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Romanians wait to get
autographs from former U.S. President Bill Clinton in Bucharest, Romania May
21, 2005. Clinton launched the Romanian edition of his
book 'My Life' on Saturday. (REUTERS/Bogdan
Cristel) | |
In the paperback edition of "My Life,"
former President Clinton acknowledges that his memoir may have been too
long, recounts some friendly faces from his book tour and some odder ones
sighted under the influence of anesthesia
as he underwent heart surgery
last September.
"At first I saw a series of dark faces, like
death masks , flying toward
me and being crushed," writes Clinton, whose book comes out May 31 in both
trade and mass market paperback. "Then I saw circles of light with the
faces of Hillary, Chelsea, and others I cared about flying toward me, then
away into a bright, sun-like source."
When Clinton regained consciousness after surgery, he "waved to people,
said I was all right, and laughed." At least, that's what his wife, Sen.
Hillary Rodham Clinton, told him. The former president himself doesn't
remember.
"My Life" has sold just under 2.2 million copies
in its 957-page hardcover
edition, and interest apparently is strong for the paperback.
The trade paperback, which has the same dimensions as hardcover, will have
a first printing of 300,000 to 50,000 copies more than originally
announced. The mass market paperback, a cheaper, pocket-sized edition,
will have two volumes, the first with a printing of 600,000, the second in
late June at 575,000.
Much of the new material --- a 12-page afterword, and a brief preface
--- summarizes Clinton's recent activities, from the building of his
presidential library in Little Rock, Ark., to raising money for Tsunami
victims. He also offers a quick analysis of last year's presidential
election.
Clinton acknowledges complaints about the book's
length and names a possible culprit
, his wife. He calls the senator's memoirs, "Living
History," a "fine book" and says that her success "added to the pressure"
for him to meet a June 2004 deadline.
"Most people thought it was too long - a fair criticism. Thomas
Jefferson once said that if he had had more time he could have written
shorter letters," writes Clinton, whose afterword helps make the trade
paperback even longer, 969 pages.
Many reviewers were bored by "My Life." The Associated Press likening
it to being trapped
"in a small room with a very gregarious man who insists on reading
his entire appointment book, day by day, beginning in
1946."
(Agencies) |
美国前总统克林顿在平装版《我的生活》中首次公开承认自己的回忆录可能写得太长了。他还在平装版中提到了为该书做宣传途中见到的一些友善的人，以及他在去年九月接受心脏手术时，因为麻醉而看到的一些奇怪的面孔。
《我的生活》的普及式平装本和大众式平装本将于5月31号同时上市。克林顿在书中写到：“我先看到一些像死神面具一样的黑脸，它们向我飞来，接着又被碾碎。后来我看到了希拉里、切尔西和其他我关心的人的脸，这些人的脸上都闪着光环，并向我飞来，之后又飞走了，飞进一个太阳似的光源里。”
手术结束后，克林顿恢复了知觉，他“向人们挥手致意，说我很好，接着就笑了。”希拉里告诉克林顿说至少这也是他生活的一部分，而克林顿自己却不记得了。
957页的精装版《我的生活》只卖了不到220万本。显然，人们对平装版的兴趣更大些。普及式平装版与精装版的大小相同，第一次将印刷30到50万本，比最初公布的数字要多。大众式平装版是分上下两册的口袋书，价钱要便宜些。第一次印刷60万册，第二次印刷定在七月末，印数为57万5千册。
书中加入了一些新内容——一篇12页的后记和一篇简短的前言——概述了克林顿最近的活动，从在阿肯色州的小石镇建造他的总统图书馆到为海啸受难者筹款。他还对去年的总统大选做了一个简要的分析。
克林顿承认有人抱怨自己的书过长，但他说罪魁祸首可能就是她的妻子。他称希拉里的回忆录《亲历历史》是一本好书，并说她的成功增加了他必须在2004年7月前交稿的压力。
克林顿在后记中写道：“大部分人认为这本书太长——批评的有理。托马斯·杰斐逊曾经说过，如果时间充足的话，他的信会写得更短些。”但是《我的生活》的普及式平装版却因为后记而更长了，有969页。
许多评论家都觉得《我的生活》非常无聊。美联社还打了一个比方，说读这本书就像被关在一个小屋子里，旁边还有一个喋喋不休的家伙每天给你读他的日程记录，还是从1946年开始的。
（中国日报网站译） |
Updated: 2005-05-24 10:31
