The Master

科尔姆·托宾Shanghai Translation Publishing House2021

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Chapters
12
ISBN
9787532785773

Tags

Literature Foreign Literature Writers' BiographyLiterary MasterLonelinessPsychological PortrayalStream of ConsciousnessBiographical NovelIrish Literature

Summary

The Master is a novel by the Irish writer Colm Tóibín, whose protagonist is the American author Henry James—that literary giant known for his psychologically analytical writing and revered by later generations as “the Master.” The novel does not lay out his whole life, but seizes on the years 1895 to 1899, unfolding around a still yet turbulent period. In 1895, James dreamed of conquering the London stage with drama, yet the premiere of his first play, Guy Domville, ended in failure. Under the shadow of that defeat, he accepted an invitation from an Irish aristocrat, tasting the malaise of middle age amid banquets and song, and tending the wounds deep within. Thereafter he shuttled between London, Ireland, and Italy; outwardly his life was calm, yet inwardly it surged and ebbed: he cherished the memory of the important passers-by in his life, women who each in their own way left marks on his work and his soul; he was troubled by his own sexuality; he recalled how family and kin had shaped his life; he craved warmth and solace, yet deliberately kept his distance from others; he longed to write a work that would endure, yet time and again met despair. In calm, densely woven prose that cleaves to the flow of the character's consciousness, the novel weaves loneliness, forbearance, and desire into a psychological landscape like deep water flowing quietly. The book closes with James's turn from middle age toward old age: he chooses to be an observer of life rather than a participant. The work was shortlisted for the 2005 Booker Prize and won the 2006 IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.

Editor's review

托宾写亨利·詹姆斯，写出的既是传记的骨架，也是小说的血肉。他不交代奇观式的轶事，而是把大量沉默、留白与未说出口的情感安放在语句之间，让读者在看似平静的日常里，听见一个人内心的风浪。这部小说最迷人的地方在于分寸感：写孤独而不煽情，写隐忍而不冷硬，写欲望而不直露；那种将情感压抑、再转化为艺术养分的心理轨迹，被摹写得近乎可见。如果你想近距离看一位文学大师如何在中年危机、家庭记忆与身份困境中重新整理自己，这本书提供了一个相当可靠的入口。二〇二一年新版由柏栎重译，译文更趋舒展，适合慢慢读，而不是追情节。

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Reading tips

  1. 先放开情节期待，把注意力放在叙述者的语气与停顿上，那些空白正是重点。
  2. 可先了解亨利·詹姆斯与《盖·多姆维尔》首演失败一事，读时更容易进入人物处境。
  3. 每次读一到两章，留出回味时间；小说时间跨度四年，章节多以年月命名，适合按序慢读。
  4. 读完可对照其短篇小说或托宾其他作品，体会他处理沉默与家庭主题的一贯手法。

About the publisher

Shanghai Translation Publishing House China · Founded in 1978

Shanghai Translation Publishing House is a Chinese publisher oriented mainly toward translation and publishing. Its publications cover foreign literature, world classics and classic works, as well as social culture, folk literature and classical poetry. The database contains 2,618 titles, including Never Let Me Go, Les Misérables (2 volumes), Don Quixote (illustrated collector's edition), The Complete Comedies of Molière (4 volumes), The Complete Novels of Kafka (3 volumes), The Collected Works of Dostoevsky (9-volume set), Reason and Persons, and Oedipus Rex (Translation Classics). Its author resources include foreign writers such as Kazuo Ishiguro, Victor Hugo, Cervantes and Molière, as well as translators such as Zheng Kelu, Sun Jiameng, Li Jianwu and Zhang Kun. The publisher has brands such as "Translation Classics Selections" and "Translation Documentary," and emphasizes translated works in foreign literature and the humanities and social sciences, while also publishing bilingual dictionaries and foreign-language educational books. Public information is limited; the above is based on the book information in the database.

Contents

  1. Chapter One January 1895
  2. Chapter Two February 1895
  3. Chapter Three March 1895
  4. Chapter Four April 1895
  5. Chapter Five May 1896
  6. Chapter Six February 1897
  7. Chapter Seven March 1898
  8. Chapter Eight June 1898
  9. Chapter Nine March 1899
  10. Chapter Ten May 1899
  11. Chapter Eleven October 1899
  12. Translator's Afterword

FAQ

《大师》是亨利·詹姆斯的传记吗？ 不是严格意义的传记，而是以亨利·詹姆斯为原型的文学传记小说。托宾依据史料，聚焦一八九五至一八九九这几年，用虚构的心理与对话填充史料的空隙，重点在内心体验而非生平编年。
没读过亨利·詹姆斯的作品，能读懂吗？ 可以。小说的重心是人物在中年的孤独、家庭记忆与身份困境，不需要詹姆斯的作品背景也能进入。若事先了解他一八八〇至九〇年代戏剧尝试失败的经历，会更容易理解开篇的挫败感。
这本书讲的是哪一段时间的故事？ 正文自一八九五年一月亨利·詹姆斯的戏剧《盖·多姆维尔》首演失败写起，延续到一八九九年十月兄长威廉·詹姆斯到拉伊小镇探望他，跨越约四年，章节多以年月标目。
二〇二一年版与二〇〇八年人民文学出版社版有何区别？ 二〇二一年版由上海译文出版社（群岛图书）出版，仍由柏栎翻译，译文经修订，开本与页数不同（新版本四百余页）。两版正文内容同源，选择哪版主要看译文手感与版式偏好。

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About the author

科尔姆·托宾 Author

Colm Tóibín is a major contemporary Irish writer. Ten of his works are included in this collection, spanning novels, short-story collections and essays, and are commonly grouped under foreign literature, essays and miscellaneous writings, and classic works. His representative works include Nora Webster, The Master, The Blackwater Lightship, The Magician, Long Island, The House of Names and The Testament of Mary, as well as Wilde, Yeats, Joyce and Their Fathers. His writing often centres on family relationships, emigration and return, personal memory and identity, with a restrained and understated touch, revealing his characters' complex emotions and psychological depths through everyday detail. He is also known for writing about literary history and writers' lives, as in The Master, which focuses on Henry James. Because public information is limited, his early life and honours are not discussed here; readers may explore his narrative style and literary influence through the works mentioned above.