经济学人60:驼鹿和人 Of moose and men

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　　文艺；书评；短篇故事；驼鹿和人；

　　Light Lifting. By Alexander MacLeod.

　　《轻量级举重》亚历山大·麦克劳德。

　　A good novel woos its readers, tantalizes¹ them with glimpses of flesh and gradually lures² them into a world from which they later emerge changed. Short stories, by contrast, rely on instant attraction and immediate³ gratification. If they are good they leave one hungry for the next encounter. More often, though, they leave the reader slightly jarred, looking for greater fulfilment.

　　上乘小说总是招致读者追捧，运用肉体吸引读者，使读者沉浸在完全迥异的世界。对比而言，短篇小说依靠即时吸引力和直接的满足感。小说如是能吸引读者，读者渴望遭遇下一次火花碰撞。短篇小说时常使读者动摇，以获得更大的满足。

　　Alexander MacLeod does not. His brilliant debut⁴ collection, “Light Lifting”, is engrossing⁵, thrilling and ultimately satisfying; each story has the weight of a novel. The young Canadian writer is already winning plaudits in his own country. He can expect acclaim⁶ far beyond.

　　而亚历山大·麦克劳德却不。 他的新诗集《轻量级举重》，引人入胜，惊心动魄，读者能从中获得满足。每一篇故事都是重量级的小说。这位年轻的加拿大作家已在他的家乡赢得满堂喝彩。他有望在千里之外赢得掌声。

　　These seven stories grip partly because they are long enough to immerse the reader totally. A good storyteller knows far more about his characters and settings than he shares with his audience. Mr MacLeod passes this test: though he plunges⁷ the reader into fully⁸ formed worlds, he leaves out just the right amount.

　　七个故事扣人心弦，部分原因是他们足以使读者沉浸其中而无法自拔。一个擅长讲故事的人不只是分享他的故事，而是对人物和背景也运筹帷幄。麦克劳德经得起考验；使读者沉浸在完全刻画的世界，而他却实时的抽身离开。

　　But it is the beautiful writing that really carries this book. The choice of words is spare, simple and unaffected, and the rhythm is perfect: despite the sadness that overlays many pieces, they flow with the comforting lull⁹ of a bedtime story.

　　正是这些优美措辞成就了这本小说。小说用词犀利简炼，纯朴而不矫揉造作。还有那完美的旋律;除了字里行间流露出的伤感，小说洋溢着鼓舞人心的动听故事。

　　The first story, “Miracle Mile”, is the best. It mesmerizes¹⁰ from its opening: “This was the day after Mike Tyson bit off Evander Holyfield’s ear.” Narrated¹¹ by a competitive runner, it captures the minutiae¹² of pre-race nerves—the “hiss” of a coach’s hydraulic¹³ door ; the temperature “just inching its way over toward cool”—as well as the “miraculous desperation” that is winning.

　　第一个故事，“长跑奇迹”是最成功的故事。开场就吸引读者：“迈克尔·泰森咬掉霍利菲尔德耳朵那一天”。故事以竞跑着的口吻叙述，捕捉赛前种种细节：液压门的嘶嘶声。酷爽天气中掠过一丝丝热浪，不可思议的绝望也随之而来。

　　These are unflinching tales not of heroism¹⁴, so much, but of survival. The most experimental piece, “Wonder about Parents”, snatches scenes from different homes. One family launches a crusade against headlice the “size of a poppy seed”, raking out hair night after night, “kids scratched raw”. Another drives cross-country through a snowstorm with their sick four-month-old daughter; the Christmas tree in the hospital bears a sign: “These gifts are empty boxes. Please refrain from opening.”

　　小说也不乏坚定的非英雄主义人物，得以幸存。最具挑战性的章节“父母的迷惘”从不同家庭中捕捉场景。一个家庭展开对罂粟种子大的头虱的围剿行动，夜以继日的梳理头发，“孩子们刮伤了头皮”。另一家在暴风雪中驱车穿过田野，车上是四岁的生病的女儿。医院的圣诞树象征：“这些礼物只是空盒子，请抑制打开的欲望。”

　　Other stories capture the consequences of a single moment when the ordinary tips into the extraordinary: in the title story a secondary schooler gets embroiled¹⁵ in a bar brawl¹⁶ on the last day of a summer job; in “Adult Beginner I”, after a woman nearly drowns in the ocean, fear becomes “a biological fact” in her life.

　　另一个故事通过记录某个时刻，从寻常中挖掘不寻常。在暑期工作的最后一天中等学校学者卷入酒吧斗殴 ；在”成年人的初学者1”中，一和女人即将在海中溺水身亡，恐惧成为她人生中”生理现象”。

　　Much fiction is narrated by outsiders, but in Mr MacLeod’s imagination being an outlier depends on the context. In “The Loop”, for example, a cycle courier stands out as an able-bodied, right-minded youth among the fat, elderly and invalid¹⁷ people to whom he delivers medication.

　　众多小说是局外人叙述，但在麦克劳德的小说是靠上下文来决定叙述的。例如在“环“这个故事中描写身体强壮，刚直不阿的年轻人和一群体型肥胖的残疾老人，而后者引发读者思索。

　　Not every story in “Light Lifting” is perfect. A couple could be tighter; the male characters are better formed than the female ones. But these are small niggles in a stunning¹⁸ work. Mr MacLeod’s next contribution will be eagerly anticipated.

　　《轻量级举重》中并不是每个故事都那么完美无缺。男性人物形象比女性更容易塑造。在繁琐细节中展现宏伟主题。读者急切盼望麦克劳德下一个创作。

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