一切坚固的都烟消云散了——《末世之城》的城市危机想象

All That Is Solid Melts into Air: Imaging Urban Crisis of The Country of Last Things

保罗·奥斯特的《末世之城》展现了一个濒临毁灭的末世恶托邦。在这个末世都城中,无论是城市的外在物理空间,还是社会制度和精神文化,乃至城市主体——人,都在不断熵化。安娜在小说中扮演了一个反熵的精灵,力图为这个迷宫般的熵化世界带来秩序。虽然她的努力终归于失败,但她依然保持了人性的尊严和光辉,为绝望的末世之城带来一丝希望。

The Country of Last Things of Paul Auster presents us an dystopian world, where not only the physical structure but the social institution and culture space of the city are in the state of entropy. The chaos and degradation, of the city makes the people there entropic subject. Anna, the heroine of the novel, plays the role of an anti-entropy demon and attempts to bring order for the labyrinthine entropic world. Though she fails at last, she remains the dignity and glory of the human being and gives a glimmer of hope to the desperate city.