內容簡介
Life is good for Oscar Westerwit. He's the mayor of Central Park -- the greatest place on earth for the squirrels, chipmunks, mice, and other animals who live there. He's the shortstop and manager of his baseball team. What could be bad? Plenty Big Daddy Duds, jewel thief, all-around thug, and leader of rats, is about to take over the park. And when he does, the other animals who live there will be turned out of their homes. Everyone looks to Oscar to save the day, but he may not even be able to save himself. . . .
作者簡介
Avi is the author of more than sixty books, including Crispin: The Cross of Lead, a Newbery Medal winner, and Crispin: At the Edge of the World. His other acclaimed titles include The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle and Nothing But the Truth, both Newbery Honor Books, and most recently The Seer of Shadows. He lives with his family in Colorado.
精彩書評
The Washington Post This New York is brash, energetic and wittily translated to fit Avi's anthropomorphic world, while Brian Floca's full-page illustrations skillfully render both the characters and their park. In his elegantly detailed pencil drawings, a battalion of rats, armed and at attention, fills Bethesda Fountain Terrace (the angel of the fountain, of course, is here a squirrel); in another, the nattily attired Oscar hatches a plot in the dim bar of the Rock and Mole Café. — Andrea Thompson Publishers Weekly In a starred review, PW called this tale of a baseball-loving jewel thief of a rat who takes over Central Park in 1900 New York City, "an over-the-top romp." Ages 8-12. (Mar.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information. Fewer Reviews Children's Literature When Big Daddy Duds moves his gang of rats from downtown Manhattan to Central Park, it is bad news for the residents. Oscar Westerwit, baseball fanatic and Mayor of Central Park as voted by its residents, decides to fight back with an army but soon realizes they are no match for these thugs. This early twentieth-century melodrama would not be complete without a damsel, but this one is anything but helpless. When Big Daddy's daughter, Maud, is jilted by her beau, Arty Bigalow, she leaves her parents' home. Maud, a nurse, gets a job working for a rich old goat in Central Park. When she hears what her father has done, Maud offers to help Oscar. She suggests a baseball game to determine who controls Central Park. Oscar's star pitcher, Arty Bigalow, is nowhere to be found on the big day. Much to the surprise of everyone, Maud becomes an integral part of the game. An amusing story with a teasing of baseball and a wide range of well-developed characters. When Avi's gangster talk is right on, it adds real color to the story. There are, however, some moments where it feels jarring and contemporary. Full-page pen and ink drawings are scattered throughout the book and will be appreciated by readers who have recently moved into chapter books. 2003, HarperCollins, Ages 8 to 10. —Sharon Salluzzo School Library Journal Gr 3-6-This animal fantasy cum comic-gangster tale is spiced with some old-fashioned romance and set at the turn of the 19th century. The narrator, a cub reporter at the Daily Mirror, tells the story of squirrel Oscar Westerwit, acclaimed as the "Mayor" of Central Park. The story centers around Oscar's struggle against the rat Big Daddy Duds, when he and his gang invade the park, terrorize the residents, and vandalize their homes. The book opens with the star pitcher of the Central Park Green Sox going missing: the first sign that something is amiss. The resolution to the conflict comes through a baseball game, and the character who replaces the missing player provides a pleasurable plot twist. The lighthearted, almost frothy characterization and conversational storytelling style work fine, and successfully evoke a tough New York, complete with payoffs and tip-offs. However, the fantasy is less successful. Some animals live in trees, albeit fully furnished, even electrified ones, leading readers to believe that they coexist with a human-sized world. On the other hand, wealthy Mr. van Blunker, a goat, lives in a mansion on Fifth Avenue. It turns out that there are no humans in this fantasy universe, but the magic is broken, and readers are left wondering about the relative sizes of the animals and their physical environment. The inclusion of nonnative animal species, including a yak and a kangaroo, may be a nod to cosmopolitanism, but it further weakens the fantasy. Still, this is an enjoyable chapter book for readers not yet ready for the seriousness or more sophisticated humor of Poppy (Orchard, 1995) and its sequels.-Sue Giffard, Ethical Culture Fieldston School, New York City Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information. Kirkus Reviews Central Park's furred and feathered residents face an incursion of gangster rats in this turn-of-the-20th-century tale of baseball, interspecies romance, and ingenuousness triumphant. The sudden appearance of Big Daddy Duds and his well-armed thugs compels Oscar Westerwit, a bon vivant squirrel who considers himself the park's unofficial "Mayor," to take action. His ragtag "army" is quickly dispersed, but unexpected allies have been at work behind the scenes, and persuade Oscar to play on Duds's predilection for baseball by challenging him to a winner-take-all game. With Oscar's new heartthrob Maud making a surprise appearance on the mound, the good guys come out on top, of course. Told in rollicking, streetwise language, the episode rolls fluidly along, and aside from one wounded rabbit the violence never escalates beyond threats-but there's more baseball talk than baseball action. Avi can do better than this predictable plot, and despite his habit of calling park residents "voters," and Floca's natty Wind in the Willows-type animal figures, any satiric or metaphorical subtext is buried beyond recovery. (Fiction. 10-12)
前言/序言
帝國之影:一座城市的黎明與黃昏 作者:維多利亞·哈德森 類型:曆史小說/政治驚悚 頁數:約680頁 --- 內容簡介: 《帝國之影:一座城市的黎明與黃昏》並非關於公園中那個充滿活力的市長,而是一部宏大、錯綜復雜、深入剖析瞭“光輝之城”——維多利亞時代末期(1888-1905年)的“新阿卡迪亞”——從其鼎盛的工業輝煌走嚮隱秘腐敗的史詩級長篇。本書聚焦於三位命運交織的人物,他們共同見證並塑造瞭這座城市從野蠻生長到製度化衰敗的痛苦過程。 第一部分:奠基者的夢想與鋼鐵的銹蝕(1888-1895) 故事始於1888年,新阿卡迪亞正處於其工業革命的巔峰。巨大的煤煙和鋼鐵的氣味籠罩著天際綫,電燈開始取代煤油燈,象徵著一個由技術和資本驅動的新時代的到來。 喬納斯·薩剋斯頓,一個白手起傢的鐵路大亨,是這座城市的真正幕後推手。他通過精準的土地投機和對市政承包的壟斷,積纍瞭難以想象的財富。薩剋斯頓深信,秩序與效率是文明的最高美德,他以近乎宗教般的狂熱推動著城市的基礎設施建設——宏偉的中央火車站、穿梭於貧民窟之上的高架橋,以及為富人區供電的“永恒之光”發電廠。然而,他的雄心壯誌建立在對工人階級的殘酷剝削之上。書中詳盡描繪瞭薩剋斯頓在董事會會議上的冷酷決策,以及他如何利用私傢偵探和政治賄賂來清除所有擋在他麵前的“效率低下的絆腳石”。 與薩剋斯頓的鐵腕形成鮮明對比的是伊芙琳·卡斯蒂爾。伊芙琳是城中唯一一位受過正規法律教育的女性,她在上流社會的沙龍中格格不入,卻在城市的底層掙紮求生。她被迫在一傢名為“公正之聲”的邊緣法律援助機構工作,專門處理工廠事故和工人歧視案件。伊芙琳的日記和信件構成瞭本書中關於社會不公最有力的證據。她發現,那些薩剋斯頓集團的建築事故報告往往被“意外”地銷毀,而受傷的工人得到的賠償微乎其微,或者乾脆被貼上“醉酒鬧事者”的標簽。伊芙琳的導師,一位正直的老法官,在試圖揭露一起涉及市政汙水處理閤同的腐敗案時神秘“退休”,這促使伊芙琳決定不再滿足於僅僅提供援助,她要深入泥潭,找到真正的幕後黑手。 同時,我們認識瞭西奧多·“泰德”·芬奇。泰德是一名從農村來到城市尋找機會的年輕人,他沒有顯赫的背景,隻有一雙靈巧的手和對機械的癡迷。他最初在薩剋斯頓最主要的鋼鐵廠當學徒,親眼目睹瞭工人們在危險條件下工作的日常。泰德不僅目睹瞭壓迫,他還看到瞭技術被濫用的潛力。他秘密地利用工廠的廢棄零件,製造齣瞭一係列微小的、用於記錄和監測工作環境的裝置。他的故事綫圍繞著他試圖在不被發現的情況下,為工人收集關鍵證據展開,這讓他遊走於工廠安保的巡邏與工會秘密集會之間。 第二部分:權力的高牆與地下之流(1896-1901) 隨著新阿卡迪亞的人口爆炸式增長,城市管理者們的權力結構開始顯現裂痕。腐敗不再是秘密的耳語,而是公開的交易。 薩剋斯頓深知,要實現他將城市打造成“世界模範”的夢想,他必須控製政治機器。他資助瞭一位傀儡市長,通過精心策劃的宣傳活動,將自己塑造成城市進步的無私推動者。書中細緻地描繪瞭薩剋斯頓如何利用報紙頭條控製輿論,如何將對他不利的記者邊緣化,以及如何用金錢“平息”地方議員的不滿。他的“慈善基金”——一個錶麵上為貧睏兒童提供教育的機構——實際上是他用來清洗黑錢和進行政治人脈投資的工具。 伊芙琳的調查將她引嚮瞭城市高層,她發現薩剋斯頓的帝國並非隻靠鋼鐵,它還深深植根於城市的供水係統和警務部門。她與泰德取得瞭聯係,泰德提供的那些微型機械記錄儀成瞭她手中最有力的“不在場證明”。他們發現瞭一份隱藏在土地契約中的文件,該文件顯示,薩剋斯頓通過閤法途徑收購瞭數個貧民窟的土地,目的是在未來建設他理想中的“中産階級居住區”,而在此之前,他故意切斷瞭這些社區的基礎設施維護,加速瞭它們的衰敗,以便於低價強行徵收。 這一階段的衝突集中在一次著名的“碼頭罷工”事件。當成韆上萬的碼頭工人因惡劣條件要求更好的待遇時,薩剋斯頓遊說政府,將罷工定性為“反社會動亂”。他秘密部署的私人武裝力量與試圖維持秩序的警察之間爆發瞭混亂,場麵血腥。泰德冒險潛入記錄室,試圖獲取關於薩剋斯頓下令使用實彈的證據,卻險些被捕,最終在伊芙琳的幫助下纔得以逃脫。 第三部分:黃昏的審判與曆史的重量(1902-1905) 進入二十世紀,新阿卡迪亞的“光輝”開始褪色。外部的競爭者正在崛起,薩剋斯頓的帝國開始顯示齣其內部的脆性。 薩剋斯頓的健康狀況惡化,他開始變得偏執,對任何形式的挑戰都采取極端的反製措施。他試圖通過一項具有爭議性的“城市美化法案”來鞏固他的遺産,該法案實質上是授權拆除他看不順眼的舊建築,為他的新宏偉項目讓路,但這引發瞭廣泛的市民抗議。 伊芙琳和泰德將他們的證據匯集成一份詳盡的報告,她決定不再通過傳統渠道,而是選擇瞭一種更加激進的方式:她聯係瞭一位在東海岸享有盛譽、以揭露大公司醜聞而聞名的調查記者。他們精心策劃瞭一次“信息泄漏”,將泰德獲取的內部文件和伊芙琳收集的法律證據,以連續報道的形式在全國範圍內發錶。 報道的衝擊是毀滅性的。城市陷入騷亂,針對薩剋斯頓的公開審判呼聲高漲。然而,故事的高潮並非簡單的正義伸張。當檢察官準備起訴薩剋斯頓時,他發現自己麵臨的對手比他想象的更深不可測。薩剋斯頓通過多年的布局,已經將自己的權力網絡滲透到瞭司法係統的最高層。 本書的結局充滿瞭曆史的復雜性與悲劇性。薩剋斯頓最終沒有因為腐敗或剝削而入獄。相反,他利用瞭城市對“穩定”的渴望。在一場精心策劃的公眾露麵中,他以一種英雄式的姿態,宣布將自己的部分資産捐獻給城市,以“彌補年輕時的過度自信帶來的過失”。他成功地將自己塑造成一個“犯錯但最終悔改的巨人”,從而避免瞭真正的法律製裁。 然而,對於伊芙琳和泰德來說,他們的勝利是微弱的,卻也是決定性的。他們雖然沒能徹底推翻薩剋斯頓的權力結構,但他們成功地在公眾心中播下瞭懷疑的種子,並永久地改變瞭這座城市的政治對話方式。書中最後幾章,聚焦於薩剋斯頓去世後,新一代的城市規劃者們如何試圖清理他留下的爛攤子,以及伊芙琳選擇離開新阿卡迪亞,前往更小的城鎮,繼續她的法律鬥爭,而泰德則利用他學到的技術知識,成為瞭一名緻力於提高工人安全的工程師。 主題與深度: 《帝國之影》探討瞭資本積纍的倫理邊界、工業化對社會結構的侵蝕、新聞自由在麵對強大經濟勢力時的脆弱性,以及個人良知在係統性腐敗麵前的選擇。它是一麵映照維多利亞時代“進步”麵具下,那些被犧牲的生命和被扭麯的法律的鏡子。本書以其豐富的曆史細節、復雜的角色心理刻畫和快節奏的政治陰謀,為讀者呈現瞭一個充滿灰塵、蒸汽和未竟夢想的“光輝之城”。