Cosine Inn 餘弦棧

十篇小說﹐寫了十段感情﹐有姦夫與丈夫的相遇﹑婚外情﹑忘年戀﹑私奔﹑棄婦﹑單親媽媽﹑離婚夫婦……不同的場景。一邊看﹐我覺得小說的風格與我自己寫的有點相似﹐主要以環境的白描和對話來說故事。

引幾段大家看看﹕

他將她的袋子一把放到上方行李架上﹐接著他隔著走道﹐坐在彼此隔壁。他漠不經心地瞥看著我這邊﹐她則專心看著月台上的人潮。他一開口﹐她立即展露笑顏。在此同時﹐她一邊摳著大拇指旁邊的皮膚﹐摳到流血。她開始翻開袋子要拿衛生紙。芙羅倫絲戴著婚戒。我和她在一起時﹐從未見過她戴婚戒——我們第一次見面的時候除外……

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我走到廁所﹐她就在外面等我。

「他堅持要來﹐」她低聲說﹐同時指甲深陷入我的手臂。「這是昨天的事。他讓我無從解釋。假如我堅持不讓他來﹐他一定會吃醋﹐而且開始懷疑我。我根本沒有機會告訴你。」

「他要待一整個禮拜﹖」

她顯得有點焦慮。「他一定會覺得很無聊。他對這種事情沒有興趣。」

「哪種事情？」

「度假這件事。我們通常會出遠門……像是到義大利。或是翰普頓——」

「那是甚麼地方﹖」

「紐約郊區。我會想辦法讓他改變心意回家。你願意等我嗎﹖」

「我不知道﹐」我告訴她。「你把這一切都搞砸了﹗你怎麼可以這樣對我﹗」

我自己很喜歡這種筆法﹐讀的時候就像自己親歷其境了﹐看得到每一個作者想要讀者看到的細節﹐聽得到每一句他們的對話。我自己喜歡看筆觸比較淡的小說﹐大起大跌的感情跳動﹐看過了就覺得失落﹐反而輕輕的描述和對話﹐留給讀者裊裊的餘韻﹐就如一杯清茶與一杯雞尾酒﹐後者刺激過後﹐口腔總是失落空虛﹐要找其他填補……

我在家中書架找出在封塵的英文版﹐想找出為甚麼讀英文版時沒有這麼喜歡。上面引的幾段原文是﹕

He heaved her bag onto the rack and they sat oppsite, across the aisle.  He glanced indifferently in my direction.  She was captivated by the activity on the platform.  When he talked she smiled.  Meanwhile she was tugging at the skin around her thumbnail until it bled, and she had to find a tissue in her bag.  Florence was wearing her wedding ring, something she had never done with me, apart from the first time we met...

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I went to the toilet where she was waiting outside for me.

'He insisted on coming,' she whisphered, digging her nails into my arm. 'It was yesterday.  He gave me no choice.  I counldn't resist without making him jealous and suspicious.  I had no chance to speak to you.'

'He's staying the whole week?'

She looked agitated. 'He'll get bored.  This kind of thing doesn't interest him.'

'What sort of thing?'

'Being on holiday.  We usually go somewhere... like Italy.  Or the Hamptons -'

'Where?'

'Outside New York.  I'll encourage him to go home.  Will you wait?''

I can't say,' I told her.  'You've really made a mess of everything!  How could you do such a thing!'

至於書背吸引我買書的一段﹐譯者的刪節版比原文更緊湊﹐不似原文般「畫出腸」﹕

We are unerring in our choice of lovers, particularly when we require the wrong person.  There is an instinct, magnet or aerial which seeks the unsuitable.  The wrong person is, of course, right for something - to punish, bully, or humiliate us, let us down, leave us for dead, or worst of all, give us the impression that they are not inappropriate, but almost right, thus hanging us in love's limbo. Not just anyone can do this.

有甚麼分別呢﹖其實原版和譯本沒有大分別……那為甚麼多年前讀英文版時不喜歡﹐今天卻又這麼喜歡翻譯版呢﹖也許這種筆法﹐以中文寫對於以中文為第一語言的我更有感染力﹐用英文寫便比清茶更淡﹐有如白開水了……

又﹐許是當年讀的時候﹐這些灰黑的不完美感情沒有引起我的共鳴。

Hanif Kureishi 的網站有上面引文的一篇《Strangers When We Meet》﹐可供閱讀 。 唯一煞風景的是﹐中文版把這個描寫婚外情的短篇起了《當愛已成往事》的名字……讓我想起林憶蓮與李宗盛﹐救命﹗