Orlando Sentinel
“Difficult to put down…A cavalcade of chase scenes, suspenseful moments and revelations.”—Seattle Times
“The kind of story that might have kept you reading all day when you were home sick from school…. Writing for adults while keeping to a child’s perspective isn’t easy, and Tinti makes it look effortless.”—New York Times Book Review
“Tinti secures her place as one of the sharpest, slyest young American novelists."—Entertainment Weekly (A-)
“[A] striking debut novel…Unfolds like a Robert Louis Stevenson tale retold amid the hardscrabble squalor of Colonial New England.? The sheer strangeness of the story is beguiling…Good fun.”—The New Yorker
“A very good book indeed…Reminds you why you fell in love with reading in the first place…Tinti’s imaginative powers…reacquaint us with our own.? And that’s a gift to be cherished…”—Boston Globe
“[A] dark but nimble variation on that favorite 19th-century literary trope, the woeful orphan story…. Ren becomes the surprising moral center of a colorful band of misfits and grave robbers. His sentimental education about what it means to be a ‘good’ boy makes for a Dickens of a tale.”—USAToday.com
"In her highly original debut novel, [Tinti] renders the horrors and wonders she concocts utterly believable and rich in implication as she creates a darkly comedic and bewitching, sinister yet life-affirming tale about the eternal battle between good and evil." —Booklist, starred review
“Ren, with his love for religion and penchant for thievery, is immediately likeable…. A novel full of scams, shams and underhanded deals and populated by hustlers, thieves and grave robbers.”—Publishers Weekly
“Marvelously satisfying...rich with sensory details, surprising twists and living, breathing characters to root for." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“Bracing—and embracing … etches Hannah Tinti’s name on the literary map.”—Go: AirTran Magazine
From the Hardcover edition.,
《暗影中的低語:一個關於救贖與背叛的迷人故事》 作者:艾莉森·布萊剋伍德 齣版信息:[虛構齣版社名稱],[虛構齣版年份]年 一、 故事背景與引人入勝的開端 《暗影中的低語》將讀者帶入一個被工業革命的濃煙和維多利亞時代上流社會的虛僞麵紗所籠罩的迷霧之都——19世紀末的倫敦。這座城市在光鮮亮麗的街區之下,潛藏著錯綜復雜的貧民窟、秘密結社和不為人知的權力交易。 故事的主角,伊萊亞斯·文森特,並非齣身於貴族,而是一個在白教堂區艱難求生的孤兒。他擁有一雙能洞察人心的銳利眼睛和一雙能悄無聲息穿梭於城市屋頂的靈巧雙手。伊萊亞斯並非傳統意義上的“惡棍”,他更像是一個“必要之惡”的執行者,用盜竊的手段來維持自己和少數幾個他庇護的孤兒的生存。他的目標通常是那些通過壓榨底層人民積纍財富的腐敗商人或心術不正的貴族。 故事始於一個看似尋常的夜晚。伊萊亞斯受雇於一位神秘的中間人,去盜取一份據說藏在薩默塞特宮一位沒落貴族宅邸中的文件。這份文件據稱事關一樁被掩蓋瞭數十年的傢族醜聞。然而,當伊萊亞斯成功潛入並拿到文件時,他發現這並非簡單的財務記錄,而是一份記載著一個龐大秘密社團——“奧菲斯之眼”——核心成員名單的羊皮捲軸。這個組織的手已經伸嚮瞭議會、警局的最高層,甚至王室的邊緣。 這次盜竊行動徹底打破瞭伊萊亞斯原本小心翼翼維持的平衡。他不僅成為瞭“奧菲斯之眼”的頭號追捕目標,更意外地捲入瞭一場關乎城市命運的巨大陰謀之中。 二、 復雜的人物群像與深刻的內心掙紮 小說的魅力很大程度上來自於其塑造的栩栩如生的人物。 伊萊亞斯·文森特: 他是混亂中的一個錨點。他內心深處渴望正直和安穩,但他生存的法則卻要求他不斷地觸碰黑暗。他的掙紮在於,為瞭保護無辜者,他必須變得比那些他所反抗的人更具“欺騙性”。他對“正義”的理解是靈活的,實用主義至上,但這使得他與傳統道德觀産生瞭劇烈的衝突。 塞拉菲娜·莫蘭特: 一位齣身於愛爾蘭移民傢庭的獨立記者。她以筆為劍,緻力於揭露倫敦上層社會的黑暗麵。塞拉菲娜與伊萊亞斯的關係是故事中最引人入勝的張力來源。她起初視伊萊亞斯為一個可以利用的綫人,一個她可以用來敲開權力堡壘的工具。但隨著兩人閤作的深入,她開始正視伊萊亞斯行為背後的道德睏境,並逐漸被他身上那種矛盾的英雄氣概所吸引。她的理性與他的本能交織,催生齣一段充滿危險與試探的禁忌之戀。 亞瑟·剋勞利勛爵: “奧菲斯之眼”的實際操縱者。他是一位看似溫文爾雅的慈善傢,但在他的華麗外錶下,是冷酷無情、對權力極度渴望的野心傢。剋勞利勛爵是那種能將最醜陋的交易包裝成最體麵的商業閤作的典型代錶。他代錶著體製內腐敗的極緻,也是伊萊亞斯必須麵對的最強大的對手。 “影子”傑剋: 曾是伊萊亞斯的導師,一位傳奇的盜賊,多年前離奇失蹤。他的失蹤是伊萊亞斯心中一根拔不掉的刺。隨著調查的深入,伊萊亞斯發現“影子”的消失與“奧菲斯之眼”的崛起有著韆絲萬縷的聯係,這使得他的個人復仇與拯救城市的任務緊密地綁在瞭一起。 三、 陰謀的層層剝開與懸念的迭起 小說結構緊湊,懸念設置高明。伊萊亞斯和塞拉菲娜的調查並非一帆風順,每一次接近真相的嘗試,都伴隨著更深的陷阱。 “奧菲斯之眼”的最終目標並非單純的財富,而是對英國政治格局的根本性重塑,通過控製關鍵的港口資源和議員的投票權,他們計劃將國傢引嚮一場由他們主導的、旨在鞏固寡頭統治的“新秩序”。 為瞭阻止他們,伊萊亞斯必須利用他最擅長的技能——潛入、僞裝和竊取。他不再是為瞭生存而偷竊,而是為瞭揭露真相而冒險。故事的高潮發生在一年一度的皇傢慈善晚宴上,屆時,“奧菲斯之眼”計劃進行一項具有決定性意義的交易。伊萊亞斯需要滲透到戒備森嚴的黑水莊園,不僅要拿迴那份足以將整個組織一網打盡的證據,還要確保塞拉菲娜能夠將這些證據在公眾麵前曝光。 四、 主題的探討:道德的灰色地帶與救贖的代價 《暗影中的低語》深入探討瞭道德哲學的灰色地帶。當法律本身被腐敗分子所掌控時,“非法”的行為是否能成為真正的正義?伊萊亞斯以犯罪手段行俠仗義,他是否能逃脫被社會和自我道德審判的命運? 小說對身份認同也進行瞭細緻的刻畫。伊萊亞斯需要不斷地扮演不同的角色——街頭小偷、貴族僕人、乃至受雇的殺手——以生存下去。他最終能否找迴那個在白教堂區長大的、純粹的“伊萊亞斯”,還是會被他所扮演的角色所吞噬? 此外,小說也毫不留情地批判瞭維多利亞時代光鮮外錶下的社會結構性不公。那些高聳的煙囪背後,是無數傢庭的貧睏和絕望,而“奧菲斯之眼”正是利用瞭這種絕望來鞏固他們的統治。 五、 語言風格與閱讀體驗 艾莉森·布萊剋伍德的文筆華麗而富有張力。她將哥特式的陰鬱氛圍與緊湊的諜戰節奏完美結閤。對19世紀倫敦街道、氣味、光影的細膩描繪,讓讀者仿佛能親身感受到煤灰的氣息和雨水打在石闆路上的聲音。動作場麵緊張刺激,而人物對話則充滿瞭機鋒和潛颱詞,每一次交鋒都可能決定生死。 《暗影中的低語》不僅是一部扣人心弦的懸疑小說,更是一部關於人性抉擇、關於在絕望中尋找微光的深刻寓言。它迫使讀者思考:為瞭更高的善,我們願意付齣多大的代價,去觸碰並擁抱那些黑暗的工具?