内容简介
For generations, J.R.R. Tolkien's words have brought to thrilling life a world of hobbits, magic, and historic myth, woken from its foggy slumber within our minds. Here, he tells the tales is his own voice. Of historic note, these selections from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are based on a tape recording Tolkien made in 1952, which inspired him to continue his own quest to see his vision in print. Also included is a never-published poem, "The Mirror of Galadriel," originally intended for inclusion in the trilogy, yet edited out. And, finally, Tolkien's son, Christopher, reads selections from his father's The ...
作者简介
Isabel Allende Aristocratic Chile is vividly evoked in Isabel Allende’s lyrical novels, in which a family’s past and future is linked inextricably with that of its country’s. A writer whose dreamy, imagistic books transport the reader to another time and place, Allende is considered by many to be the heir to Gabriel García Márquez’s lavish magic realism. Biography In Isabel Allende's books, human beings do not exist merely in the three-dimensional sense. They can exert themselves as memory, as destiny, as spirits without form, as fairy tales. Just as the more mystical elements of Allende's past have shaped her work, so has the hard-bitten reality. Working as a journalist in Chile, Allende was forced to flee the country with her family after her uncle, President Salvador Allende, was killed in a coup in 1973. Out of letters to family back in Chile came the manuscript that was to become Allende's first novel. Her arrival on the publishing scene in 1985 with The House of the Spirits was instantly recognized as a literary event. The New York Times called it "a unique achievement, both personal witness and possible allegory of the past, present and future of Latin America." To read a book by Allende is to believe in (or be persuaded of) the power of transcendence, spiritual and otherwise. Her characters are often what she calls "marginal," those who strive to live on the fringes of society. It may be someone like Of Love and Shadows 's Hipolito Ranquileo, who makes his living as a circus clown; or Eva Luna, a poor orphan who is the center of two Allende books (Eva Luna and The Stories of Eva Luna). Allende's characters have in common an inner fortitude that proves stronger than their adversity, and a sense of lineage that propels them both forward and backward. When you meet a central character in an Allende novel, be prepared to meet a few generations of his or her family. This multigenerational thread drives The House of the Spirits, the tale of the South American Trueba family. Not only did the novel draw Allende critical accolades (with such breathless raves as "spectacular," "astonishing" and "mesmerizing" from major reviewers), it landed her firmly in the magic realist tradition of predecessor (and acknowledged influence) Gabriel García Márquez. Some of its characters also reappeared in the historical novels Portrait in Sepia and Daughter of Fortune. "It's strange that my work has been classified as magic realism," Allende has said, "because I see my novels as just being realistic literature." Indeed, much of what might be considered "magic" to others is real to Allende, who based the character Clara del Valle in The House of the Spirits on her own reputedly clairvoyant grandmother. And she has drawn as well upon the political violence that visited her life: Of Love and Shadows (1987) centers on a political crime in Chile, and other Allende books allude to the ideological divisions that affected the author so critically. But all of her other work was "rehearsal," says Allende, for what she considers her most difficult and personal book. Paula is written for Allende's daughter, who died in 1992 after several months in a coma. Like Allende's fiction, it tells Paula's story through that of Allende's own and of her relatives. Allende again departed from fiction in Aphrodite, a book that pays homage to the romantic powers of food (complete with recipes for two such as "Reconciliation Soup"). The book's lighthearted subject matter had to have been a necessity for Allende, who could not write for nearly three years after the draining experience of writing Paula. Whichever side of reality she is on, Allende's voice is unfailingly romantic and life-affirming, creating mystery even as she uncloaks it. Like a character in Of Love and Shadows, Allende tells "stories of her own invention whose aim [is] to ease suffering and make time pass more quickly," and she succeeds. Good To Know Allende has said that the character of Gregory Reeves in The Infinite Plan is based on her husband, Willie Gordon. Allende begins all of her books on January 8, which she considers lucky because it was the day she began writing a letter to her dying grandfather that later became The House of the Spirits. She began her career as a journalist, editing the magazine Paula and later contributing to the Venezuelan paper El Nacional. Hometown: San Rafael, California Date of Birth: 八月 2, 1942 Place of Birth: Lima, Peru Website: http://www.isabelallende.com
前言/序言
经典奇幻文学的永恒魅力:探索中土世界的宏伟史诗 本精选合集致力于呈现一系列文学史上具有里程碑意义的作品,它们共同构建了一个复杂、深刻且充满想象力的奇幻世界。这些作品不仅是引人入胜的冒险故事,更是对神话、语言学、道德选择以及人类(或类人生物)命运的深刻哲学探讨。 第一部分:史诗的序曲与古老的智慧 我们首先聚焦于奠定整个文学基石的奠基之作。这些作品以其细腻的笔触和宏大的结构,为读者展开了一幅关于创世、失落与希望的画卷。 一、《失落的传说集》(The Book of Lost Tales)—— 探寻源头与初稿的魅力 本卷收录了创作者早期的神话构想和故事原型,是理解整个中土世界(Middle-earth)演变过程的钥匙。在这里,读者将初次接触到如提努维尔(Túrin Turambar)悲剧的早期版本,以及维拉(Valar)和迈雅(Maiar)神祇的初步形象。这些故事充满了古代传说特有的粗犷和原始的力量,展现了创作者在构建复杂神话体系之初的激情与灵感涌现。通过这些初稿,我们可以清晰地看到,那些后来成为经典叙事骨架的元素是如何逐渐成形的,它们是构成后续宏大史诗的泥土与矿石。 二、《精灵宝钻》(The Silmarillion)—— 创世之歌与悲剧的挽歌 这部作品是整个文学宇宙的“圣经”与“史诗”。它以前所未有的深度,追溯了世界从虚无中诞生,直至第三纪元战争爆发前的漫长历史。内容涵盖了: 《艾努林德尔》(Ainulindálë): 世界的音乐,万物由神圣意志吟唱而生,奠定了宇宙的和谐与冲突的根源。 《埃塔列斯昆达》(Valaquenta): 对创造者(维拉)及其仆从(迈雅)的介绍,详述了他们的力量、领域以及在世界事务中的角色。 《昆登辛格玛》(Quenta Silmarillion): 核心部分,讲述了光之宝钻——精灵宝钻的创造、被黑暗魔君摩苟斯(Morgoth)窃取,以及精灵族为夺回宝钻所付出的不朽牺牲与荣耀。故事中包含了贝伦与露西安(Beren and Lúthien)跨越生死的爱情,以及图奥与伊甸希尔(Túor and Idril)的家族传承。这些篇章充满了古典史诗的悲壮与宿命感,探讨了自由意志与命运抗争的主题。 三、《中洲历史》(The History of Middle-earth)—— 文本演变的深度剖析 这套详尽的文献集是为深度研究者准备的宝库。它并非单一叙事,而是按时间顺序汇编了作者数十年间撰写的、关于中土世界的各种草稿、修订、随笔和注释。通过对比不同版本的叙事线索、人物命名和地理设定,读者可以洞察作者如何不断打磨和完善他那庞大而精密的“次级创作”(Secondary Creation)。它揭示了创作过程中的挣扎、抉择与最终定稿的必然性。 第二部分:英雄的旅程与文明的衰落 在本部分,我们将跟随主角们深入描绘的时代,见证英雄的崛起、友谊的考验以及与黑暗势力的最终对决。 四、《霍比特人》(The Hobbit, or There and Back Again)—— 冒险的开端与朴素的勇气 故事以轻松愉快的笔调开始,讲述了足不出户的霍比特人比尔博·巴金斯(Bilbo Baggins)被卷入一场意想不到的冒险。他与矮人、巫师甘道夫(Gandalf)同行,前往孤山夺回被恶龙史矛革(Smaug)占据的宝藏。 这部作品的魅力在于其对“小人物”的赞美。比尔博的成长,是从一个安逸、有些固执的乡绅,逐渐展现出非凡的智慧、仁慈与临危不乱的勇气。书中对龙的刻画、对精灵聚会的描绘,以及对“一笔钱”的心理描写,都极具独创性。同时,故事也为后续更宏大的冲突埋下了伏笔,例如比尔博意外获得的魔力戒指。 五、《指环之王》(The Lord of the Rings)—— 战争、牺牲与希望的传承 作为中土文学的巅峰之作,本史诗分为三部曲,讲述了弗罗多·巴金斯(Frodo Baggins)及其同伴为摧毁至尊魔戒、以终结黑暗魔君索伦(Sauron)统治世界的伟大征程。 环境的刻画: 文本细致入微地描绘了从宁静的夏尔(The Shire)到危机四伏的摩瑞亚矿坑(Moria)、从古老的森林洛丝萝林(Lothlórien)到被战火蹂躏的帕兰诺平原(Pelennor Fields)的每一处地貌。地理环境与角色心境紧密相连。 主题的深度: 核心主题围绕着权力腐蚀性、友谊的力量、责任与牺牲。弗罗多的旅程是关于忍耐和精神负荷的史诗,展现了最卑微的生物也能承担最重大的历史使命。阿拉贡(Aragorn)的归来则象征着失落王国的复兴与合法君权的回归。 语言与文化的融合: 书中穿插的诗歌、歌谣和不同种族的语言(如昆雅语、辛达林语),极大地丰富了叙事的层次感和世界的真实感。 第三部分:世界观的补充与细节的完善 这些作品为我们理解前述史诗提供了必要的背景和补充材料,完善了世界的历史脉络和文化深度。 六、《霍比特人的历史》(The History of The Hobbit) 本卷深入剖析了《霍比特人》的创作过程,收录了不同时期的手稿、作者对情节的修改意见,以及早期版本中与最终定稿不一致的地方。它展示了作者如何从一个相对简单的儿童故事,一步步将其纳入更宏大、更黑暗的背景设定之中,解释了为何某些角色和元素在后续作品中被重新定义或淡化。 七、《中洲地理考证》(A Guide to the Geography of Middle-earth) 虽然这是一部研究性的辅助读物,但它通过详尽的地图、历史考据和文献索引,为读者提供了中土世界精确的地理坐标和时间线索。它帮助读者定位书中提到的每一个山脉、河流、王国和废墟,使读者能够“在地图上找到”这段历史的发生地,极大地增强了沉浸感。 总结 这套精选文集,完整地呈现了一位文学巨匠如何通过数十年的心血,构建出一个拥有自己历史、语言、种族、神话和道德体系的完整世界。它们是关于勇气、失落、爱情、背叛,以及在看似不可战胜的黑暗面前,依然选择坚持和希望的故事。阅读它们,不仅是体验一场奇幻冒险,更是对人类想象力边界的一次深刻探索。