Affinity
萨拉·沃特斯Baihuazhou Literature and Art Publishing House2009
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- Sarah Waters's Victorian Trilogy
- ISBN
- 9787807428589
Tags
Literature Foreign Literature Women's EmotionsHuman NaturePsychological InsightFull-Length NovelLondonVictorian EraBritish LiteratureFemale PerspectiveSummary
Affinity is the second novel by the British writer Sarah Waters, following her debut Tipping the Velvet. Published in 1999 under its original English title Affinity, it won the Somerset Maugham Award in 2000 and the Stonewall Book Award, and was later adapted by the BBC into the film Affinity. Together with Tipping the Velvet and Fingersmith, it is regarded as part of Waters's "Victorian trilogy." The novel is set in nineteenth-century London. After her father's death, the listless Margaret Prior volunteers as a visitor at Millbank Prison, talking with the female inmates and trying to guide them toward "reform and renewal." Among the prisoners she notices a mysterious figure: Selina Dawes, imprisoned for "fraud and assault" yet insisting on her innocence—she claims to be a medium who communicates between this world and the next, and at one séance her guardian spirit ran wild and caused an innocent person's death. Selina's pitiful vulnerability awakens Margaret's compassion, and the prisoner can seemingly see through Margaret's unspoken feelings for her younger brother and sister, even sending flowers and hair through "spirit friends," until Margaret is utterly convinced of her supernatural power. Guided by Selina, Margaret gradually comes to reinterpret the meaning of life and love, and can no longer stand by while Selina languishes behind bars. Yet within this prison woven from discipline and surveillance, the line between salvation and manipulation grows ever blurrier, and a tragedy is quietly approaching. Through a diaristic dual narrative, flashbacks, and a suspenseful structure, the work interweaves the Victorian craze for spiritualism, the prison system, and women's repressed desires—gloomy and meticulously crafted.Editor's review
如果你只知道《荆棘之城》和《轻舔丝绒》，那就错过了萨拉·沃特斯最阴冷、也最精于算计的一部作品。《半身》写的是监狱与降神会两个封闭空间：一边是铁窗、探访室和规训制度，一边是烛光、招魂与看不见的“灵”。沃特斯把这两处并置，让“谁能看透谁”成为整本书的悬念引擎。 她此前的学术兴趣正是维多利亚时代的通灵术，因此书中对灵媒话术、降神会仪式、监狱探访制度的细节都扎实可信，读来既有类型小说的紧张，也有历史写作的分量。叙述采用第一人称日记体，两条线索交替推进，读者与主人公同步被牵着走，直到最后一页才发现自己被骗得心甘情愿。 本书1999年出版，获毛姆文学奖与石墙图书奖，2008年被改编为电影《灵契》。中文版由林玉崴翻译，2009年由百花洲文艺出版社推出。适合喜欢维多利亚哥特氛围、心理悬疑与女性书写交汇处作品的读者。Who it's for
A good fit for
- 喜欢维多利亚时代背景与哥特氛围的读者
- 读过《荆棘之城》《轻舔丝绒》，想系统阅读沃特斯作品的读者
- 偏爱心理悬疑、叙述诡计与反转结局的小说读者
- 对通灵术史、监狱史与女性处境议题感兴趣的读者
Not a good fit for
- 期待快节奏动作或强情节推进的读者
- 希望阅读轻松温暖、结局圆满故事的读者
- 对宗教灵异、精神操控题材较为反感的读者
Reading tips
- 先不要查剧透与结局解析，日记体叙述的乐趣很大程度来自被叙述者牵着走。
- 留意两位叙述者的语气差异与时间落差，这是理解全书结构的关键。
- 可配合了解十九世纪英国的通灵热与女子监狱改革，阅读时会更有层次。
- 读完后不妨再看2008年的电影《灵契》，对照改编对结局的处理方式。
About the publisher
Baihuazhou Literature and Art Publishing House China · Founded in 1990Baihuazhou Literature and Art Publishing House is a professional literature and art publisher. Judging from the books in the database, its publishing focus is on foreign literature, world classics, prose and miscellaneous writings, and classic works, while also covering literary appreciation and cultural reading. Representative titles include The Painter of Modern Life, Jane Eyre, Six Chapters of a Floating Life, The Moon and Sixpence, Selected Prose of Ji Xianlin, A Sportsman's Sketches, and Collected Prose of Famous Masters, involving Chinese and foreign authors such as Charles Baudelaire, Charlotte Brontë, Shen Fu, and W. Somerset Maugham, as well as translators including Guo Hong'an, Chen Jinhui, Jing Xing, and Jiao Haili. Overall, the press emphasizes the introduction of classic texts and the compilation of prose works, presenting a publishing profile centered on literary reading and cultural accumulation. As public information is limited, other aspects are not elaborated here.
FAQ
《半身》的作者是谁？属于哪个系列？
作者是英国作家萨拉·沃特斯，英文原名 Affinity，1999年出版。它与《轻舔丝绒》《荆棘之城》常被合称为她的“维多利亚三部曲”，但三书人物与情节彼此独立，可单独阅读。这本书获过什么奖？有影视改编吗？
《半身》于2000年获毛姆文学奖，并获石墙图书奖。2008年被BBC改编为电影《灵契》（Affinity），由安德鲁·戴维斯编剧。中文版是哪个出版社、谁翻译的？
目前流传较广的中文版为2009年11月百花洲文艺出版社出版，译者林玉崴，ISBN 9787807428589。2010年百花文艺出版社的《萨拉·沃特斯作品集》也收录了本书。没读过沃特斯其他作品，能直接读这本吗？
可以。本书与《轻舔丝绒》《荆棘之城》没有情节关联，是独立长篇。若想比较她不同阶段的风格，可先读《荆棘之城》再回来读这本更阴郁的作品。This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.
About the author
萨拉·沃特斯 AuthorSarah Waters is a contemporary British novelist whose work appears in Chinese reading circles as foreign literature and social fiction. Four of her books are included here: Fingersmith, The Night Watch, Affinity, and Tipping the Velvet. Though varied in subject, these four share a close attention to human relationships and period atmosphere: Fingersmith is set in the Victorian era and revolves around deception, desire, and class; The Night Watch turns to war and the postwar years, writing about ordinary people's emotions and choices amid historical change; Affinity and Tipping the Velvet touch on questions of mind, body, and gender. Waters often uses historical settings to carry modern concerns; her plots are intricate yet controlled, and her characters' inner lives are finely drawn, giving the books both readability and room for discussion. Public information about her life, education, and awards is limited, so no inferences are made here; her achievement as a writer is chiefly shown in the breadth of subject matter and narrative skill displayed in these works.