| 商家名称 | 信用等级 | 购买信息 | 订购本书 |
 |
 |
The Good Soldier |  |
 |
|
The Good Soldier | |
Ford''s novel revolves around two couples: Edward Ashburnham--the title''s soldier--and his capable if off-putting wife, Leonora; and long-transplanted Americans John and Florence Dowell. The foursome''s ostensible amiability, on display as they pass parts of a dozen pre-World War I summers together in Germany, conceals the fissures in each marriage. John is miserably mismatched with the garrulous, cuckolding Florence; and Edward, dashing and sentimental, can''t refrain from falling in love with women whose charms exceed Leonora''s. Predictably, Edward and Florence conduct their affair, an indiscretion only John seems not to notice. After the deaths of the two lovers, and after Leonora explains much of the truth to John, he recounts the events of their four lives with an extended inflection of outrage. From his retrospective perch, his recollections simmer with a bitter skepticism even as he expresses amazement at how much he overlooked.
Dowell''s resigned narration is flawlessly conversational--haphazard, sprawling, lusting for sympathy. He exudes self-preservation even as he alternately condemns and lionizes Edward: "If I had had the courage and the virility and possibly also the physique of Edward Ashburnham I should, I fancy, have done much what he did." Stunningly, Edward''s adultery comes to seem not merely excusable, but almost sublime. "Perhaps he could not bear to see a woman and not give her the comfort of his physical attractions," John surmises. Ford''s novel deserves its reputation if for no other reason than the elegance with which it divulges hidden lives. --Ben Guterson --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
From Library Journal
Ford''s 1915 novel of marital infidelity joins the Dover "Thrift" line. Libraries can save a few bucks with this edition.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
编辑推荐 Amazon.com Review
First published in 1915, Ford Madox Ford's The Good Soldier begins, famously and ominously, "This is the saddest story I have ever heard." The book then proceeds to confute this pronouncement at every turn, exposing a world less sad than pathetic, and more shot through with hypocrisy and deceit than its incredulous narrator, John Dowell, cares to imagine. Somewhat forgotten as a classic, The Good Soldier has been called everything from the consummate novelist's novel to one of the greatest English works of the century. And although its narrative hook--the philandering of an otherwise noble man--no longer shocks, its unerring cadences and doleful inevitabilities proclaim an enduring appeal.
Ford's novel revolves around two couples: Edward Ashburnham--the title's soldier--and his capable if off-putting wife, Leonora; and long-transplanted Americans John and Florence Dowell. The foursome's ostensible amiability, on display as they pass parts of a dozen pre-World War I summers together in Germany, conceals the fissures in each marriage. John is miserably mismatched with the garrulous, cuckolding Florence; and Edward, dashing and sentimental, can't refrain from falling in love with women whose charms exceed Leonora's. Predictably, Edward and Florence conduct their affair, an indiscretion only John seems not to notice. After the deaths of the two lovers, and after Leonora explains much of the truth to John, he recounts the events of their four lives with an extended inflection of outrage. From his retrospective perch, his recollections simmer with a bitter skepticism even as he expresses amazement at how much he overlooked.
Dowell's resigned narration is flawlessly conversational--haphazard, sprawling, lusting for sympathy. He exudes self-preservation even as he alternately condemns and lionizes Edward: "If I had had the courage and the virility and possibly also the physique of Edward Ashburnham I should, I fancy, have done much what he did." Stunningly, Edward's adultery comes to seem not merely excusable, but almost sublime. "Perhaps he could not bear to see a woman and not give her the comfort of his physical attractions," John surmises. Ford's novel deserves its reputation if for no other reason than the elegance with which it divulges hidden lives. --Ben Guterson --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
From Library Journal
Ford's 1915 novel of marital infidelity joins the Dover "Thrift" line. Libraries can save a few bucks with this edition.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Review
A re-issue of the novel Ford Madox Ford considered his finest work, with an introductory interpretation by Mark Schorer. There will again be critical notice rather than easy sales. The novel originally appeared in 1914. (Kirkus Reviews)
This is my favourite novel. It has been called the best constructed novel in the English language and this, I suppose, partly accounts for my passion. I have read it countless times, yet find it hard to say what it is about: a man who has, among other things, been a good soldier; his wife who is beautiful and stern, and a pillar of rectitude; the sad narrator whose wicked wife won't sleep with him on account of her bad heart; the 'girl' - the innocent, gentle, timid girl that the good soldier is in love with, beyond reason, beyond all bounds, into madness. You will have to read it and see if you can come up with a better description. Review by Ruth Rendell, whose works include 'A Sight for Sore Eyes' (Kirkus UK) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Review
`This is the most intriguing, shocking and original book I have ever read. . . . The Good Soldier is the only book I have ever read and wanted to read again immediately . . .' The Times 21/04/01
`beautifully written, a wonderful novel but old-fashioned' Norah Naish, Western Daily Press (Bristol) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
