內容簡介
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 ...
作者簡介
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
經典奇幻文學的永恒魅力:探索中土世界的宏偉史詩 本精選閤集緻力於呈現一係列文學史上具有裏程碑意義的作品,它們共同構建瞭一個復雜、深刻且充滿想象力的奇幻世界。這些作品不僅是引人入勝的冒險故事,更是對神話、語言學、道德選擇以及人類(或類人生物)命運的深刻哲學探討。 第一部分:史詩的序麯與古老的智慧 我們首先聚焦於奠定整個文學基石的奠基之作。這些作品以其細膩的筆觸和宏大的結構,為讀者展開瞭一幅關於創世、失落與希望的畫捲。 一、《失落的傳說集》(The Book of Lost Tales)—— 探尋源頭與初稿的魅力 本捲收錄瞭創作者早期的神話構想和故事原型,是理解整個中土世界(Middle-earth)演變過程的鑰匙。在這裏,讀者將初次接觸到如提努維爾(Túrin Turambar)悲劇的早期版本,以及維拉(Valar)和邁雅(Maiar)神祇的初步形象。這些故事充滿瞭古代傳說特有的粗獷和原始的力量,展現瞭創作者在構建復雜神話體係之初的激情與靈感湧現。通過這些初稿,我們可以清晰地看到,那些後來成為經典敘事骨架的元素是如何逐漸成形的,它們是構成後續宏大史詩的泥土與礦石。 二、《精靈寶鑽》(The Silmarillion)—— 創世之歌與悲劇的挽歌 這部作品是整個文學宇宙的“聖經”與“史詩”。它以前所未有的深度,追溯瞭世界從虛無中誕生,直至第三紀元戰爭爆發前的漫長曆史。內容涵蓋瞭: 《艾努林德爾》(Ainulindálë): 世界的音樂,萬物由神聖意誌吟唱而生,奠定瞭宇宙的和諧與衝突的根源。 《埃塔列斯昆達》(Valaquenta): 對創造者(維拉)及其僕從(邁雅)的介紹,詳述瞭他們的力量、領域以及在世界事務中的角色。 《昆登辛格瑪》(Quenta Silmarillion): 核心部分,講述瞭光之寶鑽——精靈寶鑽的創造、被黑暗魔君摩苟斯(Morgoth)竊取,以及精靈族為奪迴寶鑽所付齣的不朽犧牲與榮耀。故事中包含瞭貝倫與露西安(Beren and Lúthien)跨越生死的愛情,以及圖奧與伊甸希爾(Túor and Idril)的傢族傳承。這些篇章充滿瞭古典史詩的悲壯與宿命感,探討瞭自由意誌與命運抗爭的主題。 三、《中洲曆史》(The History of Middle-earth)—— 文本演變的深度剖析 這套詳盡的文獻集是為深度研究者準備的寶庫。它並非單一敘事,而是按時間順序匯編瞭作者數十年間撰寫的、關於中土世界的各種草稿、修訂、隨筆和注釋。通過對比不同版本的敘事綫索、人物命名和地理設定,讀者可以洞察作者如何不斷打磨和完善他那龐大而精密的“次級創作”(Secondary Creation)。它揭示瞭創作過程中的掙紮、抉擇與最終定稿的必然性。 第二部分:英雄的旅程與文明的衰落 在本部分,我們將跟隨主角們深入描繪的時代,見證英雄的崛起、友誼的考驗以及與黑暗勢力的最終對決。 四、《霍比特人》(The Hobbit, or There and Back Again)—— 冒險的開端與樸素的勇氣 故事以輕鬆愉快的筆調開始,講述瞭足不齣戶的霍比特人比爾博·巴金斯(Bilbo Baggins)被捲入一場意想不到的冒險。他與矮人、巫師甘道夫(Gandalf)同行,前往孤山奪迴被惡龍史矛革(Smaug)占據的寶藏。 這部作品的魅力在於其對“小人物”的贊美。比爾博的成長,是從一個安逸、有些固執的鄉紳,逐漸展現齣非凡的智慧、仁慈與臨危不亂的勇氣。書中對龍的刻畫、對精靈聚會的描繪,以及對“一筆錢”的心理描寫,都極具獨創性。同時,故事也為後續更宏大的衝突埋下瞭伏筆,例如比爾博意外獲得的魔力戒指。 五、《指環之王》(The Lord of the Rings)—— 戰爭、犧牲與希望的傳承 作為中土文學的巔峰之作,本史詩分為三部麯,講述瞭弗羅多·巴金斯(Frodo Baggins)及其同伴為摧毀至尊魔戒、以終結黑暗魔君索倫(Sauron)統治世界的偉大徵程。 環境的刻畫: 文本細緻入微地描繪瞭從寜靜的夏爾(The Shire)到危機四伏的摩瑞亞礦坑(Moria)、從古老的森林洛絲蘿林(Lothlórien)到被戰火蹂躪的帕蘭諾平原(Pelennor Fields)的每一處地貌。地理環境與角色心境緊密相連。 主題的深度: 核心主題圍繞著權力腐蝕性、友誼的力量、責任與犧牲。弗羅多的旅程是關於忍耐和精神負荷的史詩,展現瞭最卑微的生物也能承擔最重大的曆史使命。阿拉貢(Aragorn)的歸來則象徵著失落王國的復興與閤法君權的迴歸。 語言與文化的融閤: 書中穿插的詩歌、歌謠和不同種族的語言(如昆雅語、辛達林語),極大地豐富瞭敘事的層次感和世界的真實感。 第三部分:世界觀的補充與細節的完善 這些作品為我們理解前述史詩提供瞭必要的背景和補充材料,完善瞭世界的曆史脈絡和文化深度。 六、《霍比特人的曆史》(The History of The Hobbit) 本捲深入剖析瞭《霍比特人》的創作過程,收錄瞭不同時期的手稿、作者對情節的修改意見,以及早期版本中與最終定稿不一緻的地方。它展示瞭作者如何從一個相對簡單的兒童故事,一步步將其納入更宏大、更黑暗的背景設定之中,解釋瞭為何某些角色和元素在後續作品中被重新定義或淡化。 七、《中洲地理考證》(A Guide to the Geography of Middle-earth) 雖然這是一部研究性的輔助讀物,但它通過詳盡的地圖、曆史考據和文獻索引,為讀者提供瞭中土世界精確的地理坐標和時間綫索。它幫助讀者定位書中提到的每一個山脈、河流、王國和廢墟,使讀者能夠“在地圖上找到”這段曆史的發生地,極大地增強瞭沉浸感。 總結 這套精選文集,完整地呈現瞭一位文學巨匠如何通過數十年的心血,構建齣一個擁有自己曆史、語言、種族、神話和道德體係的完整世界。它們是關於勇氣、失落、愛情、背叛,以及在看似不可戰勝的黑暗麵前,依然選擇堅持和希望的故事。閱讀它們,不僅是體驗一場奇幻冒險,更是對人類想象力邊界的一次深刻探索。