《代号星期四》01一个野性、疯狂、可笑而且极为感人的故事

A WILD, MAD, HILARIOUS¹ AND PROFOUNDLY MOVING TALE

 It is very difficult to classify THE MAN WHO WAS THURSDAY. It is possible to say that it is a gripping adventure story of murderous criminals and brilliant policemen; but it was to be expected that the author of the Father Brown stories should tell a detective story like no-one else. On this level, therefore, THE MAN WHO WAS THURSDAY succeeds superbly; if nothing else, it is a magnificent tour-de-force of suspense-writing.

However, the reader will soon discover that it is much more than that. Carried along on the boisterous² rush of the narrative³ by Chesterton’s wonderful high-spirited style, he will soon see that he is being carried into much deeper waters than he had planned on; and the totally unforeseeable denouement⁴ will prove for the modern reader, as it has for thousands of others since 1908 when the book was first published, an inevitable⁵ and moving experience, as the investigators⁶ finally discover who Sunday is.

一个野性、疯狂、可笑而且极为感人的故事

很难把《代号星期四》进行归类。可以说这是一个有关凶恶的罪犯和足智多谋的警察的激动人心的冒险故事；不过我们期待的是布朗神父探案故事的作者会讲述一个非比寻常的侦探故事。因此，在这个层面上《代号星期四》取得了极大的成功；它至少是一部宏大的悬念故事的杰作。

不过，读者很快会发现它远不止于此。被切斯特顿以绝妙而引人入胜的风格和狂野奔腾的笔触所讲述的故事而吸引，他（读者）很快会看到他会陷入比预想的要深得多的智力困局；

随着侦探们最终查出代号为星期天的人的真实身份，这一完全无法预测的结局将被证明对于现代读者是一种必定精彩的体验，自从1908年该书首次出版以来成千上万读者的体验就是如此。

1 hilarious   

adj.充满笑声的，欢闹的；[反]depressed

参考例句：

• The party got quite hilarious after they brought more wine.在他们又拿来更多的酒之后，派对变得更加热闹起来。
• We stop laughing because the show was so hilarious.我们笑个不停，因为那个节目太搞笑了。

2 boisterous   

adj.喧闹的，欢闹的

参考例句：

• I don't condescend to boisterous displays of it.我并不屈就于它热热闹闹的外表。
• The children tended to gather together quietly for a while before they broke into boisterous play.孩子们经常是先静静地聚集在一起，不一会就开始吵吵嚷嚷戏耍开了。

3 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

4 denouement   

n.结尾，结局

参考例句：

• The book's sentimental denouement is pure Hollywood.该书的煽情结局纯粹是好莱坞式的。
• In a surprising denouement,she becomes a nun.结局出人意表，她当修女了。

5 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

6 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》