"The Chimes" is Charles Dickens 1844 novella that concerns the disillusionment of Toby "Trotty" Veck, a poor working-class man. When Trotty has lost his faith in Humanity and believes that his poverty is the result of his unworthiness he is visited on New Year's Eve by spirits to help restore his faith and show him that nobody is born evil, but rather that crime and poverty are things created by man.
Charles John Huffam Dickens (7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime, and by the twentieth century critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories enjoy lasting popularity.
Born in Portsmouth, Dickens left school to work in a factory when his father was incarcerated in a debtors' prison. Despite his lack of formal education, he edited a weekly journal for 20 years, wrote 15 novels, five novellas, hundreds of short stories and non-fiction articles, lectured and performed extensively, was an indefatigable letter writer, and campaigned vigorously for children's rights, education, and other social reforms.
Dickens was regarded as the literary colossus of his age. His 1843 novella, A Christmas Carol, remains popular and continues to inspire adaptations in every artistic genre. Oliver Twist and Great Expectations are also frequently adapted, and, like many of his novels, evoke images of early Victorian London. His 1859 novel, A Tale of Two Cities, set in London and Paris, is his best-known work of historical fiction. Dickens's creative genius has been praised by fellow writers—from Leo Tolstoy to George Orwell and G. K. Chesterton—for its realism, comedy, prose style, unique characterisations, and social criticism. On the other hand, Oscar Wilde, Henry James, and Virginia Woolf complained of a lack of psychological depth, loose writing, and a vein of saccharine sentimentalism. The term Dickensian is used to describe something that is reminiscent of Dickens and his writings, such as poor social conditions or comically repulsive characters.
On 8 June 1870, Dickens suffered another stroke at his home after a full day's work on Edwin Drood. He never regained consciousness, and the next day, five years to the day after the Staplehurst rail crash, he died at Gad's Hill Place. Contrary to his wish to be buried at Rochester Cathedral "in an inexpensive, unostentatious, and strictly private manner," he was laid to rest in the Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey. A printed epitaph circulated at the time of the funeral reads: "To the Memory of Charles Dickens (England's most popular author) who died at his residence, Higham, near Rochester, Kent, 9 June 1870, aged 58 years. He was a sympathiser with the poor, the suffering, and the oppressed; and by his death, one of England's greatest writers is lost to the world." His last words were: "On the ground", in response to his sister-in-law Georgina's request that he lie down.
说实话,这本书的吸引力,很大程度上来源于它那股子浓郁的“地方色彩”。作者笔下的那个城镇,仿佛拥有了自己的生命和呼吸,它的街道、它的居民、它的风俗习惯,都被描摹得栩栩如生,让人产生一种强烈的代入感。这不仅仅是一部关于人物命运的小说,更像是一部关于某个特定地理空间的人文志。你几乎可以闻到河边常年不散的湿气,感受到那种小镇居民之间错综复杂又难以言喻的情感联系。故事的张力并非来自于突发的事件,而是源于人物之间细微的权力动态和情感纠葛,那种“话未说尽,情已到位”的东方含蓄美学,在西方文学语境下被展现得淋漓尽致。我尤其欣赏作者对于社会阶层差异的刻画,那种根深蒂固的偏见和无形的壁垒,即使是最好的意图也难以逾越。它没有提供简单的答案或救赎,而是将现实的残酷以一种近乎诗意的方式呈现出来,让读者自己去品味其中的苦涩与无奈。对于想要了解十九世纪某个特定社会侧面的读者来说,这本书简直是一份无可替代的百科全书。
评分我必须承认,刚开始接触这本书时,我有些被其叙事风格的古典所震慑,那些繁复的句式和大量的比喻,初看之下确实需要集中精力去梳理脉络。然而,一旦适应了这种独特的韵律,你就会发现其中蕴含着一种近乎音乐性的美感。作者对于语言的驾驭达到了出神入化的地步,一些描绘场景的长句,读起来如同史诗般的咏叹调,气势磅礴却又精准无误。它探讨的主题非常宏大,关乎时间流逝、阶级固化以及个体在巨大历史洪流中的渺小与抗争。但有趣的是,作者并未采取说教式的口吻,而是将这些沉重的主题巧妙地融入到几个主要人物的命运纠葛之中。比如,那位总是在特定时刻敲响的钟声,它不仅仅是一个物理上的报时工具,更是一种心理暗示,一种对宿命的无声提醒。我特别喜欢其中对于“等待”这一主题的处理,那种漫长、煎熬又充满希望的等待,让整个故事充满了张力和宿命感。这本书的价值在于它能将个体经验提升到哲学思辨的高度,读完之后,我发现自己看待日常钟表的方式都变得不一样了,多了一层对时间本质的敬畏。
评分这本小说简直是一场感官的盛宴,作者用极其细腻的笔触描绘了那个时代普通人的生活图景,那些细微的情感波动,那些在日常琐碎中闪烁的人性光辉,都被刻画得入木三分。我尤其欣赏作者对于环境的渲染,那种弥漫在空气中的尘土味、远方传来的钟声的低沉回响,乃至人物衣衫上的磨损痕迹,都仿佛能被读者真切地感受到。故事的节奏把握得恰到好处,并非那种快节奏的惊险刺激,而是如同缓缓流淌的河水,在看似平静的表面下暗流涌动着深刻的社会议题。初读时,你可能会觉得情节进展略显缓慢,但一旦沉浸其中,便会发现每一个场景、每一句对话都蕴含着深意,它们如同精密的齿轮,最终咬合在一起,共同推动着人物命运的走向。角色的塑造更是成功之笔,他们身上那种理想与现实的拉扯、道德的困境与人性的挣扎,让人深思。我仿佛能透过文字看到他们的喜悦与哀愁,他们的坚持与妥协,那种真实感,是许多当代小说难以企及的。这本书不是用来“读完”的,而是用来“体验”的,它要求读者付出耐心,但回报以的是对生命更深一层的理解和共鸣。
评分这本小说给我的感受是复杂且多层次的,它像一个巨大的万花筒,当你以为看清了其中一个图案时,转动一下,又会呈现出完全不同的景象。它的结构非常精妙,看似松散的叙事线索,实则有着严密的逻辑支撑,作者似乎对故事的走向有着绝对的掌控力。我常常被那些看似不经意的细节所震撼,这些细节往往在后续的章节中被巧妙地回收利用,形成一种令人拍案叫绝的回响。比如,开头处某人随口说的一句话,到了高潮部分,竟成了揭示真相的关键。这种写作技巧的娴熟运用,使得阅读过程充满了解谜的乐趣。更难得的是,作者在处理冲突时,避免了脸谱化的善恶对立,几乎每一个角色都有其复杂且矛盾的动机,他们的“错误”往往源于时代背景和个人局限,而不是单纯的邪恶。这使得故事的悲剧性更具深度,因为它不是由坏人造成的,而是由“生活”本身造成的。这本书需要反复品读,因为每一次重读,都会因心境的变化而发掘出新的层次和更深的内涵。
评分阅读此书的体验,如同置身于一场精心编排的戏剧之中,但舞台上的演员们却活得比任何人都真实。作者对于人物内心世界的挖掘,达到了近乎病态的精准。我们不仅仅知道他们在做什么,更深入地了解了他们“为什么”这样做,甚至包括他们自己都未曾完全意识到的潜意识驱动力。那些关于荣誉、责任与个人欲望之间的永恒拉锯战,被刻画得入骨三分。我读到某些角色的自我欺骗和自我毁灭时,感到一种强烈的眩晕感,仿佛自己也陷在了那种无法挣脱的心理困境中。叙事视角时常在不同人物之间流畅地切换,这使得读者得以从多个侧面审视同一个事件,极大地增强了故事的立体感和客观性。这本书对“真相”本身的探讨也令人深思,究竟什么是我们愿意相信的真相?以及,为了维护自己构建的世界观,我们愿意付出怎样的代价?它没有给出安逸的结论,而是将这些尖锐的问题直接抛给读者,迫使我们进行一场严肃的自我反思。这是一部需要用心灵去感受和体悟的佳作。
评分Dickens的圣诞故事中,这个故事用词较为艰深,不少词现代读者已经很难理解。相较于其他几则,这个故事也最为冷峻。虽然故事最后为了迎合圣诞主题,同样也以欢乐结尾,但从一开始及至最后,处处都流露出悲伤的基调,将维多利亚时期伦敦底层民众的痛苦描绘得栩栩如生,令人感同身受。而狄更斯对当时上流社会冷漠、伪善、残忍的批评,也在这则故事中展现得淋漓尽致。总体而言,这个故事在其圣诞故事集中最为独特,能令人看到其犀利的一面,很值得一读。
评分这居然是个圣诞故事,整体感觉好黑,最后强行happy ending,然而是不是真的happy ending呢?
评分Dickens的圣诞故事中,这个故事用词较为艰深,不少词现代读者已经很难理解。相较于其他几则,这个故事也最为冷峻。虽然故事最后为了迎合圣诞主题,同样也以欢乐结尾,但从一开始及至最后,处处都流露出悲伤的基调,将维多利亚时期伦敦底层民众的痛苦描绘得栩栩如生,令人感同身受。而狄更斯对当时上流社会冷漠、伪善、残忍的批评,也在这则故事中展现得淋漓尽致。总体而言,这个故事在其圣诞故事集中最为独特,能令人看到其犀利的一面,很值得一读。
评分Dickens的圣诞故事中,这个故事用词较为艰深,不少词现代读者已经很难理解。相较于其他几则,这个故事也最为冷峻。虽然故事最后为了迎合圣诞主题,同样也以欢乐结尾,但从一开始及至最后,处处都流露出悲伤的基调,将维多利亚时期伦敦底层民众的痛苦描绘得栩栩如生,令人感同身受。而狄更斯对当时上流社会冷漠、伪善、残忍的批评,也在这则故事中展现得淋漓尽致。总体而言,这个故事在其圣诞故事集中最为独特,能令人看到其犀利的一面,很值得一读。
评分这居然是个圣诞故事,整体感觉好黑,最后强行happy ending,然而是不是真的happy ending呢?
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