Falling Palace(ISBN=) 英文原版

“Beautiful . . . Outstanding . . . Hofstadter’s book–free of
knowingness, charged with experience–is written with the ease of
affection and discovery . . . It is a story of love–for an arcane
city and for a girl, Benedetta, who embodies the Neapolitan enigma.
The city prevails on every page . . . Hofstadter has penetrated the
extended labyrinth, and his account of his explorations, literally
breathtaking, is lyrical in the Neapolitan tradition.”
–Shirley Hazzard, The New York Times Book Review
“Lovely . . . Deeply felt . . . Those who know Naples and those who
don’t will enjoy Hofstadter’s delicious de*ions of that
unusual metropolis. [A] deft writer . . . He makes these people
real and sympathetic to us . . . [He] succeeds wonderfully in
conveying the city’s mix of poverty and splendor . . . It’s
curiosity about Benedetta that will keep most readers turning these
pages, but in the end, it’s Hofstadter’s feel for her city that
satisfies most deeply.”
–Marjorie Kehe, Christian Science Monitor
“Secretive, shadowy and hot: what a lover Naples makes. Hofstadter
gives a good sense of its spectral exuberance . . . Like Annie
Hall, this is a tale of a fleeting romance looked back upon
many years later . . . with the city as much a character, and
object of his affections, as the woman.”
–Matt Weiland, Newsday
“Chilometri away from those sun-kissed, espresso-soaked
travelogues . . . Hofstadter paints a warts-and-all portrait of
both Benedetta and Naples, and the two are all the more alluring
for their imperfections.”
–Melissa Rose Bernardo, Entertainment Weekly

A portrait of the sun-drenched volcanic city from an American
who has lost his heart to the place and to a beguiling Neapolitan
woman.
In Falling Palace Dan Hofstadter brilliantly reveals Naples,
from the dilapidated architectural beauty to the irrepressible
theater of everyday life. We witness the centuries-old festivals
that regularly crowd the city’s jumbled streets, and eavesdrop on
conversations that continue deep into the night. We browse the
countless curio shops where treasures mingle with kitsch, and meet
the locals he befriends. In and out of these encounters slips
Benedetta, the object of the author’s affections, at once inviting
and unfathomable. Weaving the tale of an elusive love together with
a vivid portrayal of a legendary metropolis, this is a startling
evocation of a magical place.

Dan Hofstadter has written four books. His last, The Love
Affair as a Work of Art, was nominated for a National Book
Critics Circle Award. He has written for most national magazines
and was for eight years a regular contributor to The New
Yorker.

PROLOGUr: Falling Asleep in the Cit
PATR ONE
sidewalk-olog
In uncle Ippolito’s Room
Falling Palace
Signora Perna and the Other world
Benedetta in Springtime
Melisurgo’s Well
Treasure H~nt on a Hot Afiernoon
……