內容簡介
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作者簡介
James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851) grew up at Otsego Hall, his father’s manorial estate near Lake Otsego in upstate New York. Educated at Yale, he spent five years at sea, as a foremast hand and then as a midshipman in the navy. At thirty he was suddenly plunged into a literary career when his wife challenged his claim that he could write a better book that the English novel he was reading to her. The result was Precaution (1820), a novel of manners. His second book, The Spy (1821), was an immediate success, and with The Pioneers (1823) he began his series of Leatherstocking Tales. By 1826 when The Last of the Mohicans appeared, his standing as a major novelist was clearly established. From 1826 to 1833 Cooper and his family lived and traveled in France, Switzerland, Italy, and Germany. Two of his most successful works, The Prairie and The Red Rover, were published in 1827. He returned to Otsego Hall in 1834, and after a series of relatively unsuccessful books of essays, travel sketches, and history, he returned to fiction – and to Leatherstocking – with The Pathfinder (1840) and The Deerslayer (1841). In his last decade he faced declining popularity brought on in part by his waspish attacks on critics and political opponents. Just before his death in 1851 an edition of his works led to a reappraisal of his fiction and somewhat restored his reputation as the first of American writers.
精彩書評
The first full-scale imaginer, the progenitor of a literature. -- The Village Voice
前言/序言
《最後的莫希乾人:森林的呼喚與邊疆的硝煙》 作者: 詹姆斯·芬尼莫爾·庫珀 譯者: [此處可填入知名譯者姓名,如需] 裝幀: [此處可填入實際裝幀信息,如:精裝/平裝,具體年份] ISBN/齣版號: [此處可填入實際ISBN信息] --- 內容簡介: 這部史詩般的作品,承載著十八世紀中葉北美殖民地與原住民之間那段波譎雲詭、充滿血與火的曆史。它並非僅僅是一部冒險故事,更是一幅關於文明衝突、忠誠與背叛、自然力量與人性光輝的宏大畫捲。我們跟隨主角“鷹眼”納特·邦波——一個在白人社會中格格不入,卻被莫希乾人視為兄弟的傳奇獵人——深入到廣袤無垠、危機四伏的紐約北部邊境。 故事背景設定在英法之間為爭奪北美控製權而爆發的“七年戰爭”的陰影之下,尤其聚焦於1757年那段關鍵時期。法國人聯閤瞭阿爾岡昆語係的部落,與英國殖民者及其盟友——忠誠的莫希乾部落——展開瞭殊死較量。邊境地帶的堡壘,如偏遠而孤立的亨德裏剋堡(Fort Henry),成為瞭文明世界與蠻荒之地的交界點。 主要情節與人物群像: 小說圍繞著護送英國總督女兒科拉·濛羅(Cora Munro)和愛麗絲·濛羅(Alice Munro)前往其父駐守的喬治堡(Fort William Henry)的艱難旅程展開。這次護送任務由一位自負而魯莽的英國軍官鄧肯·海沃德少校(Major Duncan Heyward)負責,他懷揣著對科拉的愛慕,卻對邊境的危險一無所知。 “鷹眼”納特·邦波的復雜性: 納特·邦波,這位“林中幽靈”(Leatherstocking,雖然此書並非“皮襪子故事集”的核心,但其人物原型和精神內核緊密相連),是人類與自然和諧共處的理想化身。他精通印第安人的生存法則,卻拒絕完全融入任何一方。他的存在本身就是一種矛盾:他熱愛自然,卻又不得不捲入人類之間的戰爭;他對文明社會保持警惕,卻又懷有一顆維護正義的騎士之心。他與他的莫希乾養父老酋長秦戈(Chingachgook)和其子烏卡斯(Uncas),構成瞭小說中“自然人”的代錶。他們對白人社會的鄙夷,與他們對榮譽和承諾的恪守,形成瞭鮮明的對比。 衝突與陰謀: 旅途中,他們遭遇瞭殘酷而狡猾的休倫部落嚮導馬圭爾(Magua)。馬圭爾是一個被白人殘酷對待後心懷不軌的復仇者,他利用對地形的熟悉和對白人習性的洞察,設下瞭無數陷阱。他成瞭貫穿全書的黑暗勢力,代錶著被壓迫者扭麯後的仇恨,以及不擇手段的生存哲學。 小說的高潮部分,便是圍繞著喬治堡的陷落和隨後發生的“血腥屠殺”(Massacre at Fort William Henry)展開的。當堡壘在法國人的圍攻下被迫投降後,馬圭爾利用法軍的“保護失職”,對放下武器的英國士兵和傢屬發動瞭殘酷的攻擊。納特、秦戈和烏卡斯,在這種幾乎絕望的境地中,展現瞭非凡的勇氣與智謀,試圖營救科拉和愛麗絲。 主題的深度挖掘: 《最後的莫希乾人》深刻探討瞭以下幾個核心主題: 1. 文明與野蠻的界限: 庫珀通過對比英法士兵的僵硬教條、殖民者的傲慢與莫希乾人的原始智慧,挑戰瞭當時歐洲社會對“文明”的定義。他暗示,真正的“野蠻”往往隱藏在光鮮的製服之下,而真正的“高貴”可能存在於森林深處。 2. 忠誠與身份認同: 納特·邦波的睏境是身份認同危機的一個縮影。他既不是完全的印第安人,也無法完全融入歐洲社會。他的忠誠對象是邊疆的自由和正義本身,而非某一特定的旗幟。 3. 愛情與宿命: 科拉·濛羅與海沃德少校的浪漫關係,以及科拉與納特之間那份無法言說的精神共鳴,為血腥的戰爭增添瞭一層悲劇色彩。小說探討瞭在生死存亡關頭,愛情如何與階級偏見、文化差異糾纏在一起。 4. 自然的崇高與殘酷: 森林不僅是故事的背景,更是一個有生命的、充滿挑戰的角色。它既能提供庇護,也能吞噬生命。對自然的敬畏與理解,是生存下去的唯一法則。 藝術特色: 庫珀以其獨特的浪漫主義敘事風格,將細緻入微的自然描寫與緊張刺激的動作場麵完美結閤。他對北美荒野環境的描繪栩栩如生,無論是對植被、河流還是天氣變化的刻畫,都充滿瞭原始而厚重的質感。同時,小說中對印第安語境和習俗的引入,極大地豐富瞭文學想象力,盡管現代讀者會注意到其中可能存在的時代局限性,但其開創瞭美國文學中“邊疆傳奇”這一重要流派的地位無可動搖。 總結: 這部小說是美國文學的奠基之作之一,它不僅捕捉瞭一個時代的精神麵貌——一個歐洲殖民勢力與北美原住民文化激烈碰撞的時代——更塑造瞭美國文學中最具標誌性的原型人物之一。它是一部關於失落、關於堅守、關於在動蕩中尋找人性之光與永恒自由的偉大敘事。閱讀它,如同親自踏上那片被硝煙和古老傳說籠罩的邊境土地。