如同奈保尔的《对头》一样,米德尔顿的这篇小说在叙事上采取的也是孩子的视角。小说通过两个孩子漫不经心的游荡,讲述了一段心灵上的遭遇。时间虽然浓缩在一天中,但作家用插叙、倒叙、拼贴的手法,叙述了一个刻骨铭心的故事,从而道破了这个现实世界中悲惨的人的际遇。两个小男孩在湖边遇到了一个“女巫”式的女人(也就是湖上夫人),无意中窥见了现实中的阴影,在人物的对照中,作家运用了反衬、暗示的技法,描摹了人情世态,令人瞬间获得了顿悟的力量。从某种意义上说,作家源于少年时代的心灵创伤与阴影,正是那幽暗而真切的人性所赐。 Like Naipaul’s “right” counterpart, Middleton’s novel takes a child’s perspective in narrative. The novel loves carelessness by two children, about a spiritual experience. Although time was concentrated in the day, the writer narrated an unforgettable story by using the method of inserting words, flashbacks and collages, thereby breaking through the tragedy of the real world. Two young boys met a “witch” woman (also the lady on the lake) by the lake and inadvertently glimpsed the shadow of the reality. In the contrast of characters, the writer used contrasting and suggestive techniques to describe The human world, an instant insight into the power of the moment. In a sense, the author’s trauma and shadows originated in his youth, which are given by the dark, real human nature.