Inland trip

Die Obstdiebin

* Nobel Prize winner Handke's latest and most creative novel, which he calls his "last epic."
* An epic journey through the interior of France, a picture of French social reality
* Young people who cannot gain a foothold in society seek themselves in the wilderness
* The protagonist's observations of the landscape, encounters with animals and people, and a focus on the little-known daily life of a region, contain vivid details of sounds, smells and sensations
* The protagonist can be interpreted as the author’s alter ego. She is a wanderer, a vagabond, a free being living and breathing in turmoil.
The novel opens on a beautiful day in early August. An elderly man living outside Paris leaves his peaceful Parisian suburb, a "no-man's-land" surrounded by forests, for his country house in Picardy. As he walks, observing his surroundings, he occasionally mentions a young woman he calls "the fruit thief," who seems to be embarking on a similar journey to northern France. This "fruit thief"—the reader later learns her name is Alexia—at first appears to be the protagonist of a novel he plans to write or is currently writing. She is 25 years old and has been "yearning to escape" since adolescence. Recently returned from Siberia, she sets out in search of her mother. Tracing her footsteps (real and imagined) across the French interior, the narrator writes about her in his own way, giving birth to the novel. The narrative is framed by what the narrator sees, hears, smells, feels, and imagines along the way. There are no earth-shattering experiences or events, but rather a series of seemingly unrelated moments and insignificant impressions that converge into an epic portrait of French reality.
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With his profound writing and the ingenuity of his language, he explores the peripheries and particularities of human experience. — Nobel Prize in Literature citation: "Handke's brilliance lies in discovering the extraordinary in the everyday. There are no symbols here, only the beauty inherent in the description. The plot is the revelatory beauty of the description. It's like reading a sonnet: The world slows down, and one is enchanted. These words constitute the novel." — "New Urban Literature"
A pure literary experience. The first three words indicate, in a classical, almost fairytale-like way, that a narrative has indeed begun, while also erecting a self-aware framework that allows us to distance ourselves from it slightly—a hint, perhaps, that what follows will involve a deconstruction of the story itself, the telling of the story, and the teller. —Rob Doyle, The New York Times Book Review
Handke often highlights not an event but a seemingly insignificant moment, the significance of which the person experiencing it does not even realize. A strong sense of presence is the guiding principle of this book. Watching this narrative leisurely move towards the end is a pleasure. -Ruth Franklin, The New Yorker
This is a gorgeous, multi-layered tapestry, narrated by an old man who stepped on a bee, that takes the reader on a heartwarming journey through the cities, towns, and vast countryside of north-central France. Handke masterfully captures and delves into the history, sights, sounds, smells, and feel of France, and the country comes alive under his masterful pen. —Jacqueline Snyder, Library Journal

2024-04-01

上海人民出版社

Century Wenjing

489

9787208187269