内容简介
Oliver nace y crece en un orfanato parroquial. Con nueve a?os es enviado a trabajar en una funeraria. Huye y cae en un grupo de ladronzuelos callejeros dirigidos por Fagin, un judío usurero, y unidos a un delincuente violento de nombre Sikes.
作者简介
Charles Dickens was born in 1812 near Portsmouth where his father was a clerk in the navy pay office. The family moved to London in 1823, but their fortunes were severely impaired. Dickens was sent to work in a blacking-warehouse when his father was imprisoned for debt. Both experiences deeply affected the future novelist. In 1833 he began contributing stories to newspapers and magazines, and in 1836 started the serial publication of Pickwick Papers. Thereafter, Dickens published his major novels over the course of the next twenty years, from Nicholas Nickleby to Little Dorrit. He also edited the journals Household Words and All the Year Round. Dickens died in June 1870.
查尔斯·狄更斯(Charles Dickens,1812~1870),1812年生于英国的朴次茅斯。父亲过着没有节制的生活,负债累累。年幼的狄更斯被迫被送进一家皮鞋油店当学徒,饱尝了艰辛。狄更斯16岁时,父亲因债务被关进监狱。从此,他们的生活更为悲惨。工业革命一方面带来了19世纪前期英国大都市的繁荣,另一方面又带来了庶民社会的极端贫困和对童工的残酷剥削。尖锐的社会矛盾和不公正的社会制度使狄更斯决心改变自己的生活。15岁时,狄更斯在一家律师事务所当抄写员并学习速记,此后,又在报社任新闻记者。在《记事晨报》任记者时,狄更斯开始发表一些具有讽刺和幽默内容的短剧,主要反映伦敦的生活,逐渐有了名气。他了解城市底层人民的生活和风土人情,这些都体现在他热情洋溢的笔端。此后,他在不同的杂志社任编辑、主编和发行人,其间发表了几十部长篇和短篇小说,主要作品有《雾都孤儿》、《圣诞颂歌》、《大卫·科波菲尔》和《远大前程》等。
狄更斯的作品大多取材于与自己的亲身经历或所见所闻相关联的事件。他在书中揭露了济贫院骇人听闻的生活制度,揭开了英国社会底层的可怕秘密,淋漓尽致地描写了社会的黑暗和罪恶。本书起笔便描写了主人公奥利弗生下来便成为孤儿,以及在济贫院度过的悲惨生活。后来,他被迫到殡仪馆做学徒,又因不堪忍受虐待而离家出走。孤身一人来到伦敦后,又落入了窃贼的手中。狄更斯在其作品中大量描写了黑暗的社会现实,对平民阶层寄予了深切的向情,并无情地批判了当时的社会制度。他在小说描写的现实性和人物的个性化方面成绩是突出的。他成为继莎士比亚之后,塑造作品人物数量最多的一个作家。
精彩书评
Publishers Weekly
The inimitable Martin Jarvis brings his talents to bear on Charles Dickens's classic in an audiobook that will delight listeners with its superb recreations of gritty 19th-century London. To escape Mr. Bumble and life in the workhouse, Oliver flees to London where he meets the Artful Dodger and becomes embroiled with Fagin's ragtag band of thieves. Jarvis simply dazzles: his performance captures both the humor and sorrow of the text, his narration is crisp, and his characterizations--his rendition of the terrifying district magistrate, Mr. Fang, is particularly memorable--are as varied as they are energetic, befitting, and enjoyable. (June)
目录
Contents
Introduction
Chronology of Dickens's Life and Work
Historical Context of Oliver Twist
OLIVER TWIST
Notes
Interpretive Notes
Critical Excerpts
Questions for Discussion
Suggestions for the Interested Reader
精彩书摘
Oliver Twist
CHAPTER 1
Treats of the Place where Oliver Twist was Born, and of the Circumstances attending his Birth
Among other public buildings in a certain town which for many reasons it will be prudent to refrain from mentioning, and to which I will assign no fictitious name, it boasts of one which is common to most towns, great or small, to wit, a workhouse; and in this workhouse was born, on a day and date which I need not take upon myself to repeat, inasmuch as it can be of no possible consequence to the reader, in this stage of the business at all events, the item of mortality whose name is prefixed to the head of this chapter. For a long time after he was ushered into this world of sorrow and trouble, by the parish surgeon, it remained a matter of considerable doubt whether the child would survive to bear any name at all; in which case it is somewhat more than probable that these memoirs would never have appeared, or, if they had, being comprised within a couple of pages, that they would have possessed the inestimable merit of being the most concise and faithful specimen of biography extant in the literature of any age or country. Although I am not disposed to maintain that the being born ina workhouse is in itself the most fortunate and enviable circumstance that can possibly befall a human being, I do mean to say that in this particular instance it was the best thing for Oliver Twist that could by possibility have occurred. The fact is, that there was considerable difficulty in inducing Oliver to take upon himself the office of respiration,—a troublesome practice, but one which custom has rendered necessary to our easy existence,—and for some time he lay gasping on a little flock mattress, rather unequally poised between this world and the next, the balance being decidedly in favour of the latter. Now, if during this brief period, Oliver had been surrounded by careful grandmothers, anxious aunts, experienced nurses, and doctors of profound wisdom, he would most inevitably and indubitably have been killed in no time. There being nobody by, however, but a pauper old woman, who was rendered rather misty by an unwonted allowance of beer, and a parish surgeon who did such matters by contract, Oliver and Nature fought out the point between them. The result was, that, after a few struggles, Oliver breathed, sneezed, and proceeded to advertise to the inmates of the workhouse the fact of a new burden having been imposed upon the parish, by setting up as loud a cry as could reasonably have been expected from a male infant who had not been possessed of that very useful appendage, a voice, for a much longer space of time than three minutes and a quarter.
As Oliver gave his first proof of the free and proper action of his lungs, the patchwork coverlet which was carelessly flung over the iron bedstead, rustled; the pale face of a young female was raised feebly from the pillow; and a faint voice imperfectly articulated the words, 'Let me see the child, and die.'
The surgeon had been sitting with his face turned towards the fire, giving the palms of his hands a warm and a rub alternately; but as the young woman spoke, he rose, and advancing to the bed's head, said, with more kindness than might have been expected of him—
'Oh, you must not talk about dying yet.'
'Lor bless her dear heart, no!' interposed the nurse, hastily depositing in her pocket a green glass bottle, the contents of which she had been tasting in a corner with evident satisfaction. 'Lor bless her dear heart, when she has lived as long as I have, sir, and had thirteen children of her own, and all on 'em dead except two, and them in the wurkus with me, she'll know better than to take on in that way, bless her dear heart! Think what it is to be a mother, there's a dear young lamb, do.'
Apparently this consolatory perspective of a mother's prospects failed in producing its due effect. The patient shook her head, and stretched out her hand towards the child.
The surgeon deposited it in her arms. She imprinted her cold white lips passionately on its forehead, passed her hands over her face, gazed wildly round, shuddered, fell back—and died. They chafed her breast, hands, and temples; but the blood had frozen for ever. They talked of hope and comfort. They had been strangers too long.
'It's all over, Mrs Thingummy,' said the surgeon at last.
'Ah, poor dear, so it is!' said the nurse, picking up the cork of the green bottle which had fallen out on the pillow as she stooped to take up the child. 'Poor dear!'
'You needn't mind sending up to me, if the child cries, nurse,' said the surgeon, putting on his gloves with great deliberation. 'It's very likely it will be troublesome. Give it a little gruel if it is.' He put on his hat, and, pausing by the bed-side on his way to the door, added, 'She was a good-looking girl, too; where did she come from?'
'She was brought here last night,' replied the old woman, 'by the overseer's order. She was found lying in the street;—she had walked some distance, for her shoes were worn to pieces; but where she came from, or where she was going to, nobody knows.'
The surgeon leant over the body, and raised the left hand. 'The old story,' he said, shaking his head: 'no wedding-ring, I see. Ah! Good night!'
The medical gentleman walked away to dinner; and thenurse, having once more applied herself to the green bottle, sat down on a low chair before the fire, and proceeded to dress the infant.
What an excellent example of power of dress young Oliver Twist was! Wrapped in the blanket which had hitherto formed his only covering, he might have been the child of a nobleman or a beggar;—it would have been hard for the haughtiest stranger to have fixed his station in society. But now that he was enveloped in the old calico robes, which had grown yellow in the same service, he was badged and ticketed, and fell into his place at once—a parish child—the orphan of a workhouse—the humble half-starved drudge—to be cuffed and buffeted through the world,—despised by all, and pitied by none.
Oliver cried lustily. If he could have known that he was an orphan, left to the tender mercies of churchwardens and overseers, perhaps he would have cried the louder.
All new material is copyright ? 1998 by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.
前言/序言
《沉默的羔羊》:深入人性幽暗的迷宫 作者:托马斯·哈里斯 出版社:西蒙与舒斯特 (Simon & Schuster) 装帧:精装/平装 类型:心理惊悚/犯罪小说 --- 当智慧被用于最深层的恶意,真相便成为一场致命的游戏。 《沉默的羔羊》(The Silence of the Lambs)不仅仅是一部惊悚小说,它是一次对人类心智深渊的无畏探索,对善与恶界限的模糊描绘。托马斯·哈里斯以其冷峻、精准的笔触,构建了一个令人窒息的叙事迷宫,将读者抛入一场与时间赛跑的狩猎之中,而猎物,不仅是逍遥法外的连环杀手,更是主角内心深处无法言喻的恐惧与创伤。 故事的开端:联邦调查局的绝望与一线希望 故事的核心围绕着克拉丽丝·史达琳(Clarice Starling)展开。她并非天生的英雄,而是一名雄心勃勃、但经验尚浅的联邦调查局(FBI)实习生。在巴尔的摩的学院里,她接受了一项近乎不可能完成的任务:协助追捕一个代号“野牛比尔”(Buffalo Bill)的残忍杀手。此人专门绑架年轻女性,残忍地剥下她们的皮肤,其作案手法令人发指。 传统的侧写(Profiling)技术已经失效,时间紧迫,受害者人数不断增加。为了获得线索,史达琳的导师,杰克·克劳福德,将她引向了一个极度危险但思维敏锐的资源——汉尼拔·莱克特博士(Dr. Hannibal Lecter)。 莱克特博士:魅力的恐怖与智性的陷阱 汉尼拔·莱克特,前顶尖的精神病学家,现为一名被囚禁在高级精神病监狱中的食人魔。他拥有无与伦比的洞察力、高雅的品味和一种令人毛骨悚然的魅力。莱克特对普通囚犯不屑一顾,但他对史达琳——一个带着显而易见的乡村口音和内心深处创伤的年轻女性——产生了兴趣。 莱克特拒绝直接提供信息。他提出了一个交易:他将以谜语和心理暗示的方式引导史达琳,交换条件是她必须向他坦白自己“沉默的羔羊”的童年经历——那些挥之不去的噩梦和驱动她追求正义的原始动力。 这种交易是小说中最具张力的部分。每一次会面,都像是一场高风险的心理博弈。史达琳必须在“危险的诱惑”与“专业的需求”之间找到平衡。莱克特精准地剖析她的恐惧、她的阶级焦虑以及她对成功的渴望,他的话语如同手术刀般精准而冷酷,剥开她的防御。读者在见证史达琳成长的同时,也被莱克特那令人着迷的邪恶所震撼。 猎杀“野牛比尔”:紧迫的倒计时 与此同时,“野牛比尔”的最新受害者已经出现,情况比预想的更糟。史达琳必须迅速将莱克特的洞察力转化为实际行动。她不仅要面对外在的罪犯,还要应对联邦机构内部的性别歧视、政治压力以及自身精神的重负。 小说对侧写工作的描绘极为细致真实。史达琳穿梭于田纳西州和华盛顿特区的档案室、停尸房以及乡村小镇的阴暗角落。她运用莱克特提供的碎片化信息,结合自己的直觉和训练,试图拼凑出凶手的画像——一个渴望“蜕变”的扭曲灵魂。 主题的深度:创伤、性别与身份的构建 《沉默的羔羊》的伟大之处在于它对核心主题的深刻挖掘: 1. 创伤的驱动力: 史达琳的坚韧源于她童年对无助和死亡的体验。她追捕杀手,本质上是试图平息内心深处那些被屠宰的羔羊的哀嚎。小说细腻地描绘了女性在充满男性主导权力的环境(如FBI)中,如何利用自身的敏锐和脆弱来争取生存和尊重。 2. 智力与兽性的共存: 莱克特博士代表了知识分子堕落到极致的可能。他优雅地讨论艺术、古典音乐和哲学,同时却策划着最原始的暴力行为。他既是史达琳的导师,也是她未来可能堕落的黑暗镜像。这种亦师亦友、亦正亦邪的关系,使得角色的复杂性达到了顶点。 3. 身份的伪装与蜕变: “野牛比尔”痴迷于制作“女人皮”的服装,这象征着对身份的极端渴望与病态的占有欲。这种“蜕变”的渴望与史达琳在FBI中努力“证明自己”以获得身份的挣扎形成了鲜明对比。 结局的震撼与回响 当史达琳最终深入“野牛比尔”的巢穴时,故事达到了白热化的顶点。在漆黑的地下室里,她发现自己完全孤立无援,与一个准备好杀戮的凶手进行着原始的搏斗。这一幕是对“独行侠”英雄叙事的经典致敬,但史达琳的胜利,是基于智力、勇气,以及她对自身痛苦的接纳。 最终,当任务完成后,史达琳试图回归正常生活。然而,莱克特博士的最后一次越狱与来电,像一把悬在空中的达摩克利斯之剑,永远地改变了她的未来。他不再是遥远的囚犯,而是潜伏在世界上的一个自由的、无法预测的威胁。 《沉默的羔羊》是一部节奏完美、心理刻画入木三分的杰作。它迫使读者直视黑暗,并思考:究竟是什么,让我们成为了我们现在的样子?在正义的追寻中,我们又愿意付出何种代价来让那些羔羊的哀鸣永远停止?它留给读者的,是关于人性边缘地带永恒的沉思。