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生活休闲:《哈!小不列颠》Notes from a small island
哈!小不列颠(Notes from a small island)简介:
Notes from a Small Island was written when the author had decided to move back to his native United States but wanted to take one final trip around Great Britain, which had been his home for over twenty years. Bryson covers all corners of the island observing and talking to people from as far afield as Exeter in the southwest of England to John O'Groats at the north-eastern tip of Scotland. During this trip the writer attempts to use only public transport, with two exceptions; he hires a car near Oxfordshire and on the journey to John O' Groats as there were no buses at that time of year.
In the book, Bryson provides historical information on the places he visits, and expresses amazement at the heritage in Britain, stating that there are (or were at the time of writing) 445,000 listed historical buildings, 12,000 medieval churches, 1,500,000 acres (600,000 ha) of common land, 120,000 miles (190,000 km) of footpaths and public rights-of-way, 600,000 known sites of archaeological interest and that in his Yorkshire village at that time, there were more 17th-century buildings than in the whole of North America. He reflects on the humble self-effacing fortitude of British people under trying times such as the World Wars and Great Depression, as well as the various peculiarities of Britain.1973年3月,初出茅庐的美国小伙比尔·布莱森踏上了不列颠这个梦想中的岛屿,突然间,他发现那里的一切都与他所想象的,与旅行指南上写的完全不一样。原本只想稍作停留的他竟在这块土地上娶妻生子落地生根起来。二十年后,他决心带着妻儿回到自己的故乡美国,在离开英国前,布莱森又重新背起行囊,坚持要作一番旨在告别的环岛之旅。布莱森从当初隔着海望到它第一眼的地方起步,再次进入这个国家,他用他擅长的犀利、睿智以及细腻地语言带领读者穿越一个个形形色色的英国村镇。在布莱森眼中,不列颠是个神奇的地方,而不列颠人则疯狂到了极致,可爱到了极点。那里有奇怪得让人咋舌甚至呕吐的地名,且到处充斥着闻所未闻的字眼;那里地形多样,历史辉煌永恒,风景却如此袖珍;那里的法官头上顶着“小拖把”,怪里怪气;英国人对自己的美德和快乐指数木知木觉,对享乐的态度更是古怪。旅途中,布莱森还时常回忆起当年造访时的情景,感慨二十年来不列颠的人和物事变化。这是一次深入英国人灵魂以及其居住腹地的旅行。尽管字里行间对英国风土人情入木三分的刻画中也带有一些嘲弄,然而贯穿全书的仍是对不列颠依依不舍的眷恋之情,在环岛之旅行将结束之时,布莱森终于明白自己喜欢英国的什么了,其实,就是它的全部,它的一点一滴,不论好坏。