內容簡介
A New York Times bestseller—with more than three million copies sold—by the author of One Plus One and The Girl You Left BehindThey had nothing in common until love gave them everything to lose . . .
Louisa Clark is an ordinary girl living an exceedingly ordinary life—steady boyfriend, close family—who has barely been farther afield than their tiny village. She takes a badly needed job working for ex–Master of the Universe Will Traynor, who is wheelchair bound after an accident. Will has always lived a huge life—big deals, extreme sports, worldwide travel—and now he’s pretty sure he cannot live the way he is.
Will is acerbic, moody, bossy—but Lou refuses to treat him with kid gloves, and soon his happiness means more to her than she expected. When she learns that Will has shocking plans of his own, she sets out to show him that life is still worth living.
A Love Story for this generation,
Me Before You brings to life two people who couldn’t have less in common—a heartbreakingly romantic novel that asks,
What do you do when making the person you love happy also means breaking your own heart? 作者簡介
Jojo Moyes is the
New York Times bestselling author of
One Plus One, The Girl You Left Behind,
Honeymoon in Paris,
Me Before You,
The Last Letter from Your Lover, The Ship of Brides, and
Silver Bay. Moyes writes for a variety of newspapers and magazines. She is married to Charles Arthur, technology editor of
The Guardian. They live with their three children on a farm in Essex, England.,,
精彩書評
Praise for ME BEFORE YOU:"A hilarious, heartbreaking, riveting novel . . . I will stake my reputation on this book."
—
Anne Lamott,
People Magazine“When I finished this novel, I didn’t want to review it: I wanted to reread it. . . . an affair to remember.”
—
New York Times Book Review, Liesl Schillinger
“An unlikely love story . . . To be devoured like candy, between tears.”
—O, The Oprah Magazine“Funny and moving but never predictable.”
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USA Today (****)
“Funny, surprising and heartbreaking, populated with characters who are affecting and amusing . . . This is a thought-provoking, thoroughly entertaining novel that captures the complexity of love”
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People Magazine“Masterful . . . a heartbreaker in the best sense . . .
Me Before You is achingly hard to read at moments, and yet such a joy.”
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New York Daily News“READ IT AND WEEP: Heartbreak collides with humor in Jojo Moyes’s
Me Before You.”
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Good Housekeeping“There are books that you cannot put down. There are also books where you become so invested in the characters, you force yourself to stop reading to prolong the experience because you don't want the story to end, and that's what can happen when you read Jojo Moyes' latest book,
Me Before You. . . . You'll find yourself laughing, smiling, feeling angry and, yes, crying. My only suggestion:
Me Before You should be sold with a pack of tissues.”
—
The Associated Press"Jojo Moyes has written the perfect modern love story. You will be astonished at what you feel, and what you hope for when you are forced to face the possibility of your own dreams. It's
that good. Read it now."
—
Adriana Trigiani,
New York Times bestselling author of
The Shoemaker's Wife“ME BEFORE YOU is a delicious surprise—funny and hopeful and heartbreaking, the kind of story that will keep you turning pages into the night. Lou Clark and Will Traynor will capture your heart and linger there long after their story has ended."
—
Eleanor Brown,
New York Times bestselling author of
The Weird Sisters“Some books make you stop and think, compel you to examine your own take on life or your position or stand on an issue. Jojo Moyes’s
Me Before You will surprise you—it is impossible not to put yourself in the characters’ shoes and you will find yourself thinking about the choices you might make if life changed in an instant. I loved it.”
—
Lee Woodruff,
New York Times bestselling author of
Those We Love Most"A lovely novel, both nontraditional and enthralling."
—
Publishers Weekly, starred review
“Moyes’ twisting, turning, heartbreaking novel raises provocative moral questions while developing a truly unique relationship between two people brought together by chance. With shades of David Nicholls’ beloved
One Day,
Me Before You is the kind of book you simply can’t put down—even when you realize you don’t want to see it end. . . . A big-hearted, beautifully written story that teaches us it is never too late to truly start living.”
—
BookPage"Moyes’ latest is made heartwarming, thanks to the vibrancy of its main characters, both of whom will keep readers on their toes with their chemistry and witty repartee. . . .humorous and romantic through and through."
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Romantic Times 前言/序言
《靜水深流》 一部關於選擇、犧牲與生命重量的深刻敘事 故事背景:迷霧籠罩的北方小鎮 故事發生在英格蘭北部一個常年籠罩在濕冷海霧中的小鎮——黑水灣(Blackwater Bay)。這個地方以其古老的石製燈塔和世代捕魚為生的人們而聞名。然而,近年來,隨著過度捕撈和氣候變化,漁業衰退,小鎮彌漫著一種難以言喻的衰敗感和對過去的執念。空氣中總是彌漫著鹽、海藻和柴火燃燒後留下的辛辣氣味。 主要人物群像 伊芙琳·裏德(Evelyn Reed): 三十歲齣頭的女性,鎮上的曆史教師,也是黑水灣燈塔看守人的孫女。她性格內斂,對知識和曆史有著近乎偏執的熱愛。伊芙琳的內心深處隱藏著一個傢族秘密,關於她祖父那場未能解開的“意外”。她渴望理解小鎮的過去,以便能真正麵對自己的未來。她珍視穩定與秩序,但不安分的靈魂總在尋找逃離的齣口。 亞曆山大·卡爾頓(Alexander Carlton): 一位來自倫敦的年輕建築師,被派往黑水灣監督一項旨在“現代化”小鎮的爭議性海堤修復工程。亞曆山大年輕有為,自信而略顯傲慢,他代錶著外界的進步力量,與小鎮的保守精神形成瞭尖銳的對立。他帶著一個不為人知的個人目的來到這裏,這個目的與他童年時在此地發生的一場悲劇有著韆絲萬縷的聯係。 瑪莎·格雷夫斯(Martha Graves): 小鎮上最年長的居民之一,經營著一傢名為“海螺殼”的古董店。她被視為小鎮的“活曆史”,掌握著許多不為人知的民間傳說和傢族恩怨。瑪莎的態度曖昧,既是伊芙琳的導師,也是亞曆山大的隱晦阻礙者。她相信有些秘密不應被揭開,否則會招緻災禍。 托馬斯·麥剋唐納(Thomas McDonald): 伊芙琳的青梅竹馬,一個沉靜寡言的漁夫。他深愛著伊芙琳,代錶著小鎮的根基和不變的承諾。托馬斯對亞曆山大的到來感到警惕,他認為外來者隻會帶來破壞,並且對亞曆山大隱藏的真實意圖心存懷疑。 核心衝突與敘事綫索 綫索一:海堤下的秘密 亞曆山大主導的海堤工程,錶麵上是為瞭抵禦日益頻繁的極端風暴,但伊芙琳和瑪莎很快發現,工程的選址似乎有意避開或指嚮瞭某個特定的區域——她祖父當年失蹤的礁石區。隨著挖掘工作的深入,發現瞭不屬於現代的建築殘骸,這些殘骸似乎指嚮瞭中世紀時期小鎮的建立者,以及一個與“獻祭”傳說相關的古老契約。 綫索二:祖父的日記與時間的失真 伊芙琳在清理燈塔時,發現瞭一本用古老航海密碼寫成的祖父日記。日記內容晦澀難懂,但反復提及“潮汐的重量”和“不應被改變的時刻”。隨著伊芙琳試圖破譯日記,她發現祖父的最後記錄日期似乎存在時間上的跳躍,這讓她開始質疑小鎮曆史記錄的真實性,以及她所認知的“意外”是否真如傢族所言。 綫索三:愛與責任的拉扯 亞曆山大和伊芙琳在共同調查工程障礙和曆史遺跡的過程中,産生瞭復雜的情感糾葛。亞曆山大被伊芙琳對小鎮的深沉熱愛和堅韌所吸引,他開始懷疑自己來此的目的是否真的如公司所言是為瞭“公共利益”。而伊芙琳則必須在對托馬斯的忠誠承諾和對亞曆山大所代錶的、能揭開傢族謎團的誘惑之間做齣艱難抉擇。 敘事主題的探討 選擇的不可逆性: 小鎮的居民們,世代生活在海洋的恩賜與威脅之下,他們的生活是無數次艱難選擇的纍積。小說深入探討瞭當一個人麵臨關乎自己所愛之人的福祉、或是揭示一個痛苦真相的選擇時,哪一個“重量”更重。亞曆山大必須麵對自己童年的創傷記憶,是否值得為瞭復原真相而摧毀現在平靜的生活。 曆史的負擔與救贖: 黑水灣的每一塊石頭似乎都承載著過去的重量。小說探討瞭我們是否有權修改曆史的敘事,特彆是當這種修改涉及到犧牲某些人的記憶或福祉時。伊芙琳必須決定,是讓傢族的秘密永遠沉入海底,保護現有的平靜,還是勇敢地將真相公之於眾,即使這意味著要與整個小鎮的傳統和托馬斯對她的期望背道而馳。 “完美”的代價: 亞曆山大的“現代化”計劃代錶著一種外部強加的“完美”願景。小說批判瞭這種試圖用現代技術和理性規劃來抹除地方特色和曆史肌理的做法。真正的“救贖”並非來自於冰冷的技術,而是來自於對人與土地之間獨特連接的理解和尊重。 敘事風格與氛圍 《靜水深流》采用一種沉鬱、富有詩意的敘事風格,大量運用天氣和地理意象來烘托人物的內心世界。海霧、永不停歇的海浪聲、以及燈塔微弱的光芒,共同營造齣一種既美麗又令人窒息的氛圍。對話多為內斂而富有張力,人物的情感錶達往往通過細微的肢體語言和環境的描寫來傳達。情節推進緩慢而紮實,如同潮汐的往復,最終匯聚於一個高潮——一場突如其來的鼕季風暴,迫使所有人物站在他們選擇的十字路口,做齣最終的裁決。 結語 當海堤工程即將竣工,風暴來臨之際,伊芙琳必須決定:是堅守她所知的過去,與托馬斯一同麵對海洋的怒火;還是跟隨亞曆山大,潛入曆史的深淵,揭開那段可能顛覆她整個世界的真相。這部小說不是關於簡單的愛情故事,而是關於個體如何在曆史的洪流中,為自己的生命定義意義和價值的嚴肅探索。它邀請讀者一同感受北方海岸綫上的凜冽空氣,思考我們每個人心中那份深埋不露的、關於“我本應如何生活”的沉重疑問。