By+Jack+Gantos
杰克·甘托斯(Jack Gantos, 1951~),美國作家,其創(chuàng)作領(lǐng)域十分廣泛,包括兒童繪本、青少年小說以及寫給成年人的小說。上小學(xué)時(shí),甘托斯就意識(shí)到一個(gè)個(gè)日常故事是構(gòu)成優(yōu)秀文學(xué)作品的基礎(chǔ),因此便開始收集逸聞?shì)W事。六年級(jí)時(shí)讀了姐姐的日記之后,他認(rèn)為自己可以比姐姐寫得更好,就此在心中播下了從事寫作的種子。其代表作有《紅貓拉爾夫》(Rotten Ralph)系列繪本,小說《失去控制的喬伊》(Joey Pigza Loses Control)和《諾福鎮(zhèn)的奇幻夏天》等。
《諾福鎮(zhèn)的奇幻夏天》2011年出版,次年便獲得了紐伯瑞兒童文學(xué)獎(jiǎng)金獎(jiǎng)(Newberry Medal), 被認(rèn)為是“2011年為美國兒童文學(xué)所做的最為杰出的貢獻(xiàn)”。此外,該書還獲得了2012年的司各特·奧臺(tái)爾歷史小說獎(jiǎng)(Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction),該獎(jiǎng)項(xiàng)每年都會(huì)從為兒童創(chuàng)作的歷史小說中評(píng)選出一本最佳作品。
這是一本自傳體式的小說,書中的小主人公和作者同名。小說講述了12歲的小男孩杰克·甘托斯在諾福鎮(zhèn)的成長故事。因?yàn)殛J了禍,杰克被媽媽懲罰整個(gè)暑假都要在家關(guān)禁閉,唯一可以出門的機(jī)會(huì)就是幫助小鎮(zhèn)的首席法醫(yī)、年邁的沃爾克小姐(Miss Volker)把她口述的訃告打出來,然后交由當(dāng)?shù)貓?bào)社刊發(fā)。隨著一篇篇訃告的誕生,杰克了解到小鎮(zhèn)上死去的每一位第一代居民的人生故事以及小鎮(zhèn)的歷史變遷,踏上了一段懸念迭起的奇幻旅程……下文節(jié)選自小說第二章,講述了杰克第一次見到沃爾克小姐時(shí)發(fā)生的有趣故事。
1. dead end: 絕境;僵局
2. come to: 蘇醒;清醒
3. 杰克非常容易流鼻血,一旦受到驚嚇或是太過興奮,又或者無緣無故因?yàn)槭裁葱∈露械胶ε?,他就?huì)流鼻血。上文中,沃爾克小姐請(qǐng)杰克來幫自己寫訃告,當(dāng)杰克到她家時(shí),她正在一個(gè)滾燙的鍋里煮自己的雙手,這讓杰克感到驚恐不已,開始流鼻血。他以為沃爾克小姐是一個(gè)煮自己的肉來吃的神經(jīng)病,還以為她馬上要來吃自己的肉。緊接著,杰克便昏死過去了。
4. wad [w?d] vt. 將……揉成團(tuán);n. 小軟團(tuán);(一)卷
5. faint [fe?nt] vi. 昏厥;暈倒
6. shove [??v] vt. 塞入;亂塞
7. gum [ɡ?m] n. 牙齦;牙床
8. 杰克最近在讀有關(guān)弗朗西斯科·皮薩羅(Francisco Pizarro,約1471或1476~1541)的書。皮薩羅是征服南美洲秘魯印加帝國的西班牙殖民者,率領(lǐng)部下打敗印加帝國之后,他以印加帝國末代皇帝阿塔瓦爾帕(Atahualpa)作為人質(zhì),從印加人那里索取來大量精美的黃金雕塑品和金銀首飾等,然后把其熔化為西班牙金幣,一船一船地運(yùn)回國獻(xiàn)給西班牙國王和王后。
9. arthritis [ɑ??θra?t?s] n. 關(guān)節(jié)炎
10. paraffin [?p?r?f?n] n. 石蠟
11. smack [sm?k] n. 拍擊,碰擊
12. amnesia [?m?ni?zi?] n. 記憶缺失;健忘(癥)
13. lump [l?mp] n. 隆起;腫塊
精彩
片段
When I came to2) I was alive and stretched out on Miss Volker's kitchen floor. I was covered with blood but I didn't know if it was nose blood3) or blood from after she started eating me. I lifted my head and turned it left and right to check if she had eaten through my neck. I was fine but she was standing above me and pulling long, rotten strips of flesh off her arms and hands as if peeling a rotten banana. She wadded4) them all up, leaned to one side, and dropped a ball into the large pot on the stove.
"Am I dead?" I asked. I felt dead.
"You fainted5)," she replied. "And I fixed your nose."
"You touched me?" I asked fearfully, and reached for my nose to see if it was still on my face.
"Yes," she said. "After I got the wax off my fingers they were working okay so I folded some tissues into a wad and shoved6) them up between your upper lip and gum7). That's what stops a nosebleed."
"You have fingers?" I asked, confused. I had seen them melt off like the Inca gold being melted down8).
"Yes," she said. "I'm human and I have fingers. They don't work well because of my arthritis9) so I have to heat them up in a pot of hot paraffin10) in order to get them working for about fifteen minutes."
"Hot what?"
"Hot wax," she repeated impatiently. "You saw me doing it when you came in. Did that smack11) on your head when you hit the floor give you amnesia12)?"
I sat up and rubbed the lump13) on the back of my head. "I thought you were melting your fingers into gold," I said. "I thought you had gone crazy."
"I think you've gone crazy," she replied. "You're delusional14). Now let's not waste any more time. I have a deadline."
"What are we doing?" I asked.
"Writing an obituary15)," she revealed.
"Mine?"
"No! You are fine—you're a spineless16) jellyfish17), but not dead enough to bury. Now take a look at these hands," she ordered, and thrust18) them in front of me. They were still bright red from the hot wax and curled over like the talons19) of a hawk perched20) on a fence. "I can't write with them anymore," she explained, "or do anything that requires fine motor21) skills. My twin sister used to write out the obituaries for me but her jug-headed22) idiot husband moved her to Florida last month. I was hoping he'd just have a spasm23) and drop dead and she would move in with me—but it didn't work out that way. So you are now my official scribe24). I got the idea from reading about President John Quincy Adams25). He had arthritis too and when his hands gave out26) he had a young scribe who wrote for him. I'll talk and you'll write. You got that?"
"Sure," I said, and then she caught me sneaking a peek at the glowing kitchen clock which was in the shape of a giant Bayer aspirin27). It was six-thirty in the morning.
"That," she said proudly, and aimed her chin at the clock, "was given to me by the Bayer Pharmaceutical28) Company after I gave out over a quarter million of their aspirin tablets to coal miners here in western Pennsylvania who suffered with back pain and splitting headaches29)."
"That is a lot of pills," I remarked, not knowing what else to say but the obvious.
"In nursing school," she said, "I was taught by the doctors that the role of medical science is to relieve human suffering, and I've lived by that motto all my life."
"What about your hands?" I said, pointing up at them.
"Someday science will solve that. But for now, get up off the floor," she ordered. "We've got to get this obit to the newspaper in an hour so Mr. Greene can print30) it for tomorrow morning's edition."
I stood all the way up and staggered31) into the living room.
"There's your office," she said, and pointed a shiny red hand toward an old school desk and matching chair. "Lift the top."
I did. There were several pads of lined paper and a bundle of sharpened pencils held together with a rubber band32).
"I'll talk, and you write," she explained, setting the rules. "If I talk too quickly then you just tell me and I'll slow down. You got it?"
"Yeah," I said. I was really ready to do anything that would clear my head from thinking about this old lady melting her flesh in a kitchen pot.
Miss Volker stood by the fireplace mantel33) and took a breath so deep it straightened out her curved spine.
當(dāng)我醒過來時(shí),我還活著,四仰八叉地躺在沃爾克小姐家廚房的地板上。我渾身是血,但我不知道那是鼻血還是她開始吃我之后我身上流的血。我抬起頭左右轉(zhuǎn)動(dòng),想檢查一下她有沒有把我的脖子咬斷。我還好好的,但她正站在我的上方,從她的雙臂和兩只手上扯下長長的、腐爛的肉條,就好像在剝一根腐爛的香蕉似的。她把它們?nèi)喑梢粓F(tuán),側(cè)身把一個(gè)肉球扔進(jìn)了爐子上的那口大鍋里。
“我死了嗎?”我問。我感覺自己已經(jīng)死了。
“你昏過去了,”她回答道,“我給你的鼻子止了血?!?/p>
“你碰過我?”我邊驚恐地問,邊伸手去摸自己的鼻子,想看看它是否還在我的臉上。
“是啊,”她說,“我剝下手指上的蠟之后,手指就靈活了,于是我把一些紙巾折疊成一個(gè)團(tuán),塞在你的上唇和牙齦之間,就這樣止住了你的鼻血?!?/p>
“你還有手指?”我疑惑地問。我剛才看見它們?nèi)刍?,就像印加人的黃金被熔化了那樣。
“是呀,”她說,“我是人,當(dāng)然有手指啦。因?yàn)殛P(guān)節(jié)炎,我的手指不太靈活,所以我不得不用一鍋熱石蠟給手指加加熱,好讓指頭能靈活動(dòng)上大概那么15分鐘。”
“熱什么?”
“熱蠟,”她不耐煩地重復(fù)了一遍,“你進(jìn)來的時(shí)候看見我這么做的。你倒地時(shí)撞到了腦袋,難道那讓你失去記憶了?”
我坐了起來,揉了揉后腦勺上的那個(gè)大包?!拔耶?dāng)時(shí)還以為你在把手指熔化成黃金呢,”我說,“我以為你已經(jīng)瘋了?!?/p>
“我才以為你已經(jīng)瘋了呢,”她回答說,“你出現(xiàn)錯(cuò)覺了吧。好了,我們不要再浪費(fèi)時(shí)間了,馬上要截稿了?!?/p>
“我們要做什么?”我問。
“寫一篇訃告?!彼嘎墩f。
“關(guān)于我的訃告?”
“不是??!你活得好好的——你就是個(gè)沒骨頭的慫包,不過還沒到入土的地步。好了,來瞧瞧這雙手?!彼呎f邊把手硬伸到我面前。它們剛從熱蠟里出來,還是紅通通的,手指蜷曲著,就像落在籬笆上的一只老鷹的爪子?!拔覠o法再用手寫字了,”她解釋道,“也無法再做任何需要靈活的手指才能做的事情了。我的孿生姐姐過去常常幫我寫訃告,可是上個(gè)月她那呆頭呆腦的傻丈夫讓她搬到佛羅里達(dá)州去住了。我那會(huì)兒真希望他會(huì)抽搐,倒地身亡,這樣我姐姐就可以搬回來和我同住了——不過事情并沒有像我想的那樣發(fā)生。因此你現(xiàn)在就是我的正式抄寫員了。我是通過讀約翰·昆西亞·亞當(dāng)斯總統(tǒng)的故事想到這個(gè)主意的。他也患有關(guān)節(jié)炎,當(dāng)他的兩只手不好使時(shí),他就讓一位年輕的抄寫員來幫他寫。到時(shí)我來說,你來寫。明白了嗎?”
“沒問題?!蔽艺f,接著她就發(fā)現(xiàn)我在偷瞄廚房里那座锃亮的鐘,它的形狀像是一顆碩大的拜耳牌阿司匹林藥片,指針指向早上6:30。
“那個(gè),”她驕傲地說,用下巴指了指那座鐘,“是拜耳醫(yī)藥公司送給我的,此前我給咱們賓夕法尼亞州西部這兒的煤礦工人分發(fā)了超過25萬粒他們公司生產(chǎn)的阿司匹林藥片,這些工人飽受背疼和劇烈的頭痛之苦。”
“那可是很多藥片呢。”我說道,除了這個(gè)明顯的事實(shí),我不知道還能說點(diǎn)什么。
“在護(hù)士學(xué)校里,”她說,“醫(yī)生們教導(dǎo)我醫(yī)學(xué)的任務(wù)就是減輕人的痛苦,而我這一輩子都在踐行這句格言?!?/p>
“那你自己的兩只手怎么辦呢?”我指著它們說。
“總有一天,醫(yī)學(xué)會(huì)攻克這個(gè)問題的。不過眼下,從地上站起來吧,”她命令道,“我們要在一個(gè)小時(shí)之內(nèi)把這條訃告送到報(bào)社,這樣格林先生就能把它刊登在明天的晨報(bào)上了?!?/p>
我完全站直了身子,搖搖晃晃地走進(jìn)了客廳。
“你的辦公室在那邊,”她用紅得發(fā)亮的手指著一張舊課桌以及和它配套的椅子說,“把桌蓋兒掀起來?!?
我照辦了。桌子里面有幾本橫格紙和一捆用一根橡皮筋綁著的削好的鉛筆。
“我來說,你來寫?!彼忉尩?,定下了規(guī)矩?!耙俏艺f得太快,那你就只管告訴我,我就會(huì)說得慢一點(diǎn)兒,明白了嗎?”
“明白了。”我說。我真的已經(jīng)準(zhǔn)備好去做任何事了,只要能讓我的腦子不再去想這位老太太在做飯的鍋里熔化自己的肉這件事兒就可以。
沃爾克小姐站在壁爐架旁,深深地吸了一口氣,都把她那彎曲的脊柱給撐直了。
諾福鎮(zhèn)的房屋
14. delusional [d??lu??nl] adj. 妄想的;錯(cuò)覺的
15. obituary [??b?t?u?ri] n. 訃告;訃文。下文中的obit是其口語縮略形式。
16. spineless [?spa?nl?s] adj. 沒有骨氣的;軟弱的
17. jellyfish [?d?elif??] n. 軟弱無用的人
18. thrust [θr?st] vt. (用力)推
19. talon [?t?l?n] n. (某些鳥類,尤指猛禽的)爪
20. perch [p??t?] vt. 棲息;停留
21. motor [?m??t?(r)] adj. 肌肉運(yùn)動(dòng)的;運(yùn)動(dòng)神經(jīng)的
22. jug-headed [?d??ɡhed?d] adj. 愚蠢的;呆頭呆腦的
23. spasm [?sp?z?m] n. 痙攣;抽搐
24. scribe [skra?b] n. (尤指印刷術(shù)未發(fā)明之前的)抄寫員,抄書吏
25. John Quincy Adams: 約翰·昆西·亞當(dāng)斯(1767~1848),美國第六任總統(tǒng),是美國歷史上著名的外交家。
26. give out: 停止運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)
27. aspirin [??spr?n] n. 阿司匹林(陣痛解熱消炎藥)
28. pharmaceutical [?fɑ?m??su?t?kl] adj. 制藥的,配藥的
29. splitting headache: 頭痛欲裂
30. print [pr?nt] vt. 登載;刊登;發(fā)表
31. stagger [?st?ɡ?(r)] vi. 搖搖晃晃地走;蹣跚
32. rubber band: 橡皮筋
33. mantel [?m?ntl] n. 壁爐架
Beautiful English
美麗英文
賞析
美國詩人沃爾特·惠特曼(Walt Whitman)寫過一首名叫《有一個(gè)孩子向前走去》(There Was a Child Went Forth)的詩,詩的開頭是這樣說的:“有一個(gè)孩子每天向前走去/他最初看到了一個(gè)東西,他就變成了那個(gè)東西/那東西就變成了他的一部分,在那一天或是那一天的某段時(shí)間里/或是在幾年的時(shí)間里,抑或是延續(xù)了好多年”。在小說《諾福鎮(zhèn)的奇幻夏天》中,小男孩杰克·甘托斯通過用打字機(jī)將沃爾克小姐口述的一篇篇訃告打出來,使小鎮(zhèn)第一代居民播下的善與美的種子漸漸在他心中生根發(fā)芽,并成為照亮他未來人生路的明燈。
諾福鎮(zhèn)是一個(gè)有著深遠(yuǎn)歷史背景的小鎮(zhèn),它是在美國經(jīng)濟(jì)大蕭條時(shí)期由美國聯(lián)邦政府出資建立的新型社區(qū),旨在為那些失業(yè)的煤礦工人及其家人提供房屋以及工作機(jī)會(huì),提高他們的生活水平。在小鎮(zhèn)的建設(shè)過程中,美國前總統(tǒng)富蘭克林·羅斯福的妻子埃莉諾·羅斯福(Eleanor Roosevelt)做出了很大的貢獻(xiàn),她不顧部分官員的反對(duì),堅(jiān)持認(rèn)為應(yīng)該給這些新建的房屋配備水暖設(shè)備,安裝電燈、自來水以及其他現(xiàn)代化設(shè)施,用一顆關(guān)愛、體恤人民的心為當(dāng)?shù)鼐用駹幦×酥T多權(quán)益。1934年,諾福鎮(zhèn)建成,250戶家庭在此安了家,他們便是小說中提到的第一代居民(the original Norvelters)。不過,隨著時(shí)間的流逝和“二戰(zhàn)”之后人們觀念的轉(zhuǎn)變,很多人開始外遷,再加上人口的老齡化,小鎮(zhèn)逐漸開始衰落。小說中的故事正是發(fā)生在這樣的背景之下。
暑假剛剛拉開帷幕,杰克就因?yàn)檎`開了爸爸的來復(fù)槍(這是爸爸在“二戰(zhàn)”中的戰(zhàn)利品)差點(diǎn)兒傷了人。為了幫爸爸修建飛機(jī)跑道和挖防空洞,杰克在幾天之后又鏟除了媽媽種的愛心玉米,要知道,那是媽媽特意為窮人和社區(qū)中心有需要的老人們種的。因?yàn)檫@兩件事兒,杰克被媽媽關(guān)了禁閉,整個(gè)暑假都不能出門,唯一的出門機(jī)會(huì)便是幫沃爾克小姐把她口述的訃告用打字機(jī)打出來,然后交給當(dāng)?shù)貓?bào)社的格林先生刊登。沃爾克小姐此前受到羅斯福夫人的委派,以總護(hù)士長的身份照顧小鎮(zhèn)的第一代居民,記錄他們的健康狀況;同時(shí),她又是小鎮(zhèn)的首席法醫(yī),當(dāng)每一位第一代居民去世之后,她都會(huì)簽發(fā)他們的死亡報(bào)告,并為其撰寫訃告。為了完成對(duì)羅斯福夫人的承諾,沃爾克小姐甚至終身未嫁。
當(dāng)杰克第一次來到沃爾克小姐家時(shí),她正在大鍋里煮自己的雙手,選段所展現(xiàn)的正是這部分內(nèi)容。這一舉動(dòng)把杰克嚇得魂飛魄散,誤以為沃爾克小姐患有精神病。后來他才得知,原來,沃爾克小姐患有關(guān)節(jié)炎,她是在用鍋里的熱蠟加熱雙手,好讓自己的手指變得靈活起來。盡管自己的雙手無法正常打字,但沃爾克小姐還是用心地準(zhǔn)備每一篇訃告,虔誠地為每一位逝去的諾福鎮(zhèn)第一代居民送別。她教會(huì)杰克使用打字機(jī),教導(dǎo)他應(yīng)當(dāng)像愛自己一樣愛自己的鄰居。后來,她又給杰克做了鼻部手術(shù),成功地治好了他愛流鼻血的鼻子,但卻分文不收……沃爾克小姐這些充滿善與愛的舉動(dòng)都讓杰克深受感動(dòng)。
通過沃爾克小姐口述的訃告,杰克了解到諾福鎮(zhèn)第一代居民善待友鄰、關(guān)愛他人的各種故事。比如,斯萊特太太(Mrs. Slater)曾擔(dān)任過多年的學(xué)校馬路守護(hù)員,深受孩子們的愛戴。來自黑人家庭的懷特夫人(Mrs. White)寫信給羅斯??偨y(tǒng)及其夫人埃莉諾·羅斯福,希望在諾福鎮(zhèn)擁有一間自己的屋子,在羅斯福夫人的努力下,懷特太太最終如愿。為感謝總統(tǒng)夫人為讓鎮(zhèn)上居民過上有尊嚴(yán)的生活而做出的努力,她把這位偉大女性名字中的“諾(nor)”和“福(velt)”合在一起,為小鎮(zhèn)改名為諾福鎮(zhèn)(Norvelt)。還有堅(jiān)持陪孫子過完生日才離世的杜比茨基太太(Mrs. Dubicki)、在丈夫過世后堅(jiān)持義務(wù)照顧礦井騾子的雕刻師林加太太(Mrs. Linga)……
在短短兩個(gè)月的時(shí)間里,諾福鎮(zhèn)的老人相繼離世。就在這時(shí),報(bào)社的格林先生卻在報(bào)紙上發(fā)表了一篇社論,他想知道為什么所有的老太太都會(huì)這么快死去,并懷疑沃爾克小姐是否盡心盡力地照顧過她們。這些老人是因?yàn)槟晔乱迅咦匀凰劳?,還是別有隱情?看到這篇社論后,杰克的媽媽哭了,因?yàn)樗龖岩墒亲约翰闪擞卸镜哪⒐?,才致使老人們誤食后中毒身亡的。杰克則猜想如果老人們是被毒死的,那就跟1080毒藥有關(guān),而沃爾克小姐、殯儀館老板赫佛先生(Mr. Huffer)以及追求了沃爾克小姐50年的巡警斯皮茲先生(Mr. Spizz)都買過1080毒藥,杰克自己還替斯皮茲先生跑腿在五金店里買過一些,并且登記了自己的名字。
謎底后來揭曉了,原來,是斯皮茲先生投毒害死了諾福鎮(zhèn)的老太太們。他認(rèn)為只有這樣做,沃爾克小姐才能盡早完成對(duì)羅斯福夫人的承諾,自己才能娶到她,并和她一起遠(yuǎn)走高飛,離開小鎮(zhèn)。真相終于大白……
小說結(jié)尾部分,沃爾克小姐和一位位已經(jīng)逝去的小鎮(zhèn)第一代居民在諾福鎮(zhèn)播撒的善與愛的種子,已在以小男孩杰克為代表的年輕一代的心中生根發(fā)芽。杰克意識(shí)到自己最初擺弄爸爸的來復(fù)槍是一件多么危險(xiǎn)的事情,因?yàn)檫@可能會(huì)誤傷他人;而割掉媽媽的玉米地又是一件多么愚蠢的事情,因?yàn)檫@些糧食是為那些吃不飽飯的小鎮(zhèn)鄰居準(zhǔn)備的。此時(shí)的杰克已經(jīng)真正體味到善與愛的美好,他也確信在未來的人生中,這兩種美好的品質(zhì)將與自己如影隨形。