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Books and Arts;Book Review;New fiction；Trouble in pairs
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Beautiful Lies. By Clare Clark.
《美麗謊言》，克萊爾·克拉克著買(mǎi)。
CLARE CLARK found her new heroine when she unearthed an article in a literary journal about a British Liberal MP's wife who had led a double life in the 1890s. In “Beautiful Lies” Maribel is a Chilean bohemian married to a radical socialist, Edward Campbell Lowe. Her exotic accent, chain-smoking and talent for poetry and photography mark her as a scarlet sheep among the white flock of London society. Maribel also harbours a salacious secret history. If it were ever exposed, the couple's peers “would smash their lives as carelessly as eggs”.
克萊爾·克拉克偶然看見(jiàn)刊登在文學(xué)期刊上的一篇文章（描述19世紀(jì)90年代，一位英國(guó)自由黨派人士兼國(guó)會(huì)議員的妻子，過(guò)著雙重生活的故事）時(shí)，腦海中就浮現(xiàn)出了《美麗謊言》的女主角。 《美麗謊言》的女主角瑪麗貝爾是智裔波西米亞人，嫁給了一位激進(jìn)的社會(huì)主義分子愛(ài)德華·坎貝爾·勞伍。瑪麗貝爾的外國(guó)口音、煙不離手的習(xí)慣、寫(xiě)詩(shī)天賦與攝影才華讓她成為倫敦上流社會(huì)中格格不入的異類(lèi)。瑪麗貝爾也有一段不為人知的風(fēng)流韻事。她的情史一旦曝光，夫婦倆的同僚一定會(huì)讓他們身敗名裂，像被無(wú)情砸碎的雞蛋一樣。
The book is set in 1887, which draws parallels with Britain today. Celebrations for Queen Victoria's Jubilee are marred by economic crisis, prompting strikes, riots in Trafalgar Square and a corrupt press. Amid the turmoil Edward's passionate socialist views jeopardise his seat in Parliament and Maribel's past begins to infiltrate her present. Meanwhile, a mercurial newspaperman appears to be a friend and a socialist sympathiser, but he soon changes tack, hinting that he knows too much. Fear of exposure lies at every turn.
本書(shū)的故事背景雖是1887年，卻與現(xiàn)今的英國(guó)頗為相似。當(dāng)時(shí)，維多利亞女王五十周年大慶①的喜悅氣氛被經(jīng)濟(jì)危機(jī)、突然爆發(fā)的罷工、特拉法加廣場(chǎng)的暴動(dòng)和墮落的新聞媒體等所破壞。在這樣一片動(dòng)蕩中，愛(ài)德華激進(jìn)的社會(huì)主義觀(guān)使其國(guó)會(huì)議員的地位受到威脅，而且，瑪麗貝爾的過(guò)往也開(kāi)始影響她現(xiàn)在的生活。同時(shí)，一個(gè)狡猾多變的記者假裝成一個(gè)社會(huì)主義崇拜者，開(kāi)始與愛(ài)德華套交情。但不久，他就翻臉，并且暗示自己已經(jīng)知道了很多秘密。擔(dān)心秘密曝光，夫妻倆惶惶不可終日。
Ms Clark takes her time with this long, undulating novel. But fans of historical fiction will not be put off by this. She builds the story with discreet layering and surprises for the reader about Maribel's adventures. Descriptions of photographing “Buffalo Bill's Wild West”, investigating a gold mine in Spain and liaising with a prostitute in an elaborate blackmailing plan all add colour.
在這本情節(jié)跌宕起伏的長(zhǎng)篇小說(shuō)中，克拉克夫人的行文風(fēng)格有點(diǎn)慢條斯理。不過(guò)，歷史小說(shuō)的愛(ài)好者一定不會(huì)因此喪失熱情。作者用精巧細(xì)致的鋪墊和層出不窮的驚喜描繪出瑪麗貝爾的傳奇經(jīng)歷。文中對(duì)拍攝“西大荒的水牛比爾”，調(diào)查西班牙的某個(gè)金礦，還有主角與一位妓女聯(lián)手合作完成了一次構(gòu)思巧妙的勒索行動(dòng)等描述，都為小說(shuō)增添了色彩。這些奇思妙想都為小說(shuō)增添了色彩。
The players are vividly drawn. Maribel and Edward are united by the secret of her past, but their bond is undermined by secrets they keep from each other. Maribel knows he visits a brothel, sensing that a wife who refuses her husband such things “was either a duchess or a damned fool”. When Edward asks Maribel about her photograph of the Spanish boy—“The one with the eyes. Who is he?”—she does not know if he has guessed its significance.
所有的角色描寫(xiě)得栩栩如生。瑪麗貝爾和愛(ài)德華因瑪麗貝爾過(guò)去的秘密而結(jié)識(shí)并結(jié)合，但卻由于雙方互不信任，互藏秘密，導(dǎo)致彼此關(guān)系惡化。瑪麗貝爾知道丈夫愛(ài)德華經(jīng)常流連煙花之地，卻敏感地認(rèn)為，一個(gè)不允許丈夫逛妓院的妻子“不是公爵夫人，就是十足的傻瓜。”她有一張名為“那雙眸子，那個(gè)人”的西班牙男孩的照片，當(dāng)愛(ài)德華問(wèn)她照片中的那個(gè)人是誰(shuí)時(shí)，她不知道愛(ài)德華是不是已經(jīng)猜到照片的意思。
The charm of “Beautiful Lies” is that Ms Clark breaks the usual Victorian moral code, exploring both the colourful world outside the drawing room and the depths of her characters' minds. A stirring and seductive novel.
《美麗謊言》的魅力在于克拉克夫人通過(guò)描寫(xiě)客廳外的五彩斑斕的世界和主人公內(nèi)心的深處，打破了維多利亞時(shí)期的普遍道德標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。這是一部激動(dòng)人心、引人入勝的小說(shuō)。
