《终结感》:当代西方都市文化的精神症结

The Sense of an Ending:The Spiritual Symptom of the Contemporary Western Urban Culture

朱利安·巴恩斯是当代英国小说的重要作家之一。《终结感》是其2011年出版的最新作品,并于2012年荣获布克奖。《终结感》虽继承了其以往作品中的历史与记忆因素,但字里行间却透露出一种再无任何希冀、意图终结一切的感受。本文通过阐释文本对历史的颠覆入手,进一步论及小说对传统逻辑思维模式的深度解构,最终指出小说的核心批判指向——当代文化精神的彻底坍塌,从而厘清了巴恩斯将终结感视为当代西方都市文化精神症结的根源所在,揭示出巴恩斯对当代都市文化的病症的深刻认知及忧患意识。

Julian Barnes is one of the major contemporary writers in the UK. The Sense of an Ending is his latest work, which was published in 2011 and won the Booker Prize in 2012. Although inheriting the history and memo- ry elements of his previous works, this novel reveals between the lines a hopeless and desperate feeling. Through the interpretation of the unreliable memories of the text, this paper discusses the deconstruction of the traditional logical thinking mode and the final revelation of the core criticism of the novel -- the collapsed con- temporary cultural spirit, the connotation of Barnes＇ cultural criticism, presenting his profound understanding of the spiritual symptom of the contemporary western urban culture and his awareness of crisis.