The Seam of Time

Name: The Seam of Time
ISBN: 9787544257862

玛丽亚·杜埃尼亚斯Nanhai Publication Company2012

4.3

Word count: 400K words
ISBN: 9787544257862

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Summary

The Seam of Time is the debut novel of Spanish author María Dueñas, a professor at the University of Murcia. Its original Spanish title is El tiempo entre costuras. Set against the backdrop of the eve of the Spanish Civil War through the Second World War, the novel is narrated in the first person as a memoir by its heroine, Sira. Sira grows up in a Madrid tailoring studio that makes custom clothing for the aristocracy, where her mother is a highly skilled yet forever unacknowledged seamstress. Just before her wedding, she accompanies her fiancé into a typewriter shop, and an unexpected inheritance and a father she has never met suddenly intrude upon her life, throwing her intended path into disarray. She leaves Madrid, already under the shadow of war, for Tetouan in Morocco, only to be betrayed there: her fortune is stolen, and she is stranded in a foreign land with almost nothing. To make a living she takes up her needle and thread again and opens a custom dressmaking shop, gradually gaining a foothold through her craft and taste. In doing so she comes to know all manner of people, moves from Tetouan to Lisbon, and is drawn into a web of politics, espionage, and intrigue, passing messages under the cover of sewing and tailoring, growing from an innocent girl into a woman capable of making her own decisions. The author consulted archives and documents and interviewed people who lived through that history, weaving real and fictional characters together and using one ordinary woman's fate to reflect a great era. The book runs to roughly 400,000 characters, substantial in length and finely paced.

Editor's review

这是一部写作严谨、情节顺畅的长篇历史小说。作者身为语言学博士与大学教授，为写这本书查阅档案、文献并采访亲历者，把西班牙内战、摩洛哥殖民地与二战前后的外交暗流编织进一个普通女裁缝的人生。难得的是，全书没有把女主角写成天生的英雄：她曾轻信、曾被动、曾被命运推着走，是在一次次失去之后，才靠着针线这门扎实的手艺重新站起来。缝纫在此既是谋生手段，也是隐喻，那些密密麻麻的针脚正如被历史忽略的普通人的日子，真实而隐蔽地存在着。诺贝尔文学奖得主略萨曾推荐此书，称其为一部充满阴谋、爱情、神秘与柔情的作品。它在西班牙销量超过百万册，被译成数十种语言，是近年西班牙语通俗历史小说的代表作之一。译笔平实流畅，四十万字的篇幅读来不觉滞重，适合愿意在故事中顺带了解一段西班牙与地中海近代史的读者。

Who it's for

A good fit for

喜欢以女性成长为主线、情节推进顺畅的长篇小说的读者
对西班牙内战、摩洛哥殖民史与二战前后谍战背景感兴趣的读者
偏爱手艺、时装、裁缝等生活细节，喜欢沉稳叙事节奏的读者
想在通俗小说中顺带了解一段欧洲近代史的普通读者

Not a good fit for

希望读到高密度悬念、快节奏动作场面的谍战迷
偏好短篇或极简文风、不耐四十万字长篇幅的读者
对历史背景与地理名词缺乏兴趣、只想看纯爱情故事的读者

Reading tips

不必急于记住人名与地名，先跟着希拉的针线走，前一百页铺陈较慢，属于必要的人物与时代铺垫。
读到得土安开店的段落，可以留意作者如何用裁衣、量体、选料等细节推动情节，这是全书最见功力的部分。
若对西班牙内战与弗朗哥时期不熟悉，可在阅读间隙查一查时间线，会更容易理解人物处境的紧迫感。
全书读完不妨回看开头那台打字机的段落，会发现首尾呼应的用意，也能体会书名「时间的针脚」的分量。

About the publisher

Nanhai Publication Company China · Founded in 1988

Nanhai Publication Company is a comprehensive publisher known for its literature and arts titles, covering fields such as classical poetry, martial arts fiction, and folk literature. Judging from the more than 1,600 books in the database, the company has released classical poetic works including the Nineteen Old Poems and the Nine Songs, as well as multiple volumes of Huanzhulouzhu's series The Swordsmen of Mount Shu, along with related writings by authors such as Guan Hanqing, Qu Yuan, Zuo Si, and Wang Zhihuan. Its publishing character lies in balancing the organization of classic texts with the dissemination of popular literature, placing poetry anthologies alongside long martial arts novels and presenting a relatively diverse literary profile. Public information is limited, and further details about its editorial practices and series planning remain to be supplemented.

FAQ

这本书讲的是真实历史还是虚构故事？

是虚构小说。主角希拉及其经历为作者虚构，但作者查阅了大量档案文献并采访过亲历者，书中部分人物（如弗朗哥政府时期的外交官及其情人）确有其人，主线剧情也与真实历史时间线大体吻合。

书名「时间的针脚」是什么意思？

针脚既指女主角赖以谋生的缝纫手艺，也是隐喻：历史只记录大人物，无数普通人像密密麻麻的针脚一样藏在织物背面，真实而隐蔽地活着。作者在结尾也点明了这层意思。

没读过西班牙历史，能读懂吗？

基本可以。小说以第一人称叙述，情节靠人物关系推动，历史背景只是舞台。不过了解西班牙内战、得土安与里斯本在二战中的特殊地位，会更容易体会人物选择的艰难。

这本书篇幅长吗，适合一次性读完吗？

全书约四十万字，五百多页，属于厚重的长篇。建议按章节分几天读，四部分之间的转换处是合适的停顿点，不必追求一口气看完。

有影视改编吗？

该书在西班牙被改编为同名电视剧，播出后反响不错。中文版图书本身为纯文字作品，读者若看过后对人物感兴趣，可以留意相关改编剧集。

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About the author

玛丽亚·杜埃尼亚斯 Author

María Dueñas is an author known for her works in foreign literature. Public information about her is currently limited, and details of her life, such as nationality, dates of birth and death, and educational background, are not clearly recorded. In the Chinese book database, only one of her works has been included, namely her representative work Sheila. Judging from the foreign literature category to which this work belongs, her writing tends toward the novel genre, with attention to character development and storytelling. Although a systematic introduction to the full scope of her writing is still lacking, Sheila, as the representative text through which she has entered the view of Chinese readers, offers an initial window into her narrative style. For readers who wish to learn more about this author, the available materials still rely mainly on the work itself, and her literary profile awaits further translation and supplementary information.