(四六级词汇量推荐!Roald.Dahl 的小说一直都是可读性很强的那种~)
Ps: E-book资源在下方~
Roald.Dahl 最有名的作品是童话类,比如前段时间策划翻拍的
除了童话,我是大爱他的暗黑推理小说!很早之前,写过一篇他的《kiss, kiss》。自此,喜欢上了他的文笔,以后有机会和大家一起分享下他的短篇小说系列。
小说让我觉得最特别的部分不在于叙事,而是通过Roald.Dahl 给母亲的信来慢慢地展开,Roald.Dahl 客观描述的现实与战争的残酷与坎坷,和他对妈妈撒娇一样的保平安的信件,有的时候会有种介于成熟与责任,和不想长大的磨合与妥协。
从英文学习的角度来说,比起'fiction'(科幻架空)我更推荐'non-fiction'(非科幻),生词相对会少一些,即使是长篇也都发生在现实生活里,不需要去理解一个新的世界观架构,如果想入手一本英文原著,又不想买'书虫'一类偏向教科书式的外文翻译,这本算是不错的选择啦。
作者在自序里写了一段话,可以算是整个文章的基调,写得很白,也很美, 笔记本扉页上装逼建议句型:
第一部分从出海一直到在南非定居整个语调都显得轻松明快,R.Dahl是酷爱写景的人,景语即情语,这段时期的风景描写都带着溢出文字的美感,整体画风特别少女,刚上船的第一章'The Voyage Out'里
"The Mediterranean was clam and milky blue and a brilliant yellow sun was just edging up over the horizon......"
在船上的时候Dahl还是个刚出远门的害羞的孩子,羡慕喜欢裸着在甲板上手牵手漫步的夫妇那种'don't-give-a-damn'的态度,有着剪掉头发会失去族人尊重的奇怪设定的小哥做舍友,喜欢一个人在船上的小窗里看慢慢晃过去的光和影…就是一个在船上悠哉悠哉不知今世何世的少年人的模样。
到了南非在当地生活的几章,语气也是显得格外新奇,甚至于'The Green Mamba'里时不时会冒出来的致命蛇也显得是生活调味品一般,新奇刺激。
印象深刻的是当地厨师的媳妇儿被狮子叼住,R.Dahl和当地的District Officer(政务官员)Robert一起赶去救人的一段在第三章'Simba'里,实话说我不知道现在的夫妻如果遇到这种情况,另一个逃跑的几率有多大,但是厨师的气魄和冷静真的让我很感动,厨师救下他媳妇儿之后,他媳妇儿表示狮子只是把她叼在嘴里,没有受伤,两人在盈盈月光下还跳起了舞…R.dahl和Robert担心狮子再攻过来,便留宿在厨师家里
" We sat there watching the sun go down behind the flat brown plain that was covered with throne trees,and we could see the sinister vultures waiting like feathered undertaker for death to come along and give them something to work on"
R.Dahl在南非快乐的生活只持续了四章,第五章标题'The Beginning of the War'算是正式拉开第二部分的序幕,从这里开始,整个文风变的淡然又沉重,Dahl被分配了一支枪,和一个朋友一起被迫去守一个交通要塞,堵住路口不让德国人逃回德国去。
纵然二战还没有真正开始,Dahl就第一次闻到了血腥味。等他疲惫不堪的回来,他的家仆用他的装饰刀砍死了一个德国的富商,整个一章大部分都在详细描写家仆口述的,如何杀死德国富商的过程,细腻的能感受到扑面而来的血腥味,家仆对自己做的事情异常骄傲和兴奋,向Dahl寻求认同感的时候,Dahl 只是闷闷的承认自己也杀了一个人。
" Then we are equal,bwana," he said, smiling with his wonderful white teeth. " That makes us exactly equally,you and me."
"Yes," I said. "I suppose it does."
Dahl很清楚,这一步踏出去,就没办法再回头了。接下来Dahl参加了flying training,在 Dahl还未正式投入战争的时候Dahl写到
" We ourselves were brusting with energy and exuberance and perhaps a touch of self-importance as well because now we were intrepid flying men and devils of the sky."
然而这种意气风发没有持续太久,在一次去沙漠的任务中,飞机降落撞到了障碍物,飞机整个燃烧爆炸,Dahl死里逃生,尽管是这么凶险的画面,Dahl 的语调也真的是淡淡的,没有好莱坞大片里拼死挣扎的悲壮,却莫名的有种真实感,
"The world about me was divided sharply down the middle into halves. Both of these halves were pitch black, but one was scorching-hot and the other was not, I had keep on dragging myself away from the scorching-jot side and into the cooler one…"
Dahl像所有的电影主角一样一阵昏厥睁眼就已经在医院了,不过受伤很重还行想到了视力,Dahl在治疗期间的文笔也是没什么起伏一样的,没有怨天尤人也没有愤世嫉俗,不过里面有一段对在失明期间每天照顾她的护士小姐的描写我特别喜欢,护士小姐每天推着的叮叮当当的小车来帮他换药,Dahl把护士小姐想象成“Mary Welland”并爱的一发不可收拾,
" I began to fall very quickly and quite dizzily in love with Mary Wellsnd's invisible image. Every morning, I wait impatiently for the door to open and for the tinkling sound of the trolley as she wheeled it in my room.."
最爱的是他恢复视力之后对这段感情的自我评价
" From the moment I opened my eyes, Mary became a human instead of a dream, and my passion evaporated."
Dahl才养好病又滚回去了RAF,但结果发现自己将要面对一场14架飞机打几百架最新型号的飞机的似乎是不可能答应的战斗,Dahl从始至终都没有提到国仇家恨,杀戮的快感之类的内容,在战斗机中穿梭的唯一理由,就是生存。Dahl在打仗的过程中,架飞机迫降到了“Palestine”遇到了一家在避难的犹太人,Dahl 当时并不知道犹太人在遭受着怎样的迫害,犹太人用德式口音的英语对Dahl发表的为英国的自由而战的宣言之后,说
That's a very small problem,Ours is much bigger.
最后一篇Dahl被遣回去是1941年,二战还未结束,但Dahl 却因为新伤旧伤无法再驾驶飞机了,医生打发他回去的时候说,
" You are no use to us out here any longer."
轻易的抹去了战争中浴血奋战的种种,Dahl的家乡已经成为了战争的牺牲品,好在全家人都健在,只不过搬到了另一个城市,历经波折和母亲通话之后搭上了回家的早班车,最后一段
" I caught sight of my mother when the bus was still a hundred yards away. She was standing patiently outside the gate of the cottage waiting for the bus to came along, and for all I knew she had been standing there when the first earlier us had gone by an hour or two before. But what is one hour or even three hours queen you have waiting there for years? "
PS:最后再说两句:
1.
“本译文仅供个人研习、欣赏语言之用,谢绝任何转载及用于任何商业用途。本译文所涉法律后果均由本人承担。本人同意平台在接获有关著作权人的通知后,删除文章。”