具體描述
Early on an April morning, eighteen-year-old Billy Frank Gilley, Jr., killed his sleeping parents. Surprised in the act by his younger sister, Becky, he turned on her as well. Billy then climbed the stairs to the bedroom of his other sister, Jody, and said, “We’re free.”
But is one ever free after an unredeemable act of violence? The Gilley family murders ended a lifetime of physical and mental abuse suffered by Billy and Jody at the hands of their parents. And it required each of the two survivors–one a convicted murderer, the other suddenly an orphan–to create a new identity, a new life.
In this mesmerizing book, bestselling writer Kathryn Harrison brilliantly uncovers the true story behind a shocking and unforgettable crime as she explores the impact of escalating violence and emotional abuse visited on the children of a deeply troubled family. With an artistry that recalls Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood , Norman Mailer’s The Executioner’s Song , and her own The Kiss , Harrison reveals the antecedents of the murders–of a crime of such violence that it had the power to sever past from present–and the consequences for Billy and for Jody. Weaving in meditations on her own experience of parental abuse, Harrison searches out answers to the question of how survivors of violent trauma shape a future when their lives have been divided into Before and After.
Based on interviews with Billy and Jody as well as with friends, police, and social workers involved in the case, While They Slept is Kathryn Harrison’s unflinching inquiry into the dark heart of violence in an American family, and a personal quest to understand how young people go on after tragedy–to examine the extent as well as the limits of psychic resilience. The New York Time s called Kathryn Harrison’s The Kiss “a powerful piece of writing, a testament to evil and hope.” The same could be said about While They Slept .
PRAISE FOR WHILE THEY SLEPT
“Harrison does a magnificent job of sorting through the heartbreak of a family tragedy. By adding insights into her own life, she brings us a little closer to understanding the resilience of the human spirit and the irrevocable damage and unforeseen consequences of child and sexual abuse.”
–USA Today
“The result of Harrison's masterful embellishment is a fascinating and comprehensive examination of the before and after of a brutal triple murder, of the cyclical nature of violence and of the tragic ineffectiveness of our social support systems… While They Slept does not provide the easy answers we hope to discover in ‘just the facts,’ but it offers instead the richer and more enduring illumination of ‘the story.’”
–L.A. Times
“Her telling brings moral clarity to the dark fate of a family: the daylight gaze of narrative itself as a form of empathy.”
–New York Times Book Review, cover review
“A powerful account…This excellent book will be devoured by educators who try to come to grips with the lasting effects of the traumas of childhood.”
–Deseret Morning News
“Harrison offers careful research and obvious concern… While They Slept ’s real horror is in how many potential helpers were aware of the abuse and were unable to help. This is a heartbreaking read.”
–Rocky Mountain News
“Kathryn Harrison pulls the reader through the story of the 1984 triple murder in Medford–our own backyard–with such speed and excitement it feels like you’re watching an episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent …Harrison perfectly paces the revelations of new characters, who add critical information and perspective to the Gilley murder.”
–Willamette Weekly
作者簡介
目錄資訊
讀後感
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用戶評價
這本書，書名本身就帶著一種神秘的暗示，"While They Slept"，仿佛是一個被時間遺忘的角落，一個在沉睡中悄然發生的故事。我拿到這本書的時候，封麵設計就吸引瞭我，一種深沉的、略帶憂鬱的色調，配閤著某種模糊的、難以言喻的意象，讓我對接下來的閱讀充滿瞭期待。我一直以來都對那些隱藏在錶象之下的秘密、那些在不為人知的時刻發生的事件特彆感興趣，而這個書名恰好觸及瞭我內心深處的好奇。我想，這本書或許會帶我進入一個充滿懸念的世界，在那裏，某些真相隻會在最意想不到的時刻，或者說，在“他們”沉睡之時，纔得以顯露。我不知道作者會如何鋪陳情節，是驚悚、懸疑，還是更深層次的心理探索，但無論如何，這個標題已經成功地在我腦海中構建瞭一個引人入勝的場景，讓我迫不及待地想去揭開它的麵紗。
评分翻開這本書，我立刻被一種獨特的敘事風格所吸引。作者的文字如同涓涓細流，卻又蘊含著一種強大的力量，能夠細膩地描繪齣人物微妙的情感波動，以及場景的氛圍營造。即使是在最平淡的描寫中，也能感受到一種暗流湧動，仿佛在平靜的水麵之下，隱藏著不為人知的波濤。我喜歡這種不動聲色的敘述方式，它不像那些直白的、強行灌輸的劇情，而是讓讀者自己去體會、去挖掘。書中的角色仿佛活生生地站在我麵前，他們的每一個眼神、每一個動作，都充滿瞭故事。我試圖去理解他們的動機，去揣測他們的內心世界，而這種探索的過程本身，就充滿瞭樂趣。我相信，這本書不僅僅是一個簡單的故事，更是一次深入人心的旅程，它會帶領我思考一些關於人性、關於選擇、關於命運的深刻問題。
评分這本書的魅力在於它的留白。作者並沒有把所有的事情都說得明明白白，而是留下瞭許多空間，讓讀者去想象，去解讀。這種開放式的結局，或者說是充滿想象空間的敘事，反而讓我覺得更加迴味無窮。我讀完之後，腦海中依然縈繞著書中人物的形象，他們的命運，以及那些未曾完全揭示的謎團。這種感覺就像是在一個陰雨綿綿的日子裏，看到遠方朦朧的山巒，你無法看清它的全貌，但正是這種朦朧，卻讓它顯得更加神秘而吸引人。我相信，這本書會是一次令人難忘的閱讀體驗，它不僅僅是一個故事，更是一次關於探索、關於思考、關於感受的奇妙旅程。
评分我一直在思考這本書所傳達的某種意境。它似乎探討著一種普遍存在的、卻又常常被我們忽略的“靜默”的力量。這種靜默，可以是環境的，可以是情感的，也可以是隱藏在社會結構中的。在“他們”沉睡的時候，一些東西得以被看見，一些真相得以被揭示。我感覺作者在用一種非常詩意的方式來講述一個可能相當嚴肅的故事。我被書中彌漫的那種氛圍所打動，它不像某些作品那樣直接的煽情，而是通過一種含蓄、內斂的方式，觸動你內心最柔軟的部分。這本書讓我有機會去審視自己，去思考那些我生活中可能被忽略的“沉睡”的部分，去體會那些在不經意間塑造著我們命運的無形力量。
评分我喜歡這本書的節奏。它不是那種一上來就讓你喘不過氣來的緊湊情節，而是慢慢鋪陳，層層遞進，讓你在不知不覺中就被捲入其中。這種舒緩卻又充滿張力的敘事節奏，反而更能激發我的好奇心。我總是在想，接下來會發生什麼？那些看似不經意的細節，是否都隱藏著重要的綫索？作者就像一位高明的織工，用細密的絲綫編織齣一張巨大的網，而我，則在這張網中，小心翼翼地尋找著每一個蛛絲馬跡。我特彆欣賞作者在細節上的處理，無論是環境的描寫，還是人物的對話，都顯得那麼真實而富有深意。這種真實感，讓我更容易代入到故事之中，與角色一同經曆他們的喜怒哀樂。
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