书评:《安琪拉的灰烬》 Review of Angela’s Ashes
《安琪拉的灰烬》是美国作家弗兰克·迈考特根据自己在贫民窟中成长的经历写成的回忆录。自1996年出版,此书便一举获得普利策文学奖、全美书评奖、洛杉矶时报图书奖、美国年度好书奖等多种奖项,并连续117周雄踞《纽约时报》畅销书榜,一年重印47次,印数高达150万册,创下了一连串的出版奇迹。本书现已译成20多种语言全球发行,1999年的同名电影获奥斯卡最佳电影奖提名。
美式发音 适合泛听
For this review, we’re listening to Angela’s Ashes, written and read by Frank McCourt.
Young Frankie 1)polishes his earliest memories of Brooklyn, New York, and then travels back to Limerick to share what he calls, “the miserable Irish Catholic childhood,” typified by reflections like this one.
“The master says it’s a glorious thing to die for the faith, and dad says it’s a glorious thing to die for Ireland, and I wonder if there’s anyone in the world who would like us to live. My brothers are dead and my sister is dead, and I wonder if they died for Ireland or the faith. Dad says they were too young to die for anything. Mam says it was disease and starvation and him never having a job. Dad says, ‘Auch, Angela’, puts on his cap and goes for a long walk.”
As if 2)patriotism and religious 3)fervour aren’t enough to keep young Frank wondering about his future, the McCourt family itself is 4)perpetually on shakey ground. They live in the lanes of Limerick, a crowded damp neighbourhood, where sickness is 5)rampant and prospects are thin. Frank’s earliest Brooklyn memories capture the death of his baby sister, and more tragedy unfolds in Ireland. To make matters worse, Frank’s father is not a reliable provider.
“I’m seven, eight, nine, going on ten, and still Dad has no work. He drinks his tea in the morning, signs for the 6)dole at the labour exchange, reads the papers at the Carnegie Library, goes for his long walks far into the country. If he gets a job at the Limerick Cement Company or Ranks Flour Mills, he loses it in the third week. He loses it because he goes to the pubs on the third Friday of the job, drinks all his wages and misses the half day of work on Saturday morning.”
Frank must learn to be a man without the benefit of his father’s guidance, and a brighter future seems to lie within the walls of the school. Some of the greatest moments of this book recall McCourt’s school days with humourless masters and 7)hapless classmates. Here is one of my favorite scenes featuring the words of the teacher Frank seems to have admired most, Mr. O’Halloran.
“He says, ‘Ya have to study and learn so that you can make up your own mind about history and everything else, but you can’t make up an empty mind. Stock your mind. Stock your mind. It is your house of treasure, and no one in the world can 8)interfere with it. If you won the Irish 9)Sweepstakes and bought a house that needed furniture, would you fill it with bits and pieces of rubbish? Your mind is your house, and if you fill it with rubbish from the cinemas, it will rot in your head. You might be poor, your shoes might be broken, but your mind is a palace!’”
Frank does fill his mind, and that mind is indeed a palace, as this book attests. This memoir is 10)riveting and heartbreaking, yet 11)hilarious and inspiring. Trust me, this is a must-hear production.
1) polish [5pɒlIF] v. 使完美，改进
2) patriotism [5pAtrIEtIzEm] n. 爱国心，爱国精神
3) fervour [5fE:vE] n. 热情
4) perpetually [pE5petjJElI] ad. 永恒地，终身地
5) rampant [5rAmpEnt] a. 猖獗的，狂暴的
6) dole [dEJl] n. 施舍品，失业救济金
7) hapless [5hAplIs] a. 倒霉的，不幸的
8) interfere [7IntE5fIE] v. 干涉，干预
9) sweepstakes [5swi:psteIks] n. 独得的赌金
10) riveting [5rIvItIN] a. 吸引人的，极迷人的
11) hilarious [hI5leErIEs] a. 欢闹的
本次书评,我们来听一听由弗兰克·迈考特著述和朗读的《安琪拉的灰烬》。
年幼的弗兰奇细致叙述了其在纽约布鲁克林的最早期记忆,然后回到利默瑞克讲述了他称之为“悲惨的爱尔兰天主教徒的童年”的生活。以下这种思考就是其童年的典型写照。
“老师说为信仰而死是件光荣的事情,而爸爸说为爱尔兰而死是件光荣的事情,我想知道这个世界上还有没有人想让我们活。我的兄弟们死了,妹妹死了,我想知道他们是为爱尔兰而死的,还是为信仰而死的。爸爸说他们太小,不是为了什么而死的。妈妈说他们是因为疾病、饥饿以及他的永远失业而死的。爸爸说:‘唉呀,安琪拉。’随后,他戴上帽子,出去长途散步了。”
如果说爱国主义和宗教狂热不足以让小弗兰克对自己的未来深感迷惘的话,那还有迈考特一家本身就一直风雨飘摇的状况。他们生活在利默瑞克的横街窄巷之中,那是个拥挤潮湿的地方,疾病肆虐,前途渺茫。弗兰奇最早关于布鲁克林的记忆提及了他在襁褓中死去的妹妹,而在爱尔兰的生活更是灾难连连。而让情况雪上加霜的是,弗兰克的父亲并不是个可靠的家庭支柱。
“我过了七岁、八岁、九岁,快十岁了,可爸爸依然没有工作。他继续在早上喝茶,去职业介绍所签领失业救济金,到卡内基图书馆看报纸,去田野乡间做他的长途散步。要是他在利默里克水泥厂或者兰克面粉厂找到工作,不出三周就会丢掉它。他丢掉工作,是由于第三周的星期五,他去酒吧喝光了薪水,星期六耽误了半天的班。”
弗兰克必须在没有父亲的教导下成长成一个男子汉,而一个较为光明的未来似乎就在校园之中。此书中最美好的一些时刻回顾了迈考特就读的学校里一本正经的老师和不幸的同学。以下是我最喜欢的场景之一,写的是弗兰克最景仰的奥哈洛伦老师的话。
“他说:‘你们必须得研究和学习,对历史和其他东西有自己的想法,不过,要是大脑空空的话,你们就不会有什么想法。把你们的大脑充实起来吧,把你们的大脑充实起来吧。大脑是你们的宝库,世界上没有人能干预它。要是你赌赢爱尔兰赛马,买下一套房子,房子需要家具,你会往里面塞些乱七八糟的垃圾吗?你们的大脑就是你们的房子,要是往里面塞从电影院看到的那些垃圾,你们的头脑便会腐烂。你可能是个穷人,你的鞋子或许是破的,但你的大脑却是座宫殿。’”
此书表明,弗兰克的确充实了他的大脑,那个大脑也的确是座宫殿。这部回忆录引人入胜又让人撕心裂肺,但也欢欣鼓舞。相信我,这是部非听不可的作品。
翻译:未几