"In many ways, South Africa was, and probably still is, lagging behind the times, and being in Cape Town was like living somewhere that hadn't caught up. There was a great determination to be sophisticated and in touch, but six thousand miles separated us from what was going on, and we were doomed to"
"I should have been brighter at school than I was. I had shown promise earlier, but, as time went by and I became more and more self-conscious, I began to lose confidence. When exams came round, I'd stare in panic at the questions, unable to find a way of responding. I could hear the seconds ticking "
"School at long last was behind me. No more Brother this and Brother that. No more strap. I was a young man. I used my father's razor to shave, and, haunted though I was by Brother McEvoy's discouraging lament, 'Hawthorne, what will become of you?', l felt that something would. Something. I didn't kn"
印象最深的有两处,其一是他父亲是个很严厉的人,直到去世也没有接受他离开南非去英国当演员这件事;其二是作为gay,最孤独寂寞的那段时间他会去大街小巷游荡,试图捕捉路人的目光,希望遇到那个对的人。 因为是他得知自己胰腺癌以后着手写的自传,所以毫无虚伪之感。Rest in peace, Sir Nigel.
(先吐槽)双手抱胸这个姿势好像卖保险哦!
这本书其实有两个可供参考的脉络:
1、20c50s-90s英国homosexual发展史,从社会学的角度绝对是第一手资料。
2、英国戏剧从舞台到电影的变迁史
Nigel提到,我年轻时,觉得自己是圣/子,born for a mission,去寻找自己的弥赛亚。这句话很震撼我。他坦诚到了一种,甚至令爱他的读者也感到痛苦的地步。但就像他说,并不是所有人,都愿意听人透彻地剖析自己的卑劣和欲望。
他人的勇敢,也是我们的勇敢。就像他人的虚弱,其实也是我的虚弱。“guilt”是一种非常严苛的深层心理。它的根源是想像,它的表达是隐喻,是灵魂中爱和痛苦的表达方式。Nigel身上有一种非常现代性的气质。
五月。overwhelmed at first, 因为有细腻情思的nigel和荧屏里那个叱咤风云的汉妃形象实在是相距甚远。看到最后也不知道说什么,就是莫名很感慨……