 |
U.S. music
superstar Madonna tries to silence the press as she holds up a
copy of her newest children's book entitled 'Lotsa De Casha'
at a reading and book signing event in New York June 7, 2005.
| |
Take it from Madonna, the self proclaimed "Material Girl," money can't
buy happiness.
That's quite a lesson from the 46-year-old pop diva, whose fifth children's book in
the past 18 months "Lotsa de Casha," hit store shelves this week.
"Lotsa was by far the
richest man in the country. He had everything that money could buy," is
the opening line of her latest book. "But there was a teeny, tiny problem. No matter how
much money Lotsa de Casha made, he wasn't happy."
The short book concludes with the moral, "When you learn to share, you
will not only find happiness. You will also find a friend."
Renowned as much for her catchy dance anthems "Vogue" and
"Ray of Light" as she was for cavorting on stage in a partially disrobed
wedding gown some 20 years ago performing "Like a Virgin" on MTV, Madonna
Ciccone Ritchie said she's left some of her old antics behind and is all grown up now.
"I'd like to think I've been evolving and transforming my whole career,
I grew up," she told Reuters in an interview.
"The media likes to say it's just another one of my guises,' she said
of her career as an author. "But it's much more deep and profound than
that."
Madonna the singer is known as a chameleon, morphing from sexy outfits and
suggestive lyrics to Eastern mysticism and Judaism. Similarly, Madonna the
writer has penned a series of books which barely resemble each other.
A different illustrator was hired for each of the five slim volumes.
But they are all anchored by the same message, she insists: "Nothing is
what it seems."
Her intended audience and some critics might agree.
A book reading at a New York bookstore on Tuesday drew puzzled
responses from the group of about 25 kids, who appeared to have difficulty
grasping the book's morals.
"I think she makes the same mistake every celebrity author makes: They
think they can write children's books," said Ilene Cooper, children's book
editor of Booklist, the review journal of the American Library
Association.
"Generally it's just awful, beyond awful," said Cooper of efforts by
celebrities-turned authors.
(Agencies) |
“金錢買不到快樂”。這句話不是出自他人之口,而是自我標榜為“物質女孩”的麥當娜說的。
這位46歲的流行天后在經歷了人生的波瀾起伏后終于明白了這樣的道理。經過18個月的創作,她的第五本兒童書《快樂的真諦》本周在各書店上架。
。
麥當娜在最新的這本兒童書的開頭這樣寫道:“羅沙是那個國家最富有的人。他擁有金錢能買到的所有的東西。但是,他卻遇到了一個小小的問題:不管賺多少錢,他都不覺得快樂。”
這本薄薄的兒童書以一個寓意結尾:“當你學會和別人分享的時候,你不僅找到了快樂,同時也擁有了朋友。”
大約20年前,麥當娜身著露背婚紗在舞臺上搔首弄姿,為音樂電視《像個處女》賣力表演,之后,她又憑借動人的舞曲《時尚》及《光芒萬丈》而一炮走紅。如今,麥當娜卻說,她已經拋棄了那些老一套的滑稽動作,因為現在她已經成熟了。
“我覺得自己在不斷成長,事業也在不斷變化。我已經長大了。”她接受路透社記者采訪時說。
“媒體可能會認為寫書不過是我又一次故作姿態而已,但事實卻遠比這要深刻得多,有意義得多。”談到她的作者身份,麥當娜如是說。
歌手麥當娜被公認為百變天后,從性感的服裝、挑逗性的情歌到東方神秘主義和猶太教,她都一一嘗試。同樣,作家麥當娜也已經創作了多部作品,而這些作品之間往往有天壤之別。
麥當娜找了不同的畫家分別為這五本薄薄的兒童書繪制插圖。但是,她堅持認為所有的書都傳遞了同一個信息,那就是:很多東西并不像表面看到的那樣。
她的目標讀者和一些評論家們或許會同意這個說法。
本周二(6月7日),麥當娜在紐約的一家書店舉行了一場朗誦會。然而,在場的大約25位小讀者卻顯得迷惑不解,他們似乎很難理解這本書的寓意。
“我認為,麥當娜犯了一個所有名人作者都會犯的錯誤:他們自以為可以寫兒童書。”《書單》的兒童書編輯伊琳娜·庫珀說。《書單》是美國圖書館協會創辦的書評刊物。
在談到時下一些名人努力轉為作家的潮流時,庫珀說,“通常來講,這是非常糟糕的事,糟糕透頂。”
(中國日報網站譯) |