It evokes the characters in a few deft strokes, imbuing their brief lives on the page with a spectral before and after.

它用几笔灵巧的笔触唤起了人物的记忆，让他们短暂的生活在页面上充满了幽灵般的前后。

The Pyncheons, in brief, lived along, for the better part of two centuries, with perhaps less of outward vicissitude than has attended most other New England families during the same period of time.

简而言之，品钦家族在两个世纪的大部分时间里一直生活着，与同时期的大多数其他新英格兰家庭相比，他们的外在变迁可能更少。