《我們的祖先》出版於一九六零年，係由一九五二年發表的《分成兩半的子爵》、一九五七年發表的《樹上的男爵》和一九五九年發表的《不存在的騎士》合併而成的三部麯。
《分成兩半的子爵》討論了缺憾、偏頗、人性的匱乏。故事的起點是非常簡單、非常鮮明的意象或情境：劈成兩半的子爵，兩片人體各自繼續過着自己的生活－－一半是邪惡的子爵，極盡破壞之能事，一半是善良的子爵，處處助人。爬到樹上的男孩不願意下來，一輩子在樹上度過；一具中空的甲胄自認為是一名男子，不斷貫徹它自己的意志力。故事由意象滋長出來，而不是來自作者想要闡述的理念；意象在故事之中的發展，也全憑故事的內在邏輯。這些故事的意義——準確地說，這些故事以意象為基礎而衍生的意義網絡——總是有點不確定的；我們無法堅持一種毫無疑義的、強製認可的詮釋。
不過《分成兩半的子爵》最引我感觸的卻不是書中的主人翁（即分成兩半的子爵本人），而是該書的敘事者：一名小孩。這本書的故事都出自這名小孩之口，由她/ 他見證衆人的悲歡：而唯有我們讀者纔知道這名小孩的孤獨。
《分成兩半的子爵》一書看來似乎具有快樂的結局（happy ending），但我讀起來卻覺凄然：這名說故事的孩子，該怎麽辦？在讀最後一頁的時候，我難過得很。
Plot summary
The Viscount Medardo of Terralba, and his squire Kurt, ride across the plague-ravaged plain of Bohemia en route to join the Christian army in the Turkish wars of the seventeenth century. On the first day of fighting, a Turkish swordsman unhorses the inexperienced Viscount. Fearless, he scrambles over the battlefield with sword bared, and is split in two by a cannonball hitting him square in the chest.
As a result of the injury, Viscount Medardo becomes two people: Gramo (the Bad) and Buono (the Good). The army field doctors save Gramo through a stitching miracle, the Viscount is “alive and cloven.” [1] With one eye and a dilated single nostril, he returns to Terralba, twisting the half mouth of his half face into a scissors-like half smile. Meanwhile, a group of hermits find Buono in the midst of a pile of dead bodies. They tend to him and he recovers. After a long pilgrimage, Buono returns home.
There are now two Viscounts in Terralba. Gramo lives in the castle, Buono lives in the forest. Gramo causes damage and pain, Buono does good deeds. Pietrochiodo, the carpenter, is more adept at building guillotines for Gramo than the machines requested by Buono. Eventually, the villagers dislike both viscounts, as Gramo's malevolence provokes hostility and Buono's altruism provokes uneasiness.
Pamela, the peasant, prefers Buono to Gramo, but her parents want her to marry Gramo. She is ordered to consent to Gramo's marriage proposal. On the day of the wedding, Pamela marries Buono, because Gramo arrives late. Gramo challenges Buono to a duel to decide who shall be Pamela's husband. As a result, they are both severely wounded.
Dr. Trelawney takes the two bodies and sews the two sides together. Viscount finally is whole. He and his wife Pamela (now the Viscontessa) live happily together until the end of their days.
Characters
* Medardo, the Viscount of Terralba
* The narrator, Medardo’s young nephew
* Dr. Trelawney, the English court physician
* Pamela, the shepherdess
* Sebastiana, faithful nurse to the Viscount
* Pietrochiodo, the court carpenter
* Ezekiel, leader of a Huguenot colony
* Esau, Ezekiel’s son
* Ariolfo, the former Viscount of Terralba, Medardo’s father
* Kurt, Medardo’s squire
Trivia
In the name of the physician, Dr. Trelawney, you can see a tribute to Robert Louis Stevenson, author of the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886), perhaps the most famous tale of split personality between good and evil. Stevenson also wrote Treasure Island (1883), one of whose characters is a certain Squire Trelawney.
《分成兩半的子爵》討論了缺憾、偏頗、人性的匱乏。故事的起點是非常簡單、非常鮮明的意象或情境：劈成兩半的子爵，兩片人體各自繼續過着自己的生活－－一半是邪惡的子爵，極盡破壞之能事，一半是善良的子爵，處處助人。爬到樹上的男孩不願意下來，一輩子在樹上度過；一具中空的甲胄自認為是一名男子，不斷貫徹它自己的意志力。故事由意象滋長出來，而不是來自作者想要闡述的理念；意象在故事之中的發展，也全憑故事的內在邏輯。這些故事的意義——準確地說，這些故事以意象為基礎而衍生的意義網絡——總是有點不確定的；我們無法堅持一種毫無疑義的、強製認可的詮釋。
不過《分成兩半的子爵》最引我感觸的卻不是書中的主人翁（即分成兩半的子爵本人），而是該書的敘事者：一名小孩。這本書的故事都出自這名小孩之口，由她/ 他見證衆人的悲歡：而唯有我們讀者纔知道這名小孩的孤獨。
《分成兩半的子爵》一書看來似乎具有快樂的結局（happy ending），但我讀起來卻覺凄然：這名說故事的孩子，該怎麽辦？在讀最後一頁的時候，我難過得很。
Plot summary
The Viscount Medardo of Terralba, and his squire Kurt, ride across the plague-ravaged plain of Bohemia en route to join the Christian army in the Turkish wars of the seventeenth century. On the first day of fighting, a Turkish swordsman unhorses the inexperienced Viscount. Fearless, he scrambles over the battlefield with sword bared, and is split in two by a cannonball hitting him square in the chest.
As a result of the injury, Viscount Medardo becomes two people: Gramo (the Bad) and Buono (the Good). The army field doctors save Gramo through a stitching miracle, the Viscount is “alive and cloven.” [1] With one eye and a dilated single nostril, he returns to Terralba, twisting the half mouth of his half face into a scissors-like half smile. Meanwhile, a group of hermits find Buono in the midst of a pile of dead bodies. They tend to him and he recovers. After a long pilgrimage, Buono returns home.
There are now two Viscounts in Terralba. Gramo lives in the castle, Buono lives in the forest. Gramo causes damage and pain, Buono does good deeds. Pietrochiodo, the carpenter, is more adept at building guillotines for Gramo than the machines requested by Buono. Eventually, the villagers dislike both viscounts, as Gramo's malevolence provokes hostility and Buono's altruism provokes uneasiness.
Pamela, the peasant, prefers Buono to Gramo, but her parents want her to marry Gramo. She is ordered to consent to Gramo's marriage proposal. On the day of the wedding, Pamela marries Buono, because Gramo arrives late. Gramo challenges Buono to a duel to decide who shall be Pamela's husband. As a result, they are both severely wounded.
Dr. Trelawney takes the two bodies and sews the two sides together. Viscount finally is whole. He and his wife Pamela (now the Viscontessa) live happily together until the end of their days.
Characters
* Medardo, the Viscount of Terralba
* The narrator, Medardo’s young nephew
* Dr. Trelawney, the English court physician
* Pamela, the shepherdess
* Sebastiana, faithful nurse to the Viscount
* Pietrochiodo, the court carpenter
* Ezekiel, leader of a Huguenot colony
* Esau, Ezekiel’s son
* Ariolfo, the former Viscount of Terralba, Medardo’s father
* Kurt, Medardo’s squire
Trivia
In the name of the physician, Dr. Trelawney, you can see a tribute to Robert Louis Stevenson, author of the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886), perhaps the most famous tale of split personality between good and evil. Stevenson also wrote Treasure Island (1883), one of whose characters is a certain Squire Trelawney.
卡爾維諾《我們的祖先》三部麯作為對人的生存問題的考察，三部小說各有側重。《不存在的騎士》是人爭取存在，《分成兩半的子爵》是人擺脫生命不完整的痛苦，《樹上的男爵》則回答，人怎樣才能找到一條生活的道路。
《樹上的男爵》的故事情節大致是這樣的：1776年6月15日，意大利翁布羅薩的貴族少年柯希莫·迪·隆多（那時他12歲），因為和專製的父親阿米尼奧·迪·隆多男爵發生了爭執，一氣之下爬到了樹上，並發誓不再下樹。一開始，所有的人都沒在意，認為這衹是小孩子的一時氣話，不必當真，但柯希莫堅守誓言，决意在樹上一直生活下去。
這一待就是五十多年，柯希莫直到去世也沒有下過樹。小說寫了這五十多年中發生的一些重要事件，來反映他獨一無二的樹棲生活。這種生活多姿多彩，充滿挑戰。如果柯希莫沒有爬上樹，那麽他的一生可能也就是過着貴族應該享受的中規中矩平庸安逸的生活了，但是他不接受這種地面上的生活，所以他爬上了樹，决不下來。在樹上，他打獵、讀書、戀愛、旅行，他和各種各樣的人交往，使一個兇殘的大盜愛上了小說，他幫助小城建立了防火係統，挫敗了土耳其海盜，打退了狼群的襲擊；他廣泛閱讀，比同時代人更早的接受新思想，他與伏爾泰和盧梭通信，印刷自己的出版物，成為當地共濟會的創始人，在大革命期間組織了當地的革命，成為市政委員會的一員，連拿破侖視察意大利的時候都慕名來拜訪他。
《我們的祖先》中三部小說的樣式都是不同的，《分成兩半的子爵》是童話，《不存在的騎士》模擬了中世紀的騎士小說，而《樹上的男爵》采用的是現實主義手法。儘管柯希莫這個人物和他的故事都是虛構的，但一切的細節和歷史背景無不符合現實，柯希莫的一舉一動無不符合情合理，樹上的生活也解釋得令人感到那是完全可能的。我想，形式服從主題，采用現實主義手法是和這部小說要討論的“人如何找到自己的生活道路”有關的，因為這個問題帶有很強的實踐性，人的行動受到現實的製約，不考慮現實因素是很難把這個問題說清楚的，即使說了也沒有說服力。童話故事是沒有辦法讓人鼓起勇氣和信心的，那是神仙的生活，不是人的生活。
下面就討論這本小說的具體含義。《樹上的男爵》中“樹”是有象徵的。柯希莫爬到樹上這種行為也是有象徵的。我從書裏選了兩段，就是很好的說明。先看這一段：
“我哥哥認為，”我回答說，“誰想看清塵世就應同它保持必要的距離。”伏爾泰很欣賞這樣的答復。
“從前，衹是大自然創造生命現象，”他總結道，“現在是理智。”
再看這一段：
伯爵說：“你留在樹上做什麽事情呢？沒有理由呀！”
柯希莫張開雙臂：“我比你們早到這上面來，先生們，我也要留到最後！”
“你要後退嗎？”伯爵大聲嚷。
“不，是抵抗。”男爵回答。
從這兩段可以看出，小說中“樹上的生活”和“地上的生活”是兩個對立的概念。“地上的生活”象徵平庸、世俗、乏味，“樹上的生活”象徵理想、高尚、富有精神性，“樹上的生活” 高於“地上的生活”。柯希莫爬到樹上象徵他不甘於平庸的生活，他堅持决不下樹象徵他不放棄自己的理想，用他自己的話說，這是一種“抵抗”。
從這個象徵出發，對人物的進行分析，可以看到一方面柯希莫喜歡“樹上的生活”，感到很自由，不願下樹，但另一方面他又擺脫不了“地上的生活”，儘管他不下樹，但生活還是離不開要和地面上的人們打交道，地面上發生的事情還是要對他發生影響。畢竟，“樹”比“地面”高不了多少。小說中，柯希莫積極參加社會事務，並沒有因為待在樹上而遁世，但事實上他也不可能遁世，他追求自己的理想衹能是局部的和修正的，而不可能是徹底的决絶的，準確的說，其中願望和精神勝利的成分更多一些。柯希莫每到迷茫和鬱悶的時候，就會爬到樹的最頂端，嚮遠方眺望，這個小說中一再提到的細節，是有着深刻寓意的。他沒有放棄“抵抗”，但他也爬不到天上。
結尾的時候，柯希莫老來病至，奄奄一息，人們把床架到樹上，讓他躺着，醫生用梯子爬到樹上給他看病，但柯希莫仍然不願意這樣被動的等待死亡。當一隻熱氣球飛過樹頂，他象個孩子一樣一躍而起，抓住氣球的錨繩，被它帶着飛走了。這個結局為人物的塑造完成了最後一筆，這就是一個理想主義者的一生，他的生命中充滿了尋找和探索，哪怕是死亡也無法讓他改變。
通過柯希莫的一生，卡爾維諾想告訴我們什麽呢？他為我們指出了一條什麽樣的生活道路呢？我想，可以這樣說，生活的出路還是在現實中，但又高於現實，尋找這種出路本身就構成了生活的意義。尋找離不開勇氣，而勇氣又來自純潔的理想。一個人如果在這些大的原則下度過自己的一生，那他的生命就不會虛度。至於生命應該以什麽樣的方式來結束，人類的將來到底會是什麽樣，小說裏有一個暗示，那是說柯希莫想寫一本宣揚他樹上生活的書，他打算這樣結束那本書：
作者創立了在樹頂上完善國傢，說服全人類在那裏定居，並且生活的幸福，他自己卻走下樹，生活在已經荒蕪的土地上。
小說中，還寫了很多人物的死亡，有十幾個，而且所有的人的生活都不幸福，雖然在寫法上並沒有渲染這些內容，好象衹是不經意的偶然提到，但讀來還是令人悵然。我想，正是因為短暫的生命中有那麽多睏難和不如意，死亡又在一旁窺視着我們，所以我們沒有時間憂傷和嘆息，我們必須認真的對待生命，去思考，去尋找。
Characters
* Cosimo Piovasco di Rondo' (main character)
* Baron Arminio (Cosimo's father)
* Corradina (Cosimo's mother)
* Battista (Cosimo's elder sister)
* Biagio (Cosimo's younger brother)
* Abbot Fauchefleur (Cosimo and Biago's care-taker)
* Viola (the love of Cosimo's life)
Plot summary
The story is about a twelve-year-old boy named Cosimo Piovasco di Rondo', and is narrated by his younger brother, Biagio. It's set along the Ligurian Coast (the north-western coast of Italy, and commonly includes southern France because of the similarity in the scenery) in the eighteenth-century, in the town of Ombrosa. At the time, the regions of Italy haven't united yet, and the region along the Ligurian Coast isn't currently ruled by a legitimate king.
Biagio, Cosimo's brother and the narrator, provides the history of their family. Cosimo's father, Baron Arminio, married the General of the War of Succession (his mother), Corradina. La Guerra di Successione (the War of Succession) is a war between the Baron Arminio and an opposing family whom has equal rights to the throne. The parents who both have identical interests in claiming the throne agree to marry (even though they don't love each other) to give their children more rights to the throne.
The Baron, who is half-mad with a malicious streak, abuses his children constantly; and without the mother who is usually fighting in the war on horseback with the head general (Cosimo's grandfather), causes the children to run wild and misbehave.
In fact, Battista, the eldest sister of the three, used to be coaxed by Arminio to get married at a young age, so she decides to become a priestess, thus avoiding premature marriage. Without Battista, Arminio focuses on Cosimo (only twelve-years-old) and contrives a plan to betroth him to a grand-duchess he might find.
Battista is driven to insanity, and expresses this through her cooking. From toads to mice, rats to grasshoppers, Battista becomes the cook of the castle-like mansion in Ombrosa, and the Baron forces Cosimo and Biagio to eat the disgusting meals.
One day, when the Baron invites the Courts of France to lunch at noon, Battista arrives with her French cuisine new meal, snails. At the point where Arminio forces Cosimo to eat the snails, it becomes the turning point for him - the point where he can no longer handle his father's abuse.
Fleeing from the table, Cosimo uses his ability to climb up a live oak tree in the backyard - Cosimo and his eight-year-old brother Biagia often occupy their recreational time by climbing trees. Storming out of the house, with the other diners trailing behind, came the Baron scolding Cosimo for embarrassing him in front of the Court of France, who eats snails for a delicacy.
Excerpt from p. 15:
"Quando sarai stanco di star li' cambierai idea!" gli grido'.
"Non cambiero' mai idea," fece mio fratello, dal ramo.
"Ti faro' vedere io , appena scendi!"
"E io non scendero' piu'." E mantenne la parola.
English translation:
"When you are tired of staying there you will change your mind!" he shouted.
"I will never change my mind," said my brother, from the branch [of the live oak].
"I'll show you, now get down here!"
"And I will not come down, ever." And he kept his word.
With a spadino (little sword) and tricorno (cocked hat), Cosimo travels from branch to branch, and eventually reaches the boundary of his backyard, bordered by an enormous brick wall. On the opposite side live the Marchese (Marquis) and his family, with an enormous garden, like the Piovasco's, although with exotic plants from Asia, America (newly founded at the time), and apparently, even Australia (an imagined country at the time). Cosimo jumps from one of his trees to a foreign tree, Magnolia, into the D'Ondariva's garden. Cosimo slowly descends from tree to tree to the lowest branch, when he finally sees a blonde-haired girl on a see-saw (appearing ten-years-old).
From the branch, Cosimo uses his spadino (little sword) to pierce the apple in the girl's hand.
Ultimately, Cosimo finds a way to stay in the trees for most of his life.
Reception
While sometimes dismissed as a cute fable, this story finds its very strength in its ability to be read and analyzed on a number of levels: as a romance story, environmentally, narratologically, sociologically, and in questioning the role of the individual and the community. The novel received the Viareggio Prize in 1957. However, Calvino "refused the prize on the grounds that its acceptance simply helped shore up an outmoded institution, the literary prize!"
《樹上的男爵》的故事情節大致是這樣的：1776年6月15日，意大利翁布羅薩的貴族少年柯希莫·迪·隆多（那時他12歲），因為和專製的父親阿米尼奧·迪·隆多男爵發生了爭執，一氣之下爬到了樹上，並發誓不再下樹。一開始，所有的人都沒在意，認為這衹是小孩子的一時氣話，不必當真，但柯希莫堅守誓言，决意在樹上一直生活下去。
這一待就是五十多年，柯希莫直到去世也沒有下過樹。小說寫了這五十多年中發生的一些重要事件，來反映他獨一無二的樹棲生活。這種生活多姿多彩，充滿挑戰。如果柯希莫沒有爬上樹，那麽他的一生可能也就是過着貴族應該享受的中規中矩平庸安逸的生活了，但是他不接受這種地面上的生活，所以他爬上了樹，决不下來。在樹上，他打獵、讀書、戀愛、旅行，他和各種各樣的人交往，使一個兇殘的大盜愛上了小說，他幫助小城建立了防火係統，挫敗了土耳其海盜，打退了狼群的襲擊；他廣泛閱讀，比同時代人更早的接受新思想，他與伏爾泰和盧梭通信，印刷自己的出版物，成為當地共濟會的創始人，在大革命期間組織了當地的革命，成為市政委員會的一員，連拿破侖視察意大利的時候都慕名來拜訪他。
《我們的祖先》中三部小說的樣式都是不同的，《分成兩半的子爵》是童話，《不存在的騎士》模擬了中世紀的騎士小說，而《樹上的男爵》采用的是現實主義手法。儘管柯希莫這個人物和他的故事都是虛構的，但一切的細節和歷史背景無不符合現實，柯希莫的一舉一動無不符合情合理，樹上的生活也解釋得令人感到那是完全可能的。我想，形式服從主題，采用現實主義手法是和這部小說要討論的“人如何找到自己的生活道路”有關的，因為這個問題帶有很強的實踐性，人的行動受到現實的製約，不考慮現實因素是很難把這個問題說清楚的，即使說了也沒有說服力。童話故事是沒有辦法讓人鼓起勇氣和信心的，那是神仙的生活，不是人的生活。
下面就討論這本小說的具體含義。《樹上的男爵》中“樹”是有象徵的。柯希莫爬到樹上這種行為也是有象徵的。我從書裏選了兩段，就是很好的說明。先看這一段：
“我哥哥認為，”我回答說，“誰想看清塵世就應同它保持必要的距離。”伏爾泰很欣賞這樣的答復。
“從前，衹是大自然創造生命現象，”他總結道，“現在是理智。”
再看這一段：
伯爵說：“你留在樹上做什麽事情呢？沒有理由呀！”
柯希莫張開雙臂：“我比你們早到這上面來，先生們，我也要留到最後！”
“你要後退嗎？”伯爵大聲嚷。
“不，是抵抗。”男爵回答。
從這兩段可以看出，小說中“樹上的生活”和“地上的生活”是兩個對立的概念。“地上的生活”象徵平庸、世俗、乏味，“樹上的生活”象徵理想、高尚、富有精神性，“樹上的生活” 高於“地上的生活”。柯希莫爬到樹上象徵他不甘於平庸的生活，他堅持决不下樹象徵他不放棄自己的理想，用他自己的話說，這是一種“抵抗”。
從這個象徵出發，對人物的進行分析，可以看到一方面柯希莫喜歡“樹上的生活”，感到很自由，不願下樹，但另一方面他又擺脫不了“地上的生活”，儘管他不下樹，但生活還是離不開要和地面上的人們打交道，地面上發生的事情還是要對他發生影響。畢竟，“樹”比“地面”高不了多少。小說中，柯希莫積極參加社會事務，並沒有因為待在樹上而遁世，但事實上他也不可能遁世，他追求自己的理想衹能是局部的和修正的，而不可能是徹底的决絶的，準確的說，其中願望和精神勝利的成分更多一些。柯希莫每到迷茫和鬱悶的時候，就會爬到樹的最頂端，嚮遠方眺望，這個小說中一再提到的細節，是有着深刻寓意的。他沒有放棄“抵抗”，但他也爬不到天上。
結尾的時候，柯希莫老來病至，奄奄一息，人們把床架到樹上，讓他躺着，醫生用梯子爬到樹上給他看病，但柯希莫仍然不願意這樣被動的等待死亡。當一隻熱氣球飛過樹頂，他象個孩子一樣一躍而起，抓住氣球的錨繩，被它帶着飛走了。這個結局為人物的塑造完成了最後一筆，這就是一個理想主義者的一生，他的生命中充滿了尋找和探索，哪怕是死亡也無法讓他改變。
通過柯希莫的一生，卡爾維諾想告訴我們什麽呢？他為我們指出了一條什麽樣的生活道路呢？我想，可以這樣說，生活的出路還是在現實中，但又高於現實，尋找這種出路本身就構成了生活的意義。尋找離不開勇氣，而勇氣又來自純潔的理想。一個人如果在這些大的原則下度過自己的一生，那他的生命就不會虛度。至於生命應該以什麽樣的方式來結束，人類的將來到底會是什麽樣，小說裏有一個暗示，那是說柯希莫想寫一本宣揚他樹上生活的書，他打算這樣結束那本書：
作者創立了在樹頂上完善國傢，說服全人類在那裏定居，並且生活的幸福，他自己卻走下樹，生活在已經荒蕪的土地上。
小說中，還寫了很多人物的死亡，有十幾個，而且所有的人的生活都不幸福，雖然在寫法上並沒有渲染這些內容，好象衹是不經意的偶然提到，但讀來還是令人悵然。我想，正是因為短暫的生命中有那麽多睏難和不如意，死亡又在一旁窺視着我們，所以我們沒有時間憂傷和嘆息，我們必須認真的對待生命，去思考，去尋找。
Characters
* Cosimo Piovasco di Rondo' (main character)
* Baron Arminio (Cosimo's father)
* Corradina (Cosimo's mother)
* Battista (Cosimo's elder sister)
* Biagio (Cosimo's younger brother)
* Abbot Fauchefleur (Cosimo and Biago's care-taker)
* Viola (the love of Cosimo's life)
Plot summary
The story is about a twelve-year-old boy named Cosimo Piovasco di Rondo', and is narrated by his younger brother, Biagio. It's set along the Ligurian Coast (the north-western coast of Italy, and commonly includes southern France because of the similarity in the scenery) in the eighteenth-century, in the town of Ombrosa. At the time, the regions of Italy haven't united yet, and the region along the Ligurian Coast isn't currently ruled by a legitimate king.
Biagio, Cosimo's brother and the narrator, provides the history of their family. Cosimo's father, Baron Arminio, married the General of the War of Succession (his mother), Corradina. La Guerra di Successione (the War of Succession) is a war between the Baron Arminio and an opposing family whom has equal rights to the throne. The parents who both have identical interests in claiming the throne agree to marry (even though they don't love each other) to give their children more rights to the throne.
The Baron, who is half-mad with a malicious streak, abuses his children constantly; and without the mother who is usually fighting in the war on horseback with the head general (Cosimo's grandfather), causes the children to run wild and misbehave.
In fact, Battista, the eldest sister of the three, used to be coaxed by Arminio to get married at a young age, so she decides to become a priestess, thus avoiding premature marriage. Without Battista, Arminio focuses on Cosimo (only twelve-years-old) and contrives a plan to betroth him to a grand-duchess he might find.
Battista is driven to insanity, and expresses this through her cooking. From toads to mice, rats to grasshoppers, Battista becomes the cook of the castle-like mansion in Ombrosa, and the Baron forces Cosimo and Biagio to eat the disgusting meals.
One day, when the Baron invites the Courts of France to lunch at noon, Battista arrives with her French cuisine new meal, snails. At the point where Arminio forces Cosimo to eat the snails, it becomes the turning point for him - the point where he can no longer handle his father's abuse.
Fleeing from the table, Cosimo uses his ability to climb up a live oak tree in the backyard - Cosimo and his eight-year-old brother Biagia often occupy their recreational time by climbing trees. Storming out of the house, with the other diners trailing behind, came the Baron scolding Cosimo for embarrassing him in front of the Court of France, who eats snails for a delicacy.
Excerpt from p. 15:
"Quando sarai stanco di star li' cambierai idea!" gli grido'.
"Non cambiero' mai idea," fece mio fratello, dal ramo.
"Ti faro' vedere io , appena scendi!"
"E io non scendero' piu'." E mantenne la parola.
English translation:
"When you are tired of staying there you will change your mind!" he shouted.
"I will never change my mind," said my brother, from the branch [of the live oak].
"I'll show you, now get down here!"
"And I will not come down, ever." And he kept his word.
With a spadino (little sword) and tricorno (cocked hat), Cosimo travels from branch to branch, and eventually reaches the boundary of his backyard, bordered by an enormous brick wall. On the opposite side live the Marchese (Marquis) and his family, with an enormous garden, like the Piovasco's, although with exotic plants from Asia, America (newly founded at the time), and apparently, even Australia (an imagined country at the time). Cosimo jumps from one of his trees to a foreign tree, Magnolia, into the D'Ondariva's garden. Cosimo slowly descends from tree to tree to the lowest branch, when he finally sees a blonde-haired girl on a see-saw (appearing ten-years-old).
From the branch, Cosimo uses his spadino (little sword) to pierce the apple in the girl's hand.
Ultimately, Cosimo finds a way to stay in the trees for most of his life.
Reception
While sometimes dismissed as a cute fable, this story finds its very strength in its ability to be read and analyzed on a number of levels: as a romance story, environmentally, narratologically, sociologically, and in questioning the role of the individual and the community. The novel received the Viareggio Prize in 1957. However, Calvino "refused the prize on the grounds that its acceptance simply helped shore up an outmoded institution, the literary prize!"
《不存在的騎士》（意大利語：Il cavaliere inesistente，英語：The nonexistent knight）是伊塔羅·卡爾維諾之作品，於1959年出版，當時作者已經退出了共産黨。
《不存在的騎士》與《分成兩半的子爵》和《樹上的男爵》合組為《我們的祖先》三部麯，它們皆為當代中篇小說，具幽默的風格和寓言性，是卡爾維諾早期的主要作品。此後，他開始創作文學，為求把文學的藝術發展王更理想的境界。
不存在的騎士-小說內容
阿吉洛夫（Agilulf）是法蘭西查裏曼大帝麾下的一個騎士，有別於其他的騎士，阿吉洛夫並不存在，亦沒有肉身，是一具會騎馬的中空的甲胄。但藉着堅定的意志，他不但可以與人類生存，更是一個完美的騎士—精通劍術，戰爭，歷史，數學，傢居佈置等等。正因如此（阿吉洛夫常常追求完美和真理，又不肯說謊），每個人都討厭他。
在戰雲密佈的時代，漢波—一個年輕有為的男子—因父親被回教將軍所殺而潛入法蘭西（基督教）大軍的軍營，希望有一位騎士可以幫助他，但跑了一整天，又得到阿吉洛夫的指點，仍不得要領，反而要於次日跟隨大軍進行一場亂七八糟的戰役。後漢波來一遇上了女騎士布拉妲夢，就立即忘記要為父親復仇，决心擁有她。
同時，騎士朵利斯蒙（Torrismund）因為自己的真實身世而威脅了阿吉洛夫的騎士榮譽，阿吉洛夫就離開調查，查裏曼大帝和其他騎士都暗暗高興，除了愛慕他的布拉妲夢，知道消息後立即追逐阿吉洛夫。漢波見後起了妒意，也騎馬急追。
最後真相大白，每個人都確知阿吉洛夫是清白的，但此時灰心的阿吉洛夫已經離開了衆人，沒有收到最後的真相。漢波到森林找到了他的空甲胄，以及一張批準漢波穿着空甲胄的紙條。
不存在的騎士-評論
不存在的騎士-存在與不存在
本書的主要是探討存在和不存在，以及知道或不知道自己是否存在的問題。阿吉洛夫是不存在但認為自己存在的騎士，而他的僕人Gurduloo—一個神經似乎不正常的男子—則是存在但認為自己不存在。
在第四和第五章，作者寫下：
It was not rare then to find names and thoughts and forms and institutions that corresponded to nothing in existence. (Chapter4)
I (Agilulf) can truly call myself privileged, I who can live without it (carcass) and do all… Many things I manage to do better than those who exist, since I lack their usual defects of coarseness, carelessness, incoherence, smell. (Chapter5)
作者於此小說以不存在的阿吉洛夫去表示那些衹有名字存在而在我們身邊又不以實體存在的事物—它們都是在人類的眼中十分美好，完美，做事可以比我們更有效率。有些人甚至會信任或愛上它們，認為它們比真實存在的更真實（solid），但當然會有人妒嫉或討厭它們；然而，它們可能會像阿吉洛夫一樣經不起某種打擊（如聲譽受損）而消失得無影無蹤。
普遍認為，阿吉洛夫是指機構人，即為大型團體與機構之代表。
…the world was polluted with objects and capacities and persons who lacked any name or distinguishing mark. (Chapter 4)
而存在但認為自己不存在的Gurduloo會隨着環境，周圍的物件和氣候而改變自己存在的名字，形式等等，所以他所欠缺的是上述的“特徵”（distinguishing mark）。可能作者相信我們的世界就是充滿這種人事物，甚至，我們就是其中之一：
… asked the emperor graciously, “He (Gurduloo) doesn't seem to me know what's going through that pate of his.”
“Who are we to understand, Majesty?” The old peasant was speaking the modest wisdom of one who had seen a good deal of life… (Chapter 3)
(Torrismund said) “Am I to consider myself an equal to this squire of mine, Gurduloo, who doesn't even know if he exists or not?”
(Peasants said) “He will learn too…We ourselves did not know we exist… One can also learn to be…” (Chapter 11)
不存在的騎士-傳說與真實及矛盾
不存在的騎士-傳說與真實
傳說中的聖杯武士曾出現於此書。聖杯武士可說是英國最著名的英雄傳說，電影奪寶奇兵的第三集亦是與他們有關。在這些難以證明的傳說中，聖杯武士給予別人的印象都是神聖和偉大的。騎士朵利斯蒙在遇見他們前和時，都有同樣的想法，甚至渴望加入他們的行列，直至聖杯武士口裏聲稱愛護整個世界，拳頭卻抓緊戰矛刺殺平民。這種矛盾是小說中常見的諷刺方法，主要是為反映社會的黑暗。
不存在的騎士-矛盾
卡爾維諾在寫作我們的祖先三部麯時，似乎希望可以同時訴說出世界和人類言行所包含的矛盾—天生且不能被改善的矛盾。在二部麯分成兩半的子爵中，作者亦至少提及了兩種人性的矛盾。
不存在的騎士-平等觀
聖杯武士在此書中是掌權者，控製着住於古渥登平民的生活，但在騎士朵利斯蒙的支持下，他們趕走了聖杯武士，並開始他們的和平生活。其後，大帝要求朵利斯蒙作古渥登的伯爵，但農民反而要求朵利斯蒙以百姓的生份居住於古渥登。
（農民說：）“…We've obeyed for so long…But now we've seen one can live quite well without having truck with either knights or counts… Stay here if you wish… but as equals…”
這使人想起共産主義最基本的原則：當地的農民瞭解到原來脫離統治可以是脫離迫壓，生活因而得到改善。但當然，位於他們之上的還是他們的法律（our laws respected by ourselves）。
不存在的騎士-人物身份
根據Gore Vidal—美國作傢—於艾文理大學發表的論文，他認為卡爾維諾在此小說中故意把一個人物的身份冠以不同代名詞，即是：“我”和“他”可能是同一個角色，這一手法在日後其他的著作中都有出現。
Plot
The Nonexistent Knight is set in the time of Charlemagne, and draws material from the literary cycle known as the Matter of France, referencing Ariosto's Orlando Furioso. The knight Agilulf is a righteous, perfectionist, faithful and pious knight with only one shortcoming: he doesn't exist. Inside his armor there is no man, just an echoing voice that reverberates through the metal. Nevertheless, he serves the army of a Christian king out of "goodwill and faith in the holy cause".
Characters (In The English Version)
* Agilulf, the nonexistent knight.
* Gurduloo, a deranged man who becomes Agilulf's squire.
* Raimbaut, young noble who is obsessed with the idea of avenging his father by killing Argalif Isohar.
* Torrismund, a young knight who plays as Raimbaut's literary foil.
* Bradamante, a female knight, from Orlando Furioso.
* The narrator, Sister Theodora, a nun who is spinning Sir Agilulf's tale.
Themes
Agilulf does not exist as a person, but only as the fulfillment of the rules and protocols of knighthood. This theme is strongly connected to modern conditions: Agilulf has been described as "the symbol of the 'robotized' man, who performs bureaucratic acts with near-absolute unconsciousness."[1] The romance is also a bit of a satire, playing with the fact that Agilulf is both the ideal of man and nonexistent, along with many suggestions that Sister Theodora is actually making up most of the story. In the end, she must face that such a perfect knight could only live in one's imagination.
The idea of confusion of one's own identity with others and the outside world continued to be developed in Calvino's later works.[2]
Reception
The Nonexistent Knight was collected together with The Cloven Viscount and The Baron in the Trees in a single volume, Our Ancestors, for which Calvino was awarded the Salento Prize in 1960.[3] The book was adapted to film by the Italian director Pino Zac in 1970.
《不存在的騎士》與《分成兩半的子爵》和《樹上的男爵》合組為《我們的祖先》三部麯，它們皆為當代中篇小說，具幽默的風格和寓言性，是卡爾維諾早期的主要作品。此後，他開始創作文學，為求把文學的藝術發展王更理想的境界。
不存在的騎士-小說內容
阿吉洛夫（Agilulf）是法蘭西查裏曼大帝麾下的一個騎士，有別於其他的騎士，阿吉洛夫並不存在，亦沒有肉身，是一具會騎馬的中空的甲胄。但藉着堅定的意志，他不但可以與人類生存，更是一個完美的騎士—精通劍術，戰爭，歷史，數學，傢居佈置等等。正因如此（阿吉洛夫常常追求完美和真理，又不肯說謊），每個人都討厭他。
在戰雲密佈的時代，漢波—一個年輕有為的男子—因父親被回教將軍所殺而潛入法蘭西（基督教）大軍的軍營，希望有一位騎士可以幫助他，但跑了一整天，又得到阿吉洛夫的指點，仍不得要領，反而要於次日跟隨大軍進行一場亂七八糟的戰役。後漢波來一遇上了女騎士布拉妲夢，就立即忘記要為父親復仇，决心擁有她。
同時，騎士朵利斯蒙（Torrismund）因為自己的真實身世而威脅了阿吉洛夫的騎士榮譽，阿吉洛夫就離開調查，查裏曼大帝和其他騎士都暗暗高興，除了愛慕他的布拉妲夢，知道消息後立即追逐阿吉洛夫。漢波見後起了妒意，也騎馬急追。
最後真相大白，每個人都確知阿吉洛夫是清白的，但此時灰心的阿吉洛夫已經離開了衆人，沒有收到最後的真相。漢波到森林找到了他的空甲胄，以及一張批準漢波穿着空甲胄的紙條。
不存在的騎士-評論
不存在的騎士-存在與不存在
本書的主要是探討存在和不存在，以及知道或不知道自己是否存在的問題。阿吉洛夫是不存在但認為自己存在的騎士，而他的僕人Gurduloo—一個神經似乎不正常的男子—則是存在但認為自己不存在。
在第四和第五章，作者寫下：
It was not rare then to find names and thoughts and forms and institutions that corresponded to nothing in existence. (Chapter4)
I (Agilulf) can truly call myself privileged, I who can live without it (carcass) and do all… Many things I manage to do better than those who exist, since I lack their usual defects of coarseness, carelessness, incoherence, smell. (Chapter5)
作者於此小說以不存在的阿吉洛夫去表示那些衹有名字存在而在我們身邊又不以實體存在的事物—它們都是在人類的眼中十分美好，完美，做事可以比我們更有效率。有些人甚至會信任或愛上它們，認為它們比真實存在的更真實（solid），但當然會有人妒嫉或討厭它們；然而，它們可能會像阿吉洛夫一樣經不起某種打擊（如聲譽受損）而消失得無影無蹤。
普遍認為，阿吉洛夫是指機構人，即為大型團體與機構之代表。
…the world was polluted with objects and capacities and persons who lacked any name or distinguishing mark. (Chapter 4)
而存在但認為自己不存在的Gurduloo會隨着環境，周圍的物件和氣候而改變自己存在的名字，形式等等，所以他所欠缺的是上述的“特徵”（distinguishing mark）。可能作者相信我們的世界就是充滿這種人事物，甚至，我們就是其中之一：
… asked the emperor graciously, “He (Gurduloo) doesn't seem to me know what's going through that pate of his.”
“Who are we to understand, Majesty?” The old peasant was speaking the modest wisdom of one who had seen a good deal of life… (Chapter 3)
(Torrismund said) “Am I to consider myself an equal to this squire of mine, Gurduloo, who doesn't even know if he exists or not?”
(Peasants said) “He will learn too…We ourselves did not know we exist… One can also learn to be…” (Chapter 11)
不存在的騎士-傳說與真實及矛盾
不存在的騎士-傳說與真實
傳說中的聖杯武士曾出現於此書。聖杯武士可說是英國最著名的英雄傳說，電影奪寶奇兵的第三集亦是與他們有關。在這些難以證明的傳說中，聖杯武士給予別人的印象都是神聖和偉大的。騎士朵利斯蒙在遇見他們前和時，都有同樣的想法，甚至渴望加入他們的行列，直至聖杯武士口裏聲稱愛護整個世界，拳頭卻抓緊戰矛刺殺平民。這種矛盾是小說中常見的諷刺方法，主要是為反映社會的黑暗。
不存在的騎士-矛盾
卡爾維諾在寫作我們的祖先三部麯時，似乎希望可以同時訴說出世界和人類言行所包含的矛盾—天生且不能被改善的矛盾。在二部麯分成兩半的子爵中，作者亦至少提及了兩種人性的矛盾。
不存在的騎士-平等觀
聖杯武士在此書中是掌權者，控製着住於古渥登平民的生活，但在騎士朵利斯蒙的支持下，他們趕走了聖杯武士，並開始他們的和平生活。其後，大帝要求朵利斯蒙作古渥登的伯爵，但農民反而要求朵利斯蒙以百姓的生份居住於古渥登。
（農民說：）“…We've obeyed for so long…But now we've seen one can live quite well without having truck with either knights or counts… Stay here if you wish… but as equals…”
這使人想起共産主義最基本的原則：當地的農民瞭解到原來脫離統治可以是脫離迫壓，生活因而得到改善。但當然，位於他們之上的還是他們的法律（our laws respected by ourselves）。
不存在的騎士-人物身份
根據Gore Vidal—美國作傢—於艾文理大學發表的論文，他認為卡爾維諾在此小說中故意把一個人物的身份冠以不同代名詞，即是：“我”和“他”可能是同一個角色，這一手法在日後其他的著作中都有出現。
Plot
The Nonexistent Knight is set in the time of Charlemagne, and draws material from the literary cycle known as the Matter of France, referencing Ariosto's Orlando Furioso. The knight Agilulf is a righteous, perfectionist, faithful and pious knight with only one shortcoming: he doesn't exist. Inside his armor there is no man, just an echoing voice that reverberates through the metal. Nevertheless, he serves the army of a Christian king out of "goodwill and faith in the holy cause".
Characters (In The English Version)
* Agilulf, the nonexistent knight.
* Gurduloo, a deranged man who becomes Agilulf's squire.
* Raimbaut, young noble who is obsessed with the idea of avenging his father by killing Argalif Isohar.
* Torrismund, a young knight who plays as Raimbaut's literary foil.
* Bradamante, a female knight, from Orlando Furioso.
* The narrator, Sister Theodora, a nun who is spinning Sir Agilulf's tale.
Themes
Agilulf does not exist as a person, but only as the fulfillment of the rules and protocols of knighthood. This theme is strongly connected to modern conditions: Agilulf has been described as "the symbol of the 'robotized' man, who performs bureaucratic acts with near-absolute unconsciousness."[1] The romance is also a bit of a satire, playing with the fact that Agilulf is both the ideal of man and nonexistent, along with many suggestions that Sister Theodora is actually making up most of the story. In the end, she must face that such a perfect knight could only live in one's imagination.
The idea of confusion of one's own identity with others and the outside world continued to be developed in Calvino's later works.[2]
Reception
The Nonexistent Knight was collected together with The Cloven Viscount and The Baron in the Trees in a single volume, Our Ancestors, for which Calvino was awarded the Salento Prize in 1960.[3] The book was adapted to film by the Italian director Pino Zac in 1970.
《看不見的城市》的第一版是在1972年11月由都靈的埃伊納烏迪出版社出版的。在這本書出版的時候，從1972年底到1973年初，卡爾維諾曾在多傢報紙的文章和訪談中談到它。
下面用卡爾維諾1983年3月29日在紐約哥倫比亞大學寫作碩士班的一次講座中的文字，來介紹“奧斯卡”叢書中的這個新版。講座原為英文，這裏用的是意大利文本，它是以1972到 1973年的兩次訪談為基礎的，並且大部分在意大利沒有發表過。
在《看不見的城市》裏人們找不到能認得出的城市。所有的城市都是虛構的; 我給它們每一個都起了一個女人的名字。這本書是由一些短小的章節構成的，每個章節都應提供機會，讓我們對某個城市或泛指意義上的城市進行反思。
作者簡介 ······
伊塔洛·卡爾維諾介紹：
關於生平·卡爾維諾寫到：“我仍然屬於和剋羅齊一樣的人，認為一個作者，衹有作品有價值。因此我不提供傳記資料。我會告訴你你想知道的東西 但我從來不會告訴你真實。”
生於古巴，1985年9月1913在濱海別墅猝然離世，而與當年的諾貝爾文學奬失之交臂。
父母都是熱帶植物學家，“我的家庭中衹有科學研究是受尊重的。我是敗類，是傢裏唯一從事文學的人。”
少年時光裏寫滿書本、漫畫、電影。他夢想成為戲劇傢高中畢業後卻進入大學農藝係，隨後從文學院畢業。
1947年出版他的第一部小說《通嚮蜘蛛巢的小徑》，從此致力於開發小說敘述藝術的無限可能。
曾隱居巴黎15年，與列維·斯特勞斯、羅蘭·巴特、格諾等人交往密切。
1985年夏天準備哈佛講學時患病。主刀醫生表示自己未曾見過任何大腦構造像卡爾維諾的那般復雜精緻。
未讀“看不見的城市”前，我對卡爾維諾此人毫無所知。閱讀“看不見的城市”一書時，在讀完他就“城市”所進行的一係列“概念”思考後，我抱着對他輕快迷幻的句子和深邃的思想的驚嘆，對他本人産生了濃厚的興趣。在網上一查，纔發現他本人是一位先詩歌，戲劇和寓言，而後小說進行寫作，古巴出生，意大利成長，在全世界享有極高聲譽的當代作傢。
“英雄不問出處。” 誠如古語所說。儘管對他“看不見的城市”一書所懷的無限好感，但也許我本不必就此君的出處去尋根問底。忘記事物的本質，而去對表象尋根問底――這種迷惑本是我輩的缺陷，但不知不覺，我卻又犯下了這個錯誤。而更為可笑的是作者在這本“看不見的城市”一書中，某種意義上所期待的，正是竭力的去讓忽必烈汗或者讀者，去拋開那些讓人迷惑的有關“城市”的種種表象，來就“城市”――這一日益復雜的環境去進行感性的思索。
“存在的就是合理的，”我不由的想起了這句有名的哲學名言。迷惑於現今不得不去面對的生活種種，忽略諸如“為什麽？”“怎麽樣？”“假如…”一類的問題，想必也是合理的。不過這種“合理”所真正說明的，可能卻是為什麽人類的思維能力未能隨着時代的進步而有創造性的發展的緣故吧。 我並非反對科技。我承認科技的發展和當今人類的豐富物質生活有着密切的聯繫。猶如此刻沒有電腦，沒有互聯網，我將不能在短短的幾分鐘裏獲得有關卡爾維諾其人的信息。但回顧千年來人類就生存問題所進行的思考進程，我看到更多的卻是科技發展所帶來的，不僅僅是那些讓人類盲目的去依賴科學，機械化的思考和生存方式，同時也是最自然，最原始的那些有關美麗和幻想的思維的逐漸退化。
也許你同我一樣，很早以前就已無數次的問過自己那些“我是誰？”“你是誰？”一類的問題。那麽你有想過你生活的環境究竟是什麽嗎？那些你所生活的或人們在言談中總是透露出無限嚮往的“城市”歸根到底是什麽呢？
“城市猶如夢境：凡可以想像的東西都可以夢見，但是，即使最離奇的夢境也是一幅謎畫，其中隱藏着欲望，或着隱藏着反面的恐懼，像夢一樣。”這便是馬可或者說作者卡爾維諾本人對“城市”的理解。
在未讀本書前，如同大多數現代人一樣，我對城市這個概念從未認真的去想過。回顧我人生這短短的數十年，仿佛總是永無疲憊的帶着行李，從一個城市遷徙到另一個城市，然後再從那個城市遷徙到另外一個城市。 無論這循環的候鳥式的搬遷究竟有多少次，卻總是喜劇式的以同樣一個結局而告終――帶着疲憊和生銹的思想一次又一次的被夢想拋棄並終結在某個城市裏的房間裏。
在馬可或者卡爾維諾眼裏，“城市猶如夢境。” 這是對我們所置身的環境進行的多麽具有詩意的描述啊。但人人都知道，無論夢境多麽的美妙，夢境畢竟衹是夢境――既非真實，也永遠都不會變為真實。那麽說到底，在馬可或卡爾維諾眼裏，我們所談論，所生活着的“城市，” 難道都並非是真實的嗎？...面對卡爾維諾的這本書，這些從未思考過的問題猛如當頭棒喝一般，讓我體會到了我的生活的麻痹。
或許遠遠不止這些…..是的，什麽城市？城市的本質是什麽？為什麽是城市？這個城市和那個城市是否有不同之處？你眼中的城市和我瞭解的城市是一樣的嗎？這無數本應很早就去思考的問題，然而卻就在這我們輾轉的勞累的生活中，失去了應得到的思考價值。作為生活在這個高度城市化的時代的具有現代屬性的我們，毫無疑問的說，卡爾維諾不僅僅給我帶來一些不該忽略的思考，同時也讓我對生活的麻木感到羞愧。
“城市猶如夢境。” 此說法似乎表明了“城市”不是真實的。那麽我們現在談論生存着的這個被稱之為“城市”的東西究竟是什麽呢？是人們在漂浮着的巨大海龜背上所建造的傢園？還是我們在巨人口中多年經營的場所？在繁忙麻痹的成長過程中，我再次的面對了那些自孩童時代就懷有的對身邊世界的疑問和好奇。於是，在開篇讀到忽必烈汗在對聆聽馬可對其經歷過的不同城市進行描述時，他不經意的簡要的以自己的經驗將其統統的概括成“類”的時候，我能深刻的體會忽必烈汗內心深處的所感到的厭倦。
“忽必烈汗已經留意到，馬可波羅的城市差不多都是一個模樣的，仿佛衹要改變一下組合的元素就可以從一個城轉移到另一個城，不必動身旅行。”
與忽必烈汗的對“城市”的高度概念化的濃縮思維相比，是馬可或卡爾維諾沒有認識到這些城市的相同，所以纔會不煩其厭極力的去進行描述呢？還是這些城市在馬可或卡爾維諾的眼裏儘管有着相同之處但卻在本質上卻是不同的呢？或者說，是馬可或卡爾維諾已經超脫了生活的桎梏，從而能進一步的去質問生活的環境？我帶着疑問繼續往下讀並找到了答案。
“城市也由欲望和恐懼造成。儘管二者之間衹有秘密的交流、荒謬的規律和虛假的比例，儘管每種事物隱藏着另一種事物…城市也認為自己是心思和機緣的造物，可是兩者都支不起城墻。你喜歡一個城，不在於它有七種或七十種奇景，衹在於它對你的問題所提示的答案。或者在於它迫你回答的問題，像底比斯通過斯芬剋斯之口提問一樣..”
讀到這裏我纔恍然大悟，原來馬可心中的城市與我們所理解的“城市”並非是我們自以為是，以文明自居的那些由種種概念堆積起來的生存單位。
誠然，卡爾維諾其他的作者不同。他在整篇文章裏絲毫沒有對“什麽是城市”做出一個明確的回答。相反，他衹是往返的穿梭在馬可與忽必烈汗的有關城市的對話之中。當我意識到這個地方的時候，我不得不感嘆作者感性的思維和巧妙的寫作技巧。是的，卡爾維諾不僅在文章中非常巧妙的回避了“什麽是城市”這個極端枯燥並被幾千年人類文明概念化了的問題。同時也費勁心機的誘導讀者對其固有的對城市的認識帶着懷疑去進行審視。於是，在閱讀該書的時候，我禁不住去想，作者的回避是否懷有某種目的。如果真有有目的的話，在我看來，那無非是為了強調人作為獨立的個體所應當具體的，而不是被我們生活逐漸磨滅的個體主驗。
為了避免庸俗的去嚮讀者對城市進行枯燥乏味，長篇大調的描述，在本書中，作者極力的去避免那些已經數據化了的種種城市的標準。在某種程度上，他甚至回避了那些包括他自有的對城市的認識…在面對於那些可能對讀者城市的認識産生懷疑的一切概念化了的東西，如城市的人口性質，人口密度或地域特徵等種種，卡爾維諾都極力的去避免。可能作者唯有坦然的通過馬可的口對城市進行充滿了幻想和詩意的描述，去告訴讀者他眼裏城市是什麽，（城市是在欲望和恐懼中瘋狂生長的夢）作者才能使讀者在閱讀時激發年幼時對身邊事物的好奇吧。也許唯有這樣，才能再度的去誘發我們的那些在人類成長中，那些隨着年齡，早以被生活殘疾了的創造性的思索吧。換句話來說，可能這正是此刻我為什麽我寫這篇讀書筆記的原因。
然而問題卻遠遠不止這些。在作者眼裏，“城市”既是夢境，但卻又真真正正的存在。在馬可的口裏，佐貝德是真實的“滿披月色的白色城市，它的街道糾纏得像一團毛綫。”但它卻建立在一群男子帶着他們對一位夢中披着長頭髮，裸着身體奔跑的女子的共同的嚮往……瓦爾德拉達是真實的“古人在湖畔建立起來的，有陽臺的房子層層重疊，高處的街道在臨湖的一邊有鐵欄圍着護墻。”但它卻與自己的湖泊中的倒影相混淆，讓所有“城裏”的快樂和恐懼不斷的重複。“
欲望和恐懼都是無法用概念和實物進行精確定義，但又實實在在的存在。卡爾維諾眼裏的城市也是如此。
如同城市的真實存在一樣，卡爾維諾嚮讀者展示的並非是意識中城市的虛幻。在卡爾維諾的筆下，城市是既有的，存在的，但又無法去下定義的。於是作者不但回避了去為“什麽是城市”下定義，同時作者也暗示了人作為獨立的個體在認知上的統一和不統一。
統一的，是人對美好事物嚮往的一致性。在馬可對佐貝德建立所進行的描述我們可以看到這種統一。認知上的不統一，作者在文中則通過描寫忽必烈汗與馬可波羅對城市的不同認知來表現出來。是的，通過二人的對話，我們不難看出，這種不同性不僅僅在於感知與經驗的差異，同時也在於忽必烈汗與馬可波羅的主體的不同特性。對於馬可來說，他是一個富有種種人生經驗的旅行者，而忽必烈汗，則是一來自草原的入侵勝利者。於是我禁不住去大膽的猜想他們對城市的不同理解來源於談話主體的不同的身份特徵。也許遠遠不止身份的不同，此外諸如文化差異教育程度等等的不同可能也是産生不同認識的原因。
… …
在體會到上述的一些感受後，我終於知道了我心底的“城市…”那個“城市”有着鮮花和大廈；有麻木生存的行屍和精力充沛的詩人；有號啕大哭和有歡歌笑語；太陽落下後，不見月亮卻有霓虹燈徹夜通亮…
也許這些並非是真正的城市，衹是我的夢境罷了。或許你也需要進一步的去尋證――如忽必烈汗嚮馬可尋證一樣――
“'去罷，去搜索所有的海岸，找出這個城，’可汗對馬可說，’然後回來告訴我，我的夢是不是符和現實。’”
但我想我們知道－－我們不能去指望任何人－－不能去指望馬可，不能去指望忽必烈汗，不能去望卡爾維諾...因為唯有通過我們自己的尋找，我們纔會對它真正的瞭解――如馬可所回答的那樣――
“‘請原諒， 汗王， 或早或遲，有一天我總會從那個碼頭開航的，’馬可說，‘但是我不會回來告訴你。那城確實存在，而它有一個簡單的秘密：它衹知道出發，不知道回航。”
那麽，就讓我們揮別所在的這個"城市，" 立即出航。
Description
The book explores imagination and the imaginable through the descriptions of cities by an explorer, Marco Polo. The book is framed as a conversation between the aging and busy emperor Kublai Khan, who constantly has merchants coming to describe the state of his expanding and vast empire, and Polo. The majority of the book consists of brief prose poems describing 55 cities, apparently narrated by Polo. Short dialogues between the two characters are interspersed every five to ten cities and are used to discuss various ideas presented by the cities on a wide range of topics including linguistics and human nature. The book structured around an interlocking pattern of numbered sections, while the length of each section's title graphically outlines a continuously oscillating sine wave, or perhaps a city skyline. The interludes between Khan and Polo are no less poetically constructed than the cities, and form a framing device, a story with a story, that plays with the natural complexity of language and stories.
Marco Polo and Kublai Khan do not speak the same language. When Polo is explaining the various cities, he uses objects from the city to tell the story. The implication is that that each character understands the other through their own interpretation of what they are saying. They literally are not speaking the same language, which leaves many decisions for the individual reader.
The book, because of its approach to the imaginative potentialities of cities, has been used by architects and artists to visualize how cities can be[1], their secret folds, where the human imagination is not necessarily limited by the laws of physics or the limitations of modern urban theory. It offers an alternative approach to thinking about cities, how they are formed and how they function.
The book was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1975.
The Travels of Marco Polo, Polo's travel diaries depicting his journeys through the Mongol Empire which were written in the 13th century, share with Invisible Cities the brief, often fantastic accounts of the cities Polo visits, accompanied by descriptions of the city's inhabitants, notable imports and exports, and whatever interesting tales Polo had heard about the region.
下面用卡爾維諾1983年3月29日在紐約哥倫比亞大學寫作碩士班的一次講座中的文字，來介紹“奧斯卡”叢書中的這個新版。講座原為英文，這裏用的是意大利文本，它是以1972到 1973年的兩次訪談為基礎的，並且大部分在意大利沒有發表過。
在《看不見的城市》裏人們找不到能認得出的城市。所有的城市都是虛構的; 我給它們每一個都起了一個女人的名字。這本書是由一些短小的章節構成的，每個章節都應提供機會，讓我們對某個城市或泛指意義上的城市進行反思。
作者簡介 ······
伊塔洛·卡爾維諾介紹：
關於生平·卡爾維諾寫到：“我仍然屬於和剋羅齊一樣的人，認為一個作者，衹有作品有價值。因此我不提供傳記資料。我會告訴你你想知道的東西 但我從來不會告訴你真實。”
生於古巴，1985年9月1913在濱海別墅猝然離世，而與當年的諾貝爾文學奬失之交臂。
父母都是熱帶植物學家，“我的家庭中衹有科學研究是受尊重的。我是敗類，是傢裏唯一從事文學的人。”
少年時光裏寫滿書本、漫畫、電影。他夢想成為戲劇傢高中畢業後卻進入大學農藝係，隨後從文學院畢業。
1947年出版他的第一部小說《通嚮蜘蛛巢的小徑》，從此致力於開發小說敘述藝術的無限可能。
曾隱居巴黎15年，與列維·斯特勞斯、羅蘭·巴特、格諾等人交往密切。
1985年夏天準備哈佛講學時患病。主刀醫生表示自己未曾見過任何大腦構造像卡爾維諾的那般復雜精緻。
未讀“看不見的城市”前，我對卡爾維諾此人毫無所知。閱讀“看不見的城市”一書時，在讀完他就“城市”所進行的一係列“概念”思考後，我抱着對他輕快迷幻的句子和深邃的思想的驚嘆，對他本人産生了濃厚的興趣。在網上一查，纔發現他本人是一位先詩歌，戲劇和寓言，而後小說進行寫作，古巴出生，意大利成長，在全世界享有極高聲譽的當代作傢。
“英雄不問出處。” 誠如古語所說。儘管對他“看不見的城市”一書所懷的無限好感，但也許我本不必就此君的出處去尋根問底。忘記事物的本質，而去對表象尋根問底――這種迷惑本是我輩的缺陷，但不知不覺，我卻又犯下了這個錯誤。而更為可笑的是作者在這本“看不見的城市”一書中，某種意義上所期待的，正是竭力的去讓忽必烈汗或者讀者，去拋開那些讓人迷惑的有關“城市”的種種表象，來就“城市”――這一日益復雜的環境去進行感性的思索。
“存在的就是合理的，”我不由的想起了這句有名的哲學名言。迷惑於現今不得不去面對的生活種種，忽略諸如“為什麽？”“怎麽樣？”“假如…”一類的問題，想必也是合理的。不過這種“合理”所真正說明的，可能卻是為什麽人類的思維能力未能隨着時代的進步而有創造性的發展的緣故吧。 我並非反對科技。我承認科技的發展和當今人類的豐富物質生活有着密切的聯繫。猶如此刻沒有電腦，沒有互聯網，我將不能在短短的幾分鐘裏獲得有關卡爾維諾其人的信息。但回顧千年來人類就生存問題所進行的思考進程，我看到更多的卻是科技發展所帶來的，不僅僅是那些讓人類盲目的去依賴科學，機械化的思考和生存方式，同時也是最自然，最原始的那些有關美麗和幻想的思維的逐漸退化。
也許你同我一樣，很早以前就已無數次的問過自己那些“我是誰？”“你是誰？”一類的問題。那麽你有想過你生活的環境究竟是什麽嗎？那些你所生活的或人們在言談中總是透露出無限嚮往的“城市”歸根到底是什麽呢？
“城市猶如夢境：凡可以想像的東西都可以夢見，但是，即使最離奇的夢境也是一幅謎畫，其中隱藏着欲望，或着隱藏着反面的恐懼，像夢一樣。”這便是馬可或者說作者卡爾維諾本人對“城市”的理解。
在未讀本書前，如同大多數現代人一樣，我對城市這個概念從未認真的去想過。回顧我人生這短短的數十年，仿佛總是永無疲憊的帶着行李，從一個城市遷徙到另一個城市，然後再從那個城市遷徙到另外一個城市。 無論這循環的候鳥式的搬遷究竟有多少次，卻總是喜劇式的以同樣一個結局而告終――帶着疲憊和生銹的思想一次又一次的被夢想拋棄並終結在某個城市裏的房間裏。
在馬可或者卡爾維諾眼裏，“城市猶如夢境。” 這是對我們所置身的環境進行的多麽具有詩意的描述啊。但人人都知道，無論夢境多麽的美妙，夢境畢竟衹是夢境――既非真實，也永遠都不會變為真實。那麽說到底，在馬可或卡爾維諾眼裏，我們所談論，所生活着的“城市，” 難道都並非是真實的嗎？...面對卡爾維諾的這本書，這些從未思考過的問題猛如當頭棒喝一般，讓我體會到了我的生活的麻痹。
或許遠遠不止這些…..是的，什麽城市？城市的本質是什麽？為什麽是城市？這個城市和那個城市是否有不同之處？你眼中的城市和我瞭解的城市是一樣的嗎？這無數本應很早就去思考的問題，然而卻就在這我們輾轉的勞累的生活中，失去了應得到的思考價值。作為生活在這個高度城市化的時代的具有現代屬性的我們，毫無疑問的說，卡爾維諾不僅僅給我帶來一些不該忽略的思考，同時也讓我對生活的麻木感到羞愧。
“城市猶如夢境。” 此說法似乎表明了“城市”不是真實的。那麽我們現在談論生存着的這個被稱之為“城市”的東西究竟是什麽呢？是人們在漂浮着的巨大海龜背上所建造的傢園？還是我們在巨人口中多年經營的場所？在繁忙麻痹的成長過程中，我再次的面對了那些自孩童時代就懷有的對身邊世界的疑問和好奇。於是，在開篇讀到忽必烈汗在對聆聽馬可對其經歷過的不同城市進行描述時，他不經意的簡要的以自己的經驗將其統統的概括成“類”的時候，我能深刻的體會忽必烈汗內心深處的所感到的厭倦。
“忽必烈汗已經留意到，馬可波羅的城市差不多都是一個模樣的，仿佛衹要改變一下組合的元素就可以從一個城轉移到另一個城，不必動身旅行。”
與忽必烈汗的對“城市”的高度概念化的濃縮思維相比，是馬可或卡爾維諾沒有認識到這些城市的相同，所以纔會不煩其厭極力的去進行描述呢？還是這些城市在馬可或卡爾維諾的眼裏儘管有着相同之處但卻在本質上卻是不同的呢？或者說，是馬可或卡爾維諾已經超脫了生活的桎梏，從而能進一步的去質問生活的環境？我帶着疑問繼續往下讀並找到了答案。
“城市也由欲望和恐懼造成。儘管二者之間衹有秘密的交流、荒謬的規律和虛假的比例，儘管每種事物隱藏着另一種事物…城市也認為自己是心思和機緣的造物，可是兩者都支不起城墻。你喜歡一個城，不在於它有七種或七十種奇景，衹在於它對你的問題所提示的答案。或者在於它迫你回答的問題，像底比斯通過斯芬剋斯之口提問一樣..”
讀到這裏我纔恍然大悟，原來馬可心中的城市與我們所理解的“城市”並非是我們自以為是，以文明自居的那些由種種概念堆積起來的生存單位。
誠然，卡爾維諾其他的作者不同。他在整篇文章裏絲毫沒有對“什麽是城市”做出一個明確的回答。相反，他衹是往返的穿梭在馬可與忽必烈汗的有關城市的對話之中。當我意識到這個地方的時候，我不得不感嘆作者感性的思維和巧妙的寫作技巧。是的，卡爾維諾不僅在文章中非常巧妙的回避了“什麽是城市”這個極端枯燥並被幾千年人類文明概念化了的問題。同時也費勁心機的誘導讀者對其固有的對城市的認識帶着懷疑去進行審視。於是，在閱讀該書的時候，我禁不住去想，作者的回避是否懷有某種目的。如果真有有目的的話，在我看來，那無非是為了強調人作為獨立的個體所應當具體的，而不是被我們生活逐漸磨滅的個體主驗。
為了避免庸俗的去嚮讀者對城市進行枯燥乏味，長篇大調的描述，在本書中，作者極力的去避免那些已經數據化了的種種城市的標準。在某種程度上，他甚至回避了那些包括他自有的對城市的認識…在面對於那些可能對讀者城市的認識産生懷疑的一切概念化了的東西，如城市的人口性質，人口密度或地域特徵等種種，卡爾維諾都極力的去避免。可能作者唯有坦然的通過馬可的口對城市進行充滿了幻想和詩意的描述，去告訴讀者他眼裏城市是什麽，（城市是在欲望和恐懼中瘋狂生長的夢）作者才能使讀者在閱讀時激發年幼時對身邊事物的好奇吧。也許唯有這樣，才能再度的去誘發我們的那些在人類成長中，那些隨着年齡，早以被生活殘疾了的創造性的思索吧。換句話來說，可能這正是此刻我為什麽我寫這篇讀書筆記的原因。
然而問題卻遠遠不止這些。在作者眼裏，“城市”既是夢境，但卻又真真正正的存在。在馬可的口裏，佐貝德是真實的“滿披月色的白色城市，它的街道糾纏得像一團毛綫。”但它卻建立在一群男子帶着他們對一位夢中披着長頭髮，裸着身體奔跑的女子的共同的嚮往……瓦爾德拉達是真實的“古人在湖畔建立起來的，有陽臺的房子層層重疊，高處的街道在臨湖的一邊有鐵欄圍着護墻。”但它卻與自己的湖泊中的倒影相混淆，讓所有“城裏”的快樂和恐懼不斷的重複。“
欲望和恐懼都是無法用概念和實物進行精確定義，但又實實在在的存在。卡爾維諾眼裏的城市也是如此。
如同城市的真實存在一樣，卡爾維諾嚮讀者展示的並非是意識中城市的虛幻。在卡爾維諾的筆下，城市是既有的，存在的，但又無法去下定義的。於是作者不但回避了去為“什麽是城市”下定義，同時作者也暗示了人作為獨立的個體在認知上的統一和不統一。
統一的，是人對美好事物嚮往的一致性。在馬可對佐貝德建立所進行的描述我們可以看到這種統一。認知上的不統一，作者在文中則通過描寫忽必烈汗與馬可波羅對城市的不同認知來表現出來。是的，通過二人的對話，我們不難看出，這種不同性不僅僅在於感知與經驗的差異，同時也在於忽必烈汗與馬可波羅的主體的不同特性。對於馬可來說，他是一個富有種種人生經驗的旅行者，而忽必烈汗，則是一來自草原的入侵勝利者。於是我禁不住去大膽的猜想他們對城市的不同理解來源於談話主體的不同的身份特徵。也許遠遠不止身份的不同，此外諸如文化差異教育程度等等的不同可能也是産生不同認識的原因。
… …
在體會到上述的一些感受後，我終於知道了我心底的“城市…”那個“城市”有着鮮花和大廈；有麻木生存的行屍和精力充沛的詩人；有號啕大哭和有歡歌笑語；太陽落下後，不見月亮卻有霓虹燈徹夜通亮…
也許這些並非是真正的城市，衹是我的夢境罷了。或許你也需要進一步的去尋證――如忽必烈汗嚮馬可尋證一樣――
“'去罷，去搜索所有的海岸，找出這個城，’可汗對馬可說，’然後回來告訴我，我的夢是不是符和現實。’”
但我想我們知道－－我們不能去指望任何人－－不能去指望馬可，不能去指望忽必烈汗，不能去望卡爾維諾...因為唯有通過我們自己的尋找，我們纔會對它真正的瞭解――如馬可所回答的那樣――
“‘請原諒， 汗王， 或早或遲，有一天我總會從那個碼頭開航的，’馬可說，‘但是我不會回來告訴你。那城確實存在，而它有一個簡單的秘密：它衹知道出發，不知道回航。”
那麽，就讓我們揮別所在的這個"城市，" 立即出航。
Description
The book explores imagination and the imaginable through the descriptions of cities by an explorer, Marco Polo. The book is framed as a conversation between the aging and busy emperor Kublai Khan, who constantly has merchants coming to describe the state of his expanding and vast empire, and Polo. The majority of the book consists of brief prose poems describing 55 cities, apparently narrated by Polo. Short dialogues between the two characters are interspersed every five to ten cities and are used to discuss various ideas presented by the cities on a wide range of topics including linguistics and human nature. The book structured around an interlocking pattern of numbered sections, while the length of each section's title graphically outlines a continuously oscillating sine wave, or perhaps a city skyline. The interludes between Khan and Polo are no less poetically constructed than the cities, and form a framing device, a story with a story, that plays with the natural complexity of language and stories.
Marco Polo and Kublai Khan do not speak the same language. When Polo is explaining the various cities, he uses objects from the city to tell the story. The implication is that that each character understands the other through their own interpretation of what they are saying. They literally are not speaking the same language, which leaves many decisions for the individual reader.
The book, because of its approach to the imaginative potentialities of cities, has been used by architects and artists to visualize how cities can be[1], their secret folds, where the human imagination is not necessarily limited by the laws of physics or the limitations of modern urban theory. It offers an alternative approach to thinking about cities, how they are formed and how they function.
The book was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1975.
The Travels of Marco Polo, Polo's travel diaries depicting his journeys through the Mongol Empire which were written in the 13th century, share with Invisible Cities the brief, often fantastic accounts of the cities Polo visits, accompanied by descriptions of the city's inhabitants, notable imports and exports, and whatever interesting tales Polo had heard about the region.
在《通往蜘蛛巢的小路》中，卡爾維諾首先選擇了一個孩子的視角，將人物的分量先減輕，少年皮恩有着孩子的好奇和天真，也因為混跡於底層的小酒館似懂非懂地瞭解一些成人世界，半大不懂的心靈可以使他在現實與想象之間自由的穿行，他所有行動的願望衹是為了能找到一個理解他同時他也能理解的朋友，可以和他一起去看他的蜘蛛巢；同時為了反抗那種當時意共的文學為政治服務的“指令文學”（Committed Literature）中的“革命浪漫主義”，他把書中別的遊擊隊人物都還原成他們的本來面目，正如第九章中通過政委吉姆之口所說的，“德利托支隊：小偷，憲兵，軍人，黑市交易者，流浪漢。這些人在一起成為社會的弊端，在扭麯中掙紮。他們沒有任何東西要保衛，沒有任何東西要改變。……他們沒有任何祖國，不論是真實的還是臆造出來的。但是，你知道他們身上有勇氣，也有怒氣。他們的生活受到損害，他們的街道又黑又暗，他們的傢破爛不堪，他們從小就學會污言穢語，總對人使壞。衹要有一個莫名其妙的原因，衹要走錯一步或心血來潮，就會使他們走到另外一方去……” ，但是在危機時刻的一種人類自救與互助的衝動是他們走到了一起，使他們成為推動歷史的動力。還歷史以一種本來的面目，或者說是超越了政治宣傳話語的卡爾維諾眼下的歷史。讓那些被宣傳工具淹沒聲音和面孔走到了前臺來。接下來是小說的場景和道具，他選擇的場景是自己記憶中的故鄉，沒有大戰爭場景的恢宏，避開了烽火燃燒的村莊原野，衹是利古麗亞沿海小城的風景，他也避開了海灘，椰樹等觀光景緻，而是從聖雷莫舊城的幽暗拱門開展，一路延伸到森林，幾何形狀的康乃馨花床，葡萄園圍墻的古老幹枯、幾欲頽圮的橄欖樹林，苔草漫漫的山丘騾徑悉數收於筆下。故事在這樣一種寧靜古樸的氛圍中展開顯得別樣的精緻，但卻體現出了地域的特徵，同時這份風景也負擔起了一部分的歷史。戰後，“當時的別墅都已經被徵收、改建為禁閉室和監獄……康乃馨的花田早已是無人管理的廢地，無法橫越……” 。在戰後閱讀到這樣的風景，每個人都會油然而生一種戰爭創傷的回憶。小說的道具是把手槍，是皮恩偷的，從他作妓女的姐姐接待的德國軍官那裏，目的衹是想溶入成人的世界，因為酒吧裏成人們正在議論組建遊擊隊，大人們玩笑地用擁有一把槍作為加入條件來嘲笑皮恩並企圖把他排斥在成人的世界之外。手槍作為武器，是一種暴力的象徵，但是在小說裏，卡爾維諾把手槍作為綫索的同時，也減輕了它的戾氣，皮恩偷到手槍之後把它藏在自己常去玩的森林中河邊的蜘蛛巢中，但是他卻從來沒有使用過它，除了剛偷到槍後在蜘蛛巢前興奮地打了一槍，結果引來了德軍的追捕，對於他而言“武器”是非常遙遠的東西，他衹是想藉此進入成人世界，從而被認可。對於卡爾維諾而言，選擇拿起槍來進入戰爭也是在沒有準備的情況下迫不得已的行為。蜘蛛巢，則是皮恩的精神傢園，是他心裏的秘密所在，是他能和朋友共同分享的世界。小說的情節的設置也拉開了與戰爭的距離，彷佛衹是一個不遠之處正在發生戰爭的童話世界。因為過去是如此雖然並不遙遠，但是歷史的沉重可能會破壞記憶或者敘述的真實性，卡爾維諾在《一次戰鬥的記憶》（Memories of a Battle）中寫道：“我現在害怕當記憶被組織起來後將會馬上使之陷於出錯誤的導嚮，是被矯飾過的，像青年與戰爭總是煽情的那樣，淪為在時代的風格下一個敘事，衹能展現我們自認為這就是我們看到和說的事件，而不是真正的事實” 。所以在情節的設置上，卡爾維諾也盡量減輕他的歷史沉重感，讓它遊離在歷史進行時的邊緣。皮恩偷到槍之後酒館裏並沒人相信他，倒是德軍對他的“信任”使他感到欣慰，衹是這次偷槍使皮恩成了政治犯，也使他在牢裏認識了遊擊隊的傳奇人物紅狼，他和紅狼一起越獄。之後紅狼卻找了個藉口甩開了皮恩，皮恩在森林裏遇到了遊擊隊員“表兄”，“表兄”把他領到了遊擊隊的駐地，但是遊擊隊裏的人衹把他當小孩看，誰也不信他有一把p38式的德製手槍。衹是讓他在營地裏削土豆皮，皮恩還是沒有找到自己的知心朋友，無法融入那個成人的世界。卡爾維諾也沒有通過皮恩的眼來看一場遊擊戰，他倒是讓皮恩目睹了連長是如何與廚子的妻子在杜鵑叢中做愛的，以及其它的一些混亂。嚴肅的歷史在這裏被卡爾維諾撕開了一個豁口，露出其中的荒誕的真實。在最後還是“表兄”表現出了對皮恩的信任，皮恩帶他去看了蜘蛛巢，分享自己的秘密，結尾略帶光明“他們繼續走着，大人和孩子，在黑夜中，在螢火蟲飛舞中，手拉着手” ，其中卻包含了一種憂鬱，皮恩的憂鬱。皮恩想要進入群體，但是他自身的天真狀態和群體的對他的不信任不斷地阻撓着他，就算他已經處在那個集體中，實際的他仍是被排除或自排除於集體之外的，他看到的那個集體的混亂不堪，那都不是他曾預料或期待的；這是屬於卡爾維諾的憂鬱，一種想要溶入到時代中，卻不斷地被推遲的憂鬱，這種推遲與其說來自於時代，毋寧說是卡爾維諾自身的那種對兩種平衡的追求和知識分子先天的懷疑眼光造成的。通過一個童話似的故事，卡爾維諾努力減輕着歷史與政治的實的因素，最後歷史的憂鬱感卻在一種樂觀的結尾中凸現，這不能不說是他選擇“輕”的成功。也正是以這種“輕”使他沒有淪為一個“指令文學”作傢，成功地超越了狹隘的政治宣傳，凸現出自己的寫作個性。
The book follows the antihero Pin, an orphaned cobbler's apprentice in a town on the Ligurian coast, where he lives with his sister, a prostitute. After stealing a pistol from a Nazi sailor, Pin searches for an identity with a partisan group. All the while, the people he meets mock him without his knowing. The title refers to Pin's secret hiding place, directions to which he touts as a prize to any adults who win his trust.
Some critics view the work as unexceptional, on the grounds that it fails to address the issues other than from a very naive perspective; others credit it with being skillfully written and make a virtue of its portrayal of the complex emotions and politics of adults, as seen through the eyes of a child. However one passage about prisoners-of-war being made to dig their own grave before being shot is universally regarded as impressive.
The book follows the antihero Pin, an orphaned cobbler's apprentice in a town on the Ligurian coast, where he lives with his sister, a prostitute. After stealing a pistol from a Nazi sailor, Pin searches for an identity with a partisan group. All the while, the people he meets mock him without his knowing. The title refers to Pin's secret hiding place, directions to which he touts as a prize to any adults who win his trust.
Some critics view the work as unexceptional, on the grounds that it fails to address the issues other than from a very naive perspective; others credit it with being skillfully written and make a virtue of its portrayal of the complex emotions and politics of adults, as seen through the eyes of a child. However one passage about prisoners-of-war being made to dig their own grave before being shot is universally regarded as impressive.
世界尽头与冷酷仙境Plot summary
The story is split between parallel narratives. The odd-numbered chapters take place in 'Hard-Boiled Wonderland', although the phrase is not used anywhere in the text, only in page headers. The narrator is a "Calcutec," a human data processor/encryption system who has been trained to use his subconscious as an encryption key. The Calcutecs work for the quasi-governmental System, as opposed to the criminal "Semiotecs" who work for the Factory and who are generally fallen Calcutecs. The relationship between the two groups is simple: the System protects data while the Semiotecs steal it, although it is suggested that one man might be behind both. The narrator completes an assignment for a mysterious scientist, who is exploring "sound reduction". He works in a laboratory hidden within an anachronistic version of Tokyo's sewer system.
The even-numbered chapters deal with a newcomer to 'the End of the World', a strange, isolated walled Town depicted in the frontispiece map as being surrounded by a perfect and impenetrable wall. The narrator is in the process of being accepted into the Town. His shadow has been "cut off" and this shadow lives in the "shadow grounds" where he is not expected to survive the winter. Residents of the town are not allowed to have a shadow, and, it transpires, do not have a mind. Or is it only suppressed? The narrator is assigned quarters and a job as the current "dreamreader": a process intended to remove the traces of mind from the Town. He goes to the Library every evening where, assisted by the Librarian, he learns to read dreams from the skulls of unicorns. These "beasts" passively accept their role, sent out of the Town at night, to their enclosure where many die of cold during the winter.
The two storylines converge, exploring concepts of consciousness, the subconscious and identity.
In the original Japanese, the narrator uses the more formal first-person pronoun watashi to refer to himself in the 'Hard-Boiled Wonderland' narrative and the more intimate boku in the 'End of the World'. Translator Alfred Birnbaum achieved a similar effect in English by putting the 'End of the World' sections in the present tense.
Characters
In both narratives, none of the characters are named. Each is instead referred to by occupation or a general description, such as "the librarian" or "the big guy."
Hard-boiled wonderland
* The narrator - a Calcutec in his mid-thirties (35) who, aside from his unusual profession, lives the life of a typical Tokyo yuppie. Although very observant, he gives little thought to the strangeness of the world around him.
* The old man/the scientist - considered a great yet absent-minded scientist who hires the narrator to process information. He is researching "sound reduction". He has developed a way of reading the subconscious and actually recording it as comprehensible, if unrelated images. He had the inspiration of then editing these images to embed a fictional story into the subconscious of his subjects, one of whom is of course the narrator. He did this by working with the System due to the attractiveness of its facilities, though he disliked working for anyone. He later goes to Finland as said by his granddaughter to escape.
* The granddaughter in pink - the old man’s seventeen year old assistant, caretaker and granddaughter, described as chubby but attractive, invariably dressed in all pink. She did not go to any school as her grandfather tells her it is useless and rather teaches her all she needs to know in life; and thus she knows a couple of languages, how to handle a gun, among other things. In the beginning of the novel, the old man "reduces" her sound, leaving her unable to speak. She tries, without any trace of subtlety, to convince the narrator to sleep with her.
* The librarian - the always-hungry girl who helps the narrator research unicorns and becomes his 48-hour girlfriend.
* Junior and Big Boy - two thugs who, on unknown orders, harass the narrator.
* INKlings - sewer-dwelling people described as "Kappa" who have developed their own culture. They are so dangerous the scientist lives in their realm, protected by a repelling device, to keep away from those who want to steal his data. It is said that they worship a fish (and leeches). They also do not eat fresh flesh; rather, once they catch a human, they submerge him in water and wait for him to rot in a few days before eating him.
End of the world
* The narrator - a newcomer to 'the End of the World'. As an initiation into the village, his shadow is cut off and his eyes pierced to make him averse to daylight and give him the ability to "read dreams", his allotted task. He cannot remember his former life nor understand what has happened to him.
* The narrator's shadow - apparently human in form. He retains the narrator's memory of their former life together, but he is doomed to die, separated as he is, and is harshly (but not cruelly) treated by his custodian, the gatekeeper. Upon his death, the narrator would then cease to have a 'mind'.
* The gatekeeper - the guardian and maintenance foreman of 'the End of the World.' He instructs the narrator in his duties, and keeps the narrator’s shadow effectively a prisoner, putting him to work - disposing of dead beasts who die during winter.
* The librarian - the Town’s librarian who keeps the unicorn skulls in which the "dreams" reside. She assists the narrator in his work. She has no “mind” but her mother did, and the narrator becomes increasingly convinced that her mind is in fact only hidden, not irretrievably lost. The connection between this librarian and the other, in Hard Boiled Wonderland, is never made explicit.
* The colonel - an old man, the narrator's neighbour provides advice and support, and nurses him when he falls sick.
* The caretaker - a young man who tends the power station. An outsider who provides a miniature accordion, a possible key in the narrator's efforts to recover his mind and memories.
Influences
Murakami has often referred to his love of Western literature and particular admiration for hard-boiled pioneer Raymond Chandler. 'Hard-Boiled Wonderland' owes much to American "hard-boiled" detective fiction, as well as to science fiction and cyberpunk, but the book does not belong in any of those categories.
The 'end of the world' has much in common with The Castle by Franz Kafka. Both deal with newcomers to strange villages who are both intrigued and horrified by the behavior of the villagers. The image of losing one's shadow when approaching the end of the world is found in Knut Hamsun's 1898 novel Victoria. The same idea appeared earlier, in the 1814 story of "Peter Schlemihls wundersame Geschichte" ("Peter Schlemihl's Remarkable Story") by Adelbert von Chamisso. The theme of the human brain storing encrypted data is found in William Gibson's short story Johnny Mnemonic, but in interviews Murakami says this was not an influence.
Critical acclaim
Jay Rubin, who has translated many of Murakami's later works into English, said that Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World is his favorite Murakami novel and that it "is just a shock after reading the black and white, autobiographical fiction that is such the norm in Japan."
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World was awarded the prestigious Tanizaki Prize in 1985.
Book information
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World (English edition) by Haruki Murakami; translated by Alfred Birnbaum.
* Hardcover ISBN 4-7700-1544-5, published in September 1991 by Kodansha International
* Paperback ISBN 0-679-74346-4, published on March 2, 1993 by Vintage Press
本書是作者篇幅最大的小說三部麯。 失業者岡田亨的妻子久美子在其兄長、衆議員，黑暗勢力代表人物綿𠔌升的脅迫下失蹤了。岡田身邊來了許多怪人：女巫師、 “意識娼婦”、失手使男友車禍死亡的少女、舊軍人等。同時也發生了許多怪事。岡田到一口深井裏冥思苦想後，出來在奇怪的母子“肉豆蔻”、“肉桂”的幫助下嚮綿𠔌升挑戰，在虛幻中將其擊傷，久美子又在現實中將其殺死。本書色彩詭異，規模宏大，虛實交叉，被稱為當代的“一千零一夜”。 本書在1997年曾由譯林出版，在讀者中已具有一定影響。
Two chapters were originally published in The New Yorker under the titles The Zoo Attack on July 31, 1995, and Another Way to Die on January 20, 1997. A slightly different version of the first chapter translated by Alfred Birnbaum was published in the collection The Elephant Vanishes under the title The Wind-up Bird and Tuesday's Women. In addition, the character name Noboru Wataya is used in Family Affair of The Elephant Vanishes, while having a similar personality and background, the character is not related to the one in The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle of the same name. Noboru Wataya is also used in Jay Rubin's translation of The Elephant Vanishes in The Elephant Vanishes.
The original Japanese edition was released in three parts, which make up the three "books" of the single volume English language version.
1. Dorobō kasasagi hen (泥棒かささぎ編?)
2. Yogen suru tori hen (予言する鳥編?)
3. Torisashi otoko hen (鳥刺し男編?)
For this novel, Murakami received the Yomiuri Literary Award, which was awarded to him by one of his harshest former critics, Oe Kenzaburo.
Plot summary
The novel is about a low-key unemployed man, Toru Okada, whose cat runs away. A chain of events follow that prove that his seemingly mundane boring life is much more complicated than it appears.
Main characters
While this book has many major and minor characters, these are among the most important:
* Toru Okada: The narrator and protagonist, Toru is a passive and often apathetic young man living in suburban Japan. He is Kumiko's husband and continually follows the orders or wishes of others. Currently unemployed, he is the embodiment of passivity.
* Kumiko Okada: Kumiko is Toru's wife and, as the breadwinner of the couple, is the more autonomous of the two. She works in the publishing business.
* Noboru Wataya: Noboru is Kumiko's older brother. He is presented as a mediagenic figure; the public loves him, but Toru cannot stand him. Noboru appears as an academic in the beginning, becomes a politician in the story, and has no apparent personal life. He is said to be hidden behind a façade — all style, and no substance. ("Noboru Wataya" is also the name Toru and Kumiko gave to their pet cat, whom Toru later renames Mackerel, like the fish; the character name also appeared in Family Affair, translated by Jay Rubin, of The Elephant Vanishes collection.)
* May Kasahara: May is a middleteen girl who should be in school, but, by choice, is not. Toru and May carry on a fairly constant exchange throughout a good deal of the novel; when May is not present, she writes to him (though the reader can peruse them, her letters never reach him). Their conversations in person are often bizarre and revolve around death and the deterioration of human life. Even more bizarre is the cheerful and decidedly non-serious air with which these conversations take place.
* Lieutenant Mamiya: Mamiya was an officer during the Japanese military efforts in Manchukuo, and meets Toru while carrying out the particulars of Mr. Honda's will. He has been emotionally scarred by witnessing the flaying of a superior officer and several nights spent in a dried-up well. He tells Toru his story both in person and in letters.
* Malta Kano: Malta Kano is a medium of sorts who changed her name to "Malta" after performing some kind of "austerities" on the island of Malta for some time. She is enlisted by Kumiko to help the Okadas find their missing cat.
* Creta Kano: Malta's younger sister and apprentice of sorts, she describes herself as a "prostitute of the mind." Disturbingly, for Toru, Creta has a nearly identical face and figure to Kumiko.
* Nutmeg Akasaka: Nutmeg first meets Toru as he sits on a bench watching people's faces every day in Shinjuku. The second time they meet she is attracted to the blue-black mark on his right cheek. She and Toru share a few strange coincidences: the wind-up bird in Toru's yard and the blue-black cheek mark appear in Nutmeg's World War II-related stories, and also Nutmeg's father and Lieutenant Mamiya (an acquaintance of Toru's) are linked by World War II. "Nutmeg Akasaka" is a pseudonym she chose for herself after insisting to Toru that her "real" name is irrelevant. Her real name is never mentioned in the novel.
* Cinnamon Akasaka: Cinnamon is Nutmeg's adult son who hasn't spoken since age 6. He communicates through a system of hand movements and mouthed words. Somehow, people who've just met him (who presumably have never lipread or used sign language) find him perfectly comprehensible. "Cinnamon," too, is a pseudonym created by Nutmeg.
Missing chapters
Two chapters from the third volume of the original three-volume Japanese paperback edition were not included in the English translation. In addition, one of the chapters near the excluded two was moved ahead of another chapter, taking it out of the context of the original order.
The two missing chapters elaborate on the relationship between Toru Okada and Creta Kano, and a "hearing" of the wind-up bird as Toru burns a box of Kumiko's belongings.
Translation
The English translation of the novel was carried out by Jay Rubin.
It must also be noted that in addition to very notable differences between the Japanese and English versions, there are also differences between the original Japanese hardcover and paperback editions.
Further differences exist between the American and British editions, but these are much more superficial.
The German translation by Giovanni and Ditte Bandini is based on the English translation, not on the Japanese original.
Book information
* Murakami, Haruki. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. translated by Jay Rubin. ISBN 0-679-77543-9.
* Murakami, Haruki. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. translated by Jay Rubin. ISBN 1-86046-581-1.
Two chapters were originally published in The New Yorker under the titles The Zoo Attack on July 31, 1995, and Another Way to Die on January 20, 1997. A slightly different version of the first chapter translated by Alfred Birnbaum was published in the collection The Elephant Vanishes under the title The Wind-up Bird and Tuesday's Women. In addition, the character name Noboru Wataya is used in Family Affair of The Elephant Vanishes, while having a similar personality and background, the character is not related to the one in The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle of the same name. Noboru Wataya is also used in Jay Rubin's translation of The Elephant Vanishes in The Elephant Vanishes.
The original Japanese edition was released in three parts, which make up the three "books" of the single volume English language version.
1. Dorobō kasasagi hen (泥棒かささぎ編?)
2. Yogen suru tori hen (予言する鳥編?)
3. Torisashi otoko hen (鳥刺し男編?)
For this novel, Murakami received the Yomiuri Literary Award, which was awarded to him by one of his harshest former critics, Oe Kenzaburo.
Plot summary
The novel is about a low-key unemployed man, Toru Okada, whose cat runs away. A chain of events follow that prove that his seemingly mundane boring life is much more complicated than it appears.
Main characters
While this book has many major and minor characters, these are among the most important:
* Toru Okada: The narrator and protagonist, Toru is a passive and often apathetic young man living in suburban Japan. He is Kumiko's husband and continually follows the orders or wishes of others. Currently unemployed, he is the embodiment of passivity.
* Kumiko Okada: Kumiko is Toru's wife and, as the breadwinner of the couple, is the more autonomous of the two. She works in the publishing business.
* Noboru Wataya: Noboru is Kumiko's older brother. He is presented as a mediagenic figure; the public loves him, but Toru cannot stand him. Noboru appears as an academic in the beginning, becomes a politician in the story, and has no apparent personal life. He is said to be hidden behind a façade — all style, and no substance. ("Noboru Wataya" is also the name Toru and Kumiko gave to their pet cat, whom Toru later renames Mackerel, like the fish; the character name also appeared in Family Affair, translated by Jay Rubin, of The Elephant Vanishes collection.)
* May Kasahara: May is a middleteen girl who should be in school, but, by choice, is not. Toru and May carry on a fairly constant exchange throughout a good deal of the novel; when May is not present, she writes to him (though the reader can peruse them, her letters never reach him). Their conversations in person are often bizarre and revolve around death and the deterioration of human life. Even more bizarre is the cheerful and decidedly non-serious air with which these conversations take place.
* Lieutenant Mamiya: Mamiya was an officer during the Japanese military efforts in Manchukuo, and meets Toru while carrying out the particulars of Mr. Honda's will. He has been emotionally scarred by witnessing the flaying of a superior officer and several nights spent in a dried-up well. He tells Toru his story both in person and in letters.
* Malta Kano: Malta Kano is a medium of sorts who changed her name to "Malta" after performing some kind of "austerities" on the island of Malta for some time. She is enlisted by Kumiko to help the Okadas find their missing cat.
* Creta Kano: Malta's younger sister and apprentice of sorts, she describes herself as a "prostitute of the mind." Disturbingly, for Toru, Creta has a nearly identical face and figure to Kumiko.
* Nutmeg Akasaka: Nutmeg first meets Toru as he sits on a bench watching people's faces every day in Shinjuku. The second time they meet she is attracted to the blue-black mark on his right cheek. She and Toru share a few strange coincidences: the wind-up bird in Toru's yard and the blue-black cheek mark appear in Nutmeg's World War II-related stories, and also Nutmeg's father and Lieutenant Mamiya (an acquaintance of Toru's) are linked by World War II. "Nutmeg Akasaka" is a pseudonym she chose for herself after insisting to Toru that her "real" name is irrelevant. Her real name is never mentioned in the novel.
* Cinnamon Akasaka: Cinnamon is Nutmeg's adult son who hasn't spoken since age 6. He communicates through a system of hand movements and mouthed words. Somehow, people who've just met him (who presumably have never lipread or used sign language) find him perfectly comprehensible. "Cinnamon," too, is a pseudonym created by Nutmeg.
Missing chapters
Two chapters from the third volume of the original three-volume Japanese paperback edition were not included in the English translation. In addition, one of the chapters near the excluded two was moved ahead of another chapter, taking it out of the context of the original order.
The two missing chapters elaborate on the relationship between Toru Okada and Creta Kano, and a "hearing" of the wind-up bird as Toru burns a box of Kumiko's belongings.
Translation
The English translation of the novel was carried out by Jay Rubin.
It must also be noted that in addition to very notable differences between the Japanese and English versions, there are also differences between the original Japanese hardcover and paperback editions.
Further differences exist between the American and British editions, but these are much more superficial.
The German translation by Giovanni and Ditte Bandini is based on the English translation, not on the Japanese original.
Book information
* Murakami, Haruki. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. translated by Jay Rubin. ISBN 0-679-77543-9.
* Murakami, Haruki. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. translated by Jay Rubin. ISBN 1-86046-581-1.
一頭控製全日本的超能力羊失蹤了，它的宿主、黑社會頭子命在旦夕。潦倒的東京青年職員無意中得到羊的照片，不料就此成了黑社會的脅迫對象，攜着女友踏上了尋羊冒險之旅。在北海道的雪山絶地，他終於到了照片的拍攝者——不，那衹是其陰魂，因為這位綽號“鼠”的朋友，已經與那罪惡之源同歸於盡了。
《尋羊冒險記》是村上春樹繼處女作《且聽風吟》 、《1973年的彈珠遊戲》後的第三部小說，與上述兩部作品構成“我與鼠”係列三部麯。《尋羊冒險記》是第三部，用現實與虛幻交織的奇特之筆，打開了日本的新文學之門。小說極富寓言性與神話色彩，作者認為該小說的創作“順利到最後，在恰到火候處止筆”。《尋羊冒險記》是村上的第一部夠規模的長篇，村上因此獲得了野間文藝新人賞。
In A Wild Sheep Chase, Murakami blends elements of American and English literature with Japanese contexts, exploring post-WWII Japanese cultural identity. The book is part mystery and part fantasy with a postmodern twist.
Plot summary
This mock-detective tale follows an unnamed Japanese man through Tokyo and Hokkaidō in 1978. The passive, chain-smoking main character gets swept away on an adventure that leads him on a hunt for a sheep that hasn’t been seen for years. The apathetic protagonist meets a woman with magically seductive ears and a strange man who dresses as a sheep and talks in slurs; in this way there are elements of Japanese animism or Shinto. The manipulation of the narrator into the hunt and repeated references to The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes raise connections to "The Red-Headed League."
Sequel
Murakami wrote a sequel to this book, entitled Dance Dance Dance, which also follows the adventures of the unnamed protagonist and the Sheep Man. However, its plot, tone and the majority of the characters are sufficiently different that Dance Dance Dance can be seen as separate from the "Trilogy of the Rat."
Awards
* Noma Literary Newcomer's Prize
《尋羊冒險記》是村上春樹繼處女作《且聽風吟》 、《1973年的彈珠遊戲》後的第三部小說，與上述兩部作品構成“我與鼠”係列三部麯。《尋羊冒險記》是第三部，用現實與虛幻交織的奇特之筆，打開了日本的新文學之門。小說極富寓言性與神話色彩，作者認為該小說的創作“順利到最後，在恰到火候處止筆”。《尋羊冒險記》是村上的第一部夠規模的長篇，村上因此獲得了野間文藝新人賞。
In A Wild Sheep Chase, Murakami blends elements of American and English literature with Japanese contexts, exploring post-WWII Japanese cultural identity. The book is part mystery and part fantasy with a postmodern twist.
Plot summary
This mock-detective tale follows an unnamed Japanese man through Tokyo and Hokkaidō in 1978. The passive, chain-smoking main character gets swept away on an adventure that leads him on a hunt for a sheep that hasn’t been seen for years. The apathetic protagonist meets a woman with magically seductive ears and a strange man who dresses as a sheep and talks in slurs; in this way there are elements of Japanese animism or Shinto. The manipulation of the narrator into the hunt and repeated references to The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes raise connections to "The Red-Headed League."
Sequel
Murakami wrote a sequel to this book, entitled Dance Dance Dance, which also follows the adventures of the unnamed protagonist and the Sheep Man. However, its plot, tone and the majority of the characters are sufficiently different that Dance Dance Dance can be seen as separate from the "Trilogy of the Rat."
Awards
* Noma Literary Newcomer's Prize
《海邊的卡夫卡》的主人公是一位自稱名叫田村卡夫卡——小說始終未交代其真名——的少年。他在十五歲生日前夜獨自離傢出走，乘坐夜行長途巴士遠赴四國。出走的原因是為了逃避父親所作的比俄底浦斯王還要可怕的預言：爾將弒父，將與爾母、爾姐交合。卡夫卡四歲時，母親突然失蹤，帶走了比卡夫卡年長四歲、其實是田村傢養女的姐姐，不知何故卻將親生兒子拋棄。他從未見過母親的照片，甚至連名字也不知道。仿佛是運命在冥冥之中引導，他偶然來到某私立圖書館，遂棲身於此。館長佐伯女士是位四十多歲氣質高雅的美婦，有着波瀾麯折的神秘身世。卡夫卡疑心她是自己的生母，佐伯卻對此不置可否。卡夫卡戀上了佐伯，並與之發生肉體關係。小說還另設一條副綫，副綫的主角是老人中田，他在二戰期間讀小學時，經歷過一次神秘的昏迷事件，從此喪失了記憶，將學過的知識完全忘記，甚至不會認字計數，卻獲得了與貓對話的神秘能力。中田在神智失控的情況下殺死了一個自稱焦尼·沃卡（Johnny Walker）、打扮得酷似那著名威士忌酒商標上所畫的英國紳士的狂人，一路搭車也來到此地。小說共分49章，奇數章基本上用寫實手法講述卡夫卡的故事，偶數章則用魔幻手法展現中田的奇遇。兩種手法交互使用，編織出極富強烈虛構色彩的、奇幻詭詰的現代寓言。佐伯是將這兩個故事聯結為一體的結合點，而弒父的預言似乎最終也未能避免，因為狂人焦尼·沃卡居然是卡夫卡生父喬裝改扮的，真正的兇手也並非中田……
Plot summary
Comprising two distinct but interrelated plots, the narrative runs back and forth between the two, taking up each plotline in alternating chapters.
The odd chapters tell the 15 year old Kafka's story as he runs away from his father's house to escape an Oedipal curse and to embark upon a quest to find his mother and sister. After a series of adventures, he finds shelter in a quiet, private library in Takamatsu, run by the distant and aloof Miss Saeki and the androgynous Oshima. There he spends his days reading the unabridged Richard Francis Burton translation of A Thousand and One Nights and the collected works of Natsume Sōseki until the police begin inquiring after him in connection with a brutal murder.
The even chapters tell Nakata's story. Due to his uncanny abilities, he has found part-time work in his old age as a finder of lost cats (a clear reference to The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle). The case of one particular lost cat puts him on a path that ultimately takes him far away from his home, ending up on the road for the first time in his life. He befriends a truck-driver named Hoshino. Hoshino takes him on as a passenger in his truck and soon becomes very attached to the old man.
Nakata and Kafka are on a collision course throughout the novel, but their convergence takes place as much on a metaphysical plane as it does in reality and, in fact, that can be said of the novel itself. Due to the Oedipal theme running through much of the novel, Kafka on the Shore has been called a modern Greek tragedy.
Major themes
Kafka on the Shore demonstrates Murakami's typical blend of popular culture, quotidian detail, magical realism, suspense, humor, an involved and at times confusing plot, and potent sexuality. It also features an increased emphasis on Japanese religious traditions, particularly Shinto. The main characters are significant departures from the typical protagonist of a Murakami novel, such as Toru Watanabe of Norwegian Wood and Toru Okada of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, who are typically in their 20s or 30s and have rather humdrum personalities. However, many of the same themes re-occur in Kafka on the Shore as were first developed in these and other previous novels.
The power and beauty of music as a communicative medium is a central theme of the novel—the very title comes from a pop song Kafka is given on a record in the library. The music of Beethoven, specifically the Archduke Trio is also used as a redemptive metaphor. Among other prominent themes are: the virtues of self-sufficiency and efficiency, the relation of dreams and reality, the specter of the heritage of World War II, the threat of fate, the uncertain grip of prophecy, and the power of nature.
G. W. F. Hegel has an influence on the book and is referenced directly at one point. Dialectics (Thesis, antithesis, synthesis) in particular play a role.
Characters
Humans
* Kafka Tamura: Clearly named in honor of the Czech writer Franz Kafka, Kafka is a "cool, tall, fifteen-year-old boy lugging a backpack and a bunch of obsessions" and the son of the famous sculptor Koichi Tamura. His mother and sister left the family almost before he became conscious of them. He occasionally interacts with a hectoring, exhortative alter ego "The boy named Crow" (as told in the story, although jackdaw is closer to Czech meaning). Crow tells himself throughout the novel that he must be "the toughest fifteen-year-old in the world."
* Satoru Nakata: Nakata lost many of his mental faculties when, as one of sixteen schoolchildren out on a mushroom-gathering field-trip toward the end of World War II, he was rendered unconscious following a mysterious flash of light in the sky . Unlike the other children, who lost consciousness briefly, Nakata remained unconscious for many weeks, and, upon finally awakening, found that his memory and his ability to read had disappeared, as well as his higher intellectual functions. In their place, Nakata found he was able to communicate with cats. Nakata and Kafka may also be different parts of the same person.
* Oshima: A 21-year-old, gay female-to-male transsexual. He is a librarian and an owner of a mountain retreat who becomes close to Kafka throughout the course of the novel; also a haemophiliac.
* Hoshino: A truck driver in his mid-twenties. He befriends Nakata, due to his resemblance to his own grandfather, and transports and assists Nakata towards his uncertain goal.
* Miss Saeki: The manager of a private library, where Oshima works and where Kafka lives through much of the novel. She was previously a singer, and performed the song "Kafka on the Shore", which unites many of the novel's themes and gives it its title. She may also be Kafka's mother.
* Sakura: A young woman Kafka meets on the bus who helps him later on. She may be his sister.
* Johnnie Walker: A cat killer who plans to make a flute out of cats' souls. He may also be Kafka's father, the renowned sculptor Koichi Tamura. His name is taken from Johnnie Walker, a brand of Scotch whisky, and he dresses to appear like the man featured in the brand's logo.
* Colonel Sanders: A "concept" who takes the form of a pimp or hustler. He is named after, and appears similar to, Harland Sanders, the founder and face of Kentucky Fried Chicken.
Cats
* Goma: A lost cat owned by Mrs. Koizumi.
* Kawamura: A cat who was addled after being hit by a bicycle. Though they can communicate, Nakata is unable to understand Kawamura's repetitive and strange sentences.
* Mimi: An intelligent Siamese cat.
* Okawa: A tabby cat.
* Toro: A black cat.
Understanding the novel
After the novel's release, Murakami's Japanese publisher set up a website allowing readers to submit questions regarding the meaning of the book. 8,000 questions were received and Murakami responded personally to about 1,200 of them. In an interview posted on his English language website, Murakami states that the secret to understanding the novel lies in reading it multiple times: "Kafka on the Shore contains several riddles, but there aren't any solutions provided. Instead, several of these riddles combine, and through their interaction the possibility of a solution takes shape. And the form this solution takes will be different for each reader. To put it another way, the riddles function as part of the solution. It's hard to explain, but that's the kind of novel I set out to write".
Plot summary
Comprising two distinct but interrelated plots, the narrative runs back and forth between the two, taking up each plotline in alternating chapters.
The odd chapters tell the 15 year old Kafka's story as he runs away from his father's house to escape an Oedipal curse and to embark upon a quest to find his mother and sister. After a series of adventures, he finds shelter in a quiet, private library in Takamatsu, run by the distant and aloof Miss Saeki and the androgynous Oshima. There he spends his days reading the unabridged Richard Francis Burton translation of A Thousand and One Nights and the collected works of Natsume Sōseki until the police begin inquiring after him in connection with a brutal murder.
The even chapters tell Nakata's story. Due to his uncanny abilities, he has found part-time work in his old age as a finder of lost cats (a clear reference to The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle). The case of one particular lost cat puts him on a path that ultimately takes him far away from his home, ending up on the road for the first time in his life. He befriends a truck-driver named Hoshino. Hoshino takes him on as a passenger in his truck and soon becomes very attached to the old man.
Nakata and Kafka are on a collision course throughout the novel, but their convergence takes place as much on a metaphysical plane as it does in reality and, in fact, that can be said of the novel itself. Due to the Oedipal theme running through much of the novel, Kafka on the Shore has been called a modern Greek tragedy.
Major themes
Kafka on the Shore demonstrates Murakami's typical blend of popular culture, quotidian detail, magical realism, suspense, humor, an involved and at times confusing plot, and potent sexuality. It also features an increased emphasis on Japanese religious traditions, particularly Shinto. The main characters are significant departures from the typical protagonist of a Murakami novel, such as Toru Watanabe of Norwegian Wood and Toru Okada of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, who are typically in their 20s or 30s and have rather humdrum personalities. However, many of the same themes re-occur in Kafka on the Shore as were first developed in these and other previous novels.
The power and beauty of music as a communicative medium is a central theme of the novel—the very title comes from a pop song Kafka is given on a record in the library. The music of Beethoven, specifically the Archduke Trio is also used as a redemptive metaphor. Among other prominent themes are: the virtues of self-sufficiency and efficiency, the relation of dreams and reality, the specter of the heritage of World War II, the threat of fate, the uncertain grip of prophecy, and the power of nature.
G. W. F. Hegel has an influence on the book and is referenced directly at one point. Dialectics (Thesis, antithesis, synthesis) in particular play a role.
Characters
Humans
* Kafka Tamura: Clearly named in honor of the Czech writer Franz Kafka, Kafka is a "cool, tall, fifteen-year-old boy lugging a backpack and a bunch of obsessions" and the son of the famous sculptor Koichi Tamura. His mother and sister left the family almost before he became conscious of them. He occasionally interacts with a hectoring, exhortative alter ego "The boy named Crow" (as told in the story, although jackdaw is closer to Czech meaning). Crow tells himself throughout the novel that he must be "the toughest fifteen-year-old in the world."
* Satoru Nakata: Nakata lost many of his mental faculties when, as one of sixteen schoolchildren out on a mushroom-gathering field-trip toward the end of World War II, he was rendered unconscious following a mysterious flash of light in the sky . Unlike the other children, who lost consciousness briefly, Nakata remained unconscious for many weeks, and, upon finally awakening, found that his memory and his ability to read had disappeared, as well as his higher intellectual functions. In their place, Nakata found he was able to communicate with cats. Nakata and Kafka may also be different parts of the same person.
* Oshima: A 21-year-old, gay female-to-male transsexual. He is a librarian and an owner of a mountain retreat who becomes close to Kafka throughout the course of the novel; also a haemophiliac.
* Hoshino: A truck driver in his mid-twenties. He befriends Nakata, due to his resemblance to his own grandfather, and transports and assists Nakata towards his uncertain goal.
* Miss Saeki: The manager of a private library, where Oshima works and where Kafka lives through much of the novel. She was previously a singer, and performed the song "Kafka on the Shore", which unites many of the novel's themes and gives it its title. She may also be Kafka's mother.
* Sakura: A young woman Kafka meets on the bus who helps him later on. She may be his sister.
* Johnnie Walker: A cat killer who plans to make a flute out of cats' souls. He may also be Kafka's father, the renowned sculptor Koichi Tamura. His name is taken from Johnnie Walker, a brand of Scotch whisky, and he dresses to appear like the man featured in the brand's logo.
* Colonel Sanders: A "concept" who takes the form of a pimp or hustler. He is named after, and appears similar to, Harland Sanders, the founder and face of Kentucky Fried Chicken.
Cats
* Goma: A lost cat owned by Mrs. Koizumi.
* Kawamura: A cat who was addled after being hit by a bicycle. Though they can communicate, Nakata is unable to understand Kawamura's repetitive and strange sentences.
* Mimi: An intelligent Siamese cat.
* Okawa: A tabby cat.
* Toro: A black cat.
Understanding the novel
After the novel's release, Murakami's Japanese publisher set up a website allowing readers to submit questions regarding the meaning of the book. 8,000 questions were received and Murakami responded personally to about 1,200 of them. In an interview posted on his English language website, Murakami states that the secret to understanding the novel lies in reading it multiple times: "Kafka on the Shore contains several riddles, but there aren't any solutions provided. Instead, several of these riddles combine, and through their interaction the possibility of a solution takes shape. And the form this solution takes will be different for each reader. To put it another way, the riddles function as part of the solution. It's hard to explain, but that's the kind of novel I set out to write".
本書是村上春樹緊接於《挪威的森林》之後發表的又一部重要長篇小說。其內容與《尋羊冒險記》相銜接，主人公“我”與《尋羊冒險記》中的主人公是同一個人。小說分兩條綫索，一條是“我”與老同學、電影明星五反田結識了兩名應召女郎，五反田出於心理扭麯殺死了她們，自己也投海自殺。另一條是“我”結識了孤單的女孩“雪”、她的攝影傢母親 “雨”與“雨”的男友笛剋，但善良的笛剋卻死於車禍。“我”在死亡陰影下過了一段驚魂的日子，最後與一個賓館女服務員相戀並獲得了安全感。
小說揭示了資本主義社會的不合理性對人的心靈的扭麯以及這種社會下人的精神孤獨和生命的脆弱，在手法上現實與虛幻交織，藝術水準高超。
Dance Dance Dance (ダンス・ダンス・ダンス, Dansu dansu dansu?) is the sixth novel by Japanese writer Haruki Murakami. First published in 1988, the English translation by Alfred Birnbaum was released in 1994. The book is a sequel to Murakami's novel A Wild Sheep Chase, although the plot lines are not entirely contiguous. In 2001, Murakami said that writing Dance Dance Dance had been a healing act after his unexpected fame following the publication of Norwegian Wood and that, because of this, he had enjoyed writing Dance more than any other novel.
Plot summary
The novel follows the surreal misadventures of an unnamed protagonist who makes a living as a commercial writer. The protagonist is compelled to return to the Dolphin Hotel, a seedy establishment where he once spent the night with a woman he loved, despite the fact he never even knew her real name. She has since disappeared without a trace, the Dolphin Hotel has been purchased by a large corporation and converted into a slick, fashionable, western-style hotel.
The protagonist begins experiencing dreams in which this woman and the Sheep Man — a strange individual dressed in an old sheep skin who speaks in a monotonous rush — appear to him and lead him to uncover two mysteries. The first is metaphysical in nature, viz. how to survive the unsurvivable. The second is the murder of a call-girl in which an old school friend of the protagonist, now a famous film actor, is a prime suspect. Along the way, the protagonist meets a clairvoyant and troubled 13-year-old girl, her equally troubled parents, a one-armed poet, and a sympathetic receptionist.
Major themes
Several of the novel's themes are hallmarks of Murakami's writing. Dance Dance Dance deals with themes of loss and abandonment, as do many of Murakami's other novels. Often, the male protagonist in a Murakami novel will lose a mother, spouse, or girlfriend. Other common Murakami themes this novel includes are alienation, absurdity and the ultimate discovery of a human connection.
There is a character in the story named Hiraku Makimura, which is an anagram of "Haruki Murakami." Makimura of the novel is also a best selling author.
Differences in English Translation
The supernatural character known as the Sheep Man speaks differently between the two versions. The character speaks normal Japanese in the original work, but in the English translations, his speech is written without any spaces between words.
小說揭示了資本主義社會的不合理性對人的心靈的扭麯以及這種社會下人的精神孤獨和生命的脆弱，在手法上現實與虛幻交織，藝術水準高超。
Dance Dance Dance (ダンス・ダンス・ダンス, Dansu dansu dansu?) is the sixth novel by Japanese writer Haruki Murakami. First published in 1988, the English translation by Alfred Birnbaum was released in 1994. The book is a sequel to Murakami's novel A Wild Sheep Chase, although the plot lines are not entirely contiguous. In 2001, Murakami said that writing Dance Dance Dance had been a healing act after his unexpected fame following the publication of Norwegian Wood and that, because of this, he had enjoyed writing Dance more than any other novel.
Plot summary
The novel follows the surreal misadventures of an unnamed protagonist who makes a living as a commercial writer. The protagonist is compelled to return to the Dolphin Hotel, a seedy establishment where he once spent the night with a woman he loved, despite the fact he never even knew her real name. She has since disappeared without a trace, the Dolphin Hotel has been purchased by a large corporation and converted into a slick, fashionable, western-style hotel.
The protagonist begins experiencing dreams in which this woman and the Sheep Man — a strange individual dressed in an old sheep skin who speaks in a monotonous rush — appear to him and lead him to uncover two mysteries. The first is metaphysical in nature, viz. how to survive the unsurvivable. The second is the murder of a call-girl in which an old school friend of the protagonist, now a famous film actor, is a prime suspect. Along the way, the protagonist meets a clairvoyant and troubled 13-year-old girl, her equally troubled parents, a one-armed poet, and a sympathetic receptionist.
Major themes
Several of the novel's themes are hallmarks of Murakami's writing. Dance Dance Dance deals with themes of loss and abandonment, as do many of Murakami's other novels. Often, the male protagonist in a Murakami novel will lose a mother, spouse, or girlfriend. Other common Murakami themes this novel includes are alienation, absurdity and the ultimate discovery of a human connection.
There is a character in the story named Hiraku Makimura, which is an anagram of "Haruki Murakami." Makimura of the novel is also a best selling author.
Differences in English Translation
The supernatural character known as the Sheep Man speaks differently between the two versions. The character speaks normal Japanese in the original work, but in the English translations, his speech is written without any spaces between words.
大江健三郎於1979年發表了長篇小說《同時代的遊戲》，相較於中國傳統文化中對桃花源的那種逃避現實的理想之地，這部作品中的烏托邦則明顯側重於通過現世的革命和建設達到理想之境。從這個文本的隱結構中可以發現，大江健三郎在構建森林中這個烏托邦的過程中，不時以中國革命和建設為參照係，試圖從中探索出一條由此通往理想國的具有普遍意義的通途。當然，大江健三郎在自己的文學世界裏建立根據地的嘗試，《同時代的遊戲》顯然不是第一次，也不會是最後一次。大江健三郎說，他文學作品中構建的根據地(烏托邦)實際上是源於毛澤東的根據地。
大江健三郎最早接觸的根據地方面的文章是《中國的紅色政權為什麽能夠存在？》，在那篇文章裏，毛澤東圍繞根據地的建立和發展做了很好的闡述。後來在大學裏學習了毛澤東著作後，大江健三郎便意識到，他的故鄉的農民也曾舉行過幾次暴動，最終卻沒能堅持下來，歸根結底，就是沒能像毛澤東那樣建立穩固的根據地。日本的暴動者為什麽不在山區建立根據地呢？如果建立了根據地，情況又將如何？這是大江健三郎一直在思考的問題，並且在作品中表現了出來。
The Game of Contemporaneity was originally inspired on Diego Rivera’s mural 'Dream on a Sunday Afternoon in the Central Alameda'. Oe’s approach to history and story-telling, like in the mural, exposes the themes of simultaneity, ambiguity and thus complexity. The story centres itself around the alternative world of the dissident samurai, as opposed to that of the Emperor. The samurai turn into demons after having being chased into the forest. The story of the village serves as a microcosmic representation of the history of the nation as a whole. It has its own creation myth and fertility goddess, as well as having a composite healer/trickster called: The One Who Destroys. Although the novel exposes the themes of marginalisation and outsiderhood, it also provides hope for a new beginning. This emphasizes the central theme of the novel: simultaneous ambiguity, in the amalgamation of past and present, fact and dream, as well as history and myth. Oe uses satire, parody and black humour to describe the many deeds and events of the samurai. This culminates in the Fifty-Day War, in which the samurai and the imperial army battle one another, with The One Who Destroys leading the battle against the The No-Name Captain of the imperial guard. It ends in the samurai surrendering to avoid the destruction of the forest (mori). The word 'mori' in itself is ambivalent in that in Japanese it conjures an image of regeneration or rebirth and in Latin that of death.
This novel has been considered as a main example of the current of Magic Realism in Japanese Literature. Other Japanese authors with considerable literary contributions to this genre are: Abe Kobo, Yasunari Kawabata and Yasushi Inoue.
大江健三郎最早接觸的根據地方面的文章是《中國的紅色政權為什麽能夠存在？》，在那篇文章裏，毛澤東圍繞根據地的建立和發展做了很好的闡述。後來在大學裏學習了毛澤東著作後，大江健三郎便意識到，他的故鄉的農民也曾舉行過幾次暴動，最終卻沒能堅持下來，歸根結底，就是沒能像毛澤東那樣建立穩固的根據地。日本的暴動者為什麽不在山區建立根據地呢？如果建立了根據地，情況又將如何？這是大江健三郎一直在思考的問題，並且在作品中表現了出來。
The Game of Contemporaneity was originally inspired on Diego Rivera’s mural 'Dream on a Sunday Afternoon in the Central Alameda'. Oe’s approach to history and story-telling, like in the mural, exposes the themes of simultaneity, ambiguity and thus complexity. The story centres itself around the alternative world of the dissident samurai, as opposed to that of the Emperor. The samurai turn into demons after having being chased into the forest. The story of the village serves as a microcosmic representation of the history of the nation as a whole. It has its own creation myth and fertility goddess, as well as having a composite healer/trickster called: The One Who Destroys. Although the novel exposes the themes of marginalisation and outsiderhood, it also provides hope for a new beginning. This emphasizes the central theme of the novel: simultaneous ambiguity, in the amalgamation of past and present, fact and dream, as well as history and myth. Oe uses satire, parody and black humour to describe the many deeds and events of the samurai. This culminates in the Fifty-Day War, in which the samurai and the imperial army battle one another, with The One Who Destroys leading the battle against the The No-Name Captain of the imperial guard. It ends in the samurai surrendering to avoid the destruction of the forest (mori). The word 'mori' in itself is ambivalent in that in Japanese it conjures an image of regeneration or rebirth and in Latin that of death.
This novel has been considered as a main example of the current of Magic Realism in Japanese Literature. Other Japanese authors with considerable literary contributions to this genre are: Abe Kobo, Yasunari Kawabata and Yasushi Inoue.
作者是心理描寫的專傢，醉心於病態的心理描寫，不僅寫行為的結果，而且着重描述行為發生的心理活動過程，特別是那些自覺不自覺的反常行為、近乎昏迷與瘋狂的反常狀態。而人物的思想行為反常，恰恰又是他作品的特點。《普羅哈爾欽先生》中的普羅哈爾欽，《脆弱的心》中的舒姆科夫，《荒唐人的夢》、《拙劣的笑話》、《性格溫和的女人》以及《白夜》中的主人公，都是“反常”的怪人。作者似乎想通過人物的乖張行為、幻想、作夢、昏迷、發瘋等等來反映現實，造成別具一格的真實，因為他認為“按照現實的本來面目來表現現實是不可能的”。也許，這一點正是作者藝術的獨特處。
作者筆下的人物，雖然地位低微，行為反常，荒唐可笑，但內心裏卻或多或少地保留着某些高尚的品質，比如《波爾襢科夫》中的主人公波爾襢科夫雖然是一個“貨真價實的受苦受難者”，但卻“心地善良”，是“世界上最最誠實、最最高尚的一個，”“甚至敢於捨己救人”，“有時他還甘冒風險，不惜犧牲自己的一切，幾乎有點英雄氣概”。就是“愛財如命”的普羅哈爾欽先生“雖然不是出身名門望族，為人卻忠實可靠”，而且還是一個“性格溫和的好人”。作者雖然寫了他們不少荒唐可笑的行為，但卻沒有將他們醜化，所以這些苦命人的形象在讀者心中激起的不是對他們的蔑視，而是深深的同情。對他們荒唐可笑的行為，我們可能禁不住發笑，但笑後一想，又往往覺得想哭，甚至情不自禁地灑下同情之淚。我以為這是作者藝術表現力的高明處。
作者筆下的人物，雖然地位低微，行為反常，荒唐可笑，但內心裏卻或多或少地保留着某些高尚的品質，比如《波爾襢科夫》中的主人公波爾襢科夫雖然是一個“貨真價實的受苦受難者”，但卻“心地善良”，是“世界上最最誠實、最最高尚的一個，”“甚至敢於捨己救人”，“有時他還甘冒風險，不惜犧牲自己的一切，幾乎有點英雄氣概”。就是“愛財如命”的普羅哈爾欽先生“雖然不是出身名門望族，為人卻忠實可靠”，而且還是一個“性格溫和的好人”。作者雖然寫了他們不少荒唐可笑的行為，但卻沒有將他們醜化，所以這些苦命人的形象在讀者心中激起的不是對他們的蔑視，而是深深的同情。對他們荒唐可笑的行為，我們可能禁不住發笑，但笑後一想，又往往覺得想哭，甚至情不自禁地灑下同情之淚。我以為這是作者藝術表現力的高明處。
前不久我買得一處房屋。所在地點十分佳美。讓人覺得就像是在希臘一樣。房屋四周的樹木也都歸屬於我。其中有一株樹巨大無比，在夏天，緑陰如蓋，我不會以溽暑為苦了。我要找人修築一座露天平臺。黃昏時分，在平臺上，我將眺望希臘夕照……
在這裏，在某些時刻，陽光是純一而絶對的，把一切都照得通體分明，是多重性的，同時又是準確無誤的，猛烈地射嚮那惟一的一個目標……
——一九六○年夏日聽到的談話
在這裏，在某些時刻，陽光是純一而絶對的，把一切都照得通體分明，是多重性的，同時又是準確無誤的，猛烈地射嚮那惟一的一個目標……
——一九六○年夏日聽到的談話
荒原狼是個年近50的人，名叫哈立·哈勒。幾年前，他租下了我姑媽傢的閣樓，在這裏住了不到一年的時間。他沉默寡言，不愛交際，確實像他自稱的那樣，是一隻狼，一個陌生的、野性而又膽怯的、來自另一個世界的動物。他的臉充滿智慧，表情溫柔，但內心世界動蕩不安。他想的比別人多，智力上具有那種近乎冷靜的客觀性。這種人沒有虛榮心，他們從不希望閃光，從不固執己見。
我一開始就註意到他與衆不同，我覺得這個人有某種精神病或憂鬱癥。有一天，他在付清一切欠款後，悄無聲息地離開了我們的城市，從此以後就杳無音信了。他把他的一份手稿留給了我。通過閱讀他的手記我纔認識到，他的精神病並不是什麽個人的奇思怪想，而是這個時代的通病。下面是他的手記：
這一天又像往常那樣過去了：一種既無特殊痛苦又無特殊憂慮，既無真正苦惱也無絶望的日子。在大多數人看來，這是一件美事。遺憾的是我受不了這種平靜的生活，我總是燃起對強烈感情的渴望。夜幕降臨，我來到十分安靜的老城區，突然從一條漆黑的鬍同裏竄出一個人，扛着廣告牌，上面寫着“無政府主義的晚會!魔術劇——限製入……”。我想買票進入，但是他丟給我一本書之後，轉眼之間就不見了。
回傢後，我從大衣中掏出那本書，書名是《論荒原狼——僅供狂人閱讀》。這本小册子毫無掩飾地勾畫出我鬱鬱寡歡的人生，而且書的主人公竟然也叫哈立。
有一天我在城郊遇到一個殯葬隊，發現有個人很麵熟，好像就是那個扛廣告牌的人。他告訴我，如果需要消遣就到黑鷹酒店去。到了那兒之後，我遇到了一個很漂亮的姑娘，我們友好地談了起來。這個姑娘很瞭解我，勸我不要輕生，還教我跳舞。我們約好下次見面。
這位姑娘名叫赫爾米拉，她使我對生活産生了新的興趣。我們在一傢酒店見面，赫爾米拉給我介紹了一位叫瑪利亞的姑娘。她說要讓我學會戀愛。一種新的、可怕的、瓦解一切的東西正從四面八方涌來。幾天後，我和她們一起參加一個化裝舞會。舞會之後，有人告訴我赫爾米拉在“地獄”裏等我。我進入地下室，看到很多房間，每個房間都代表着人類靈魂各個神秘的側面。在最後一個房間內，我看到赫爾米拉和一個男人赤身裸體的躺在一起。狂怒之下，我刺死了赫爾米拉。
在一個光禿禿的院子裏，法官判我永生，還罰我被恥笑一次。因為我用鏡子裏的刀殺死了鏡子裏的姑娘，企圖把魔術劇當做自殺的工具。那個和赫爾米拉在一起的男人，把縮成一個棋子大小的赫爾米拉裝進了口袋。
我猜到了這件事的意義，我會把遊戲玩得更好。
荒原狼-欣賞導航
《荒原狼》是一部充滿了狂暴幻想、具有表現主義色彩的小說。小說先是虛擬了一個出版者對哈勒的手記的第一人稱敘述，描述了哈勒這個人物的形象和行為特徵。然後又根據哈勒留下的手記，通過另一個的第一人稱敘述展開後面的情節。黑塞在小說中大量運用了夢幻形式，把第一次世界大戰之後的一個中年歐洲知識分子的內心世界淋漓盡致地展示出來，使其成為20世紀西方小說的經典之作。
作品主人公哈勒是才智之士，有着豐富細膩的內心世界。他很孤獨，很少嚮別人敞開心扉。他好像是來自另外一個星球，對人世間的虛榮、做作、追名逐利和自私淺薄極其厭惡。但與此同時他又發現，自己的這種厭惡感更多的是指嚮自己。正因為如此，哈勒時時刻刻處於一種巨大的分裂和痛苦之中，用他的話來說，就是他身上有兩種截然相反的東西在鬥爭着：狼性和人性。人性和狼性互不協調，當人性沉睡而狼性蘇醒的時候，哈勒就走嚮墮落；當人性蘇醒而狼性沉睡的時候，哈勒就會對自己的墮落和罪惡充滿厭惡。正是人性和狼性的嚴重敵對，使哈勒産生了孤獨感和自殺傾嚮。
那麽拯救之路在哪裏?一開始，哈勒企圖用身上的人性去壓製狼性，但結果卻是不斷陷入更大的苦悶之中。然後他用狼性來取代人性，則更行不通。這其實說明，哈勒將人的本性簡單地看成狼性和人性的二元對立是錯誤的，是一種“毫無希望的兒戲”，“是對現實的強姦”。認識舞女赫爾米拉之後，哈勒逐漸認識到了這個錯誤。經赫爾米拉介紹，哈勒先後認識了舞女瑪利亞和赫爾米拉的男友、音樂師巴伯羅。在他們的熏陶之下，哈勒逐漸接受了許多自己原先根本不能接受的東西。他認識到，人的本性極其復雜，不是由兩種而是由上百種、上千種本質構成，不是在兩極之間搖擺，而是在無數對極性之間搖擺。
在小說最後的“魔術劇”中，哈勒終於找到了真正的解救之道。正因為世界和自我都是多元的而不是二元的，所以無論是回歸人性還是回歸狼性都是枉然。“回頭根本沒有路，既回不到狼那裏，也回不到兒童時代”。面對這個世界所有的背謬和荒誕，衹有用笑和幽默來對付。小說的最後，哈勒終於將生活戲劇的所有“十萬”個棋子裝進口袋，而且决定反復去體會生存的痛苦，將遊戲玩得更好些，“總有一天會學會笑”。
Background and publication history
In 1924 Hermann Hesse remarried wedding singer Ruth Wenger. After several weeks however, he left Basel, only returning near the end of the year. Upon his return he rented a separate apartment, adding to his isolation. After a short trip to Germany with Wenger, Hesse stopped seeing her almost completely. The resulting feeling of isolation and inability to make lasting contact with the outside world, led to increasing despair and thoughts of suicide.
Hesse began writing Steppenwolf in Basel, and finished it in Zürich. In 1926, a precursor to the book, a collection of poems titled The Crisis. From Hermann Hesse's Diary was published. The novel was later released in 1927. The first English edition was published in 1929 by Martin Secker in the United Kingdom and by Henry Holt and Company in the United States. This version was translated by Basil Creighton.
Plot summary
The book is presented as a manuscript by its protagonist, a middle-aged man named Harry Haller, who leaves it to a chance acquaintance, the nephew of his landlady. The acquaintance adds a short preface of his own and then has the manuscript published. The title of this "real" book-in-the-book is Harry Haller's Records (For Madmen Only).
As it begins, the hero is beset by reflections on his being ill-suited for the world of everyday regular people, specifically for frivolous bourgeois society. In his aimless wanderings about the city he encounters a person carrying an advertisement for a magic theatre who gives him a small book, Treatise on the Steppenwolf. This treatise, cited in full in the novel's text as Harry reads it, addresses Harry by name and strikes him as describing himself uncannily. It is a discourse of a man who believes himself to be of two natures: one high, the spiritual nature of man; while the other is low, animalistic; a "wolf of the steppes". This man is entangled in an irresolvable struggle, never content with either nature because he cannot see beyond this self-made concept. The pamphlet gives an explanation of the multifaceted and indefinable nature of every man's soul, which Harry is either unable or unwilling to recognize. It also discusses his suicidal intentions, describing him as one of the "suicides"; people who, deep down, knew they would take their own life one day. But to counter this it hails his potential to be great, to be one of the "Immortals".
The next day Harry meets a former academic friend with whom he had often discussed Indian mythology, and who invites Harry to his home. While there, Harry is disgusted by the nationalistic mentality of his friend, who inadvertently criticizes a column written by Harry, and offends the man and his wife by criticizing his wife's picture of Goethe, which Harry feels is too thickly sentimental and insulting to Goethe's true brilliance, reassuring the proposition that Harry is, and will always be a stranger to his society.
Trying to postpone returning home (to where he has planned suicide), Harry walks aimlessly around the town for most of the night, finally stopping to rest at a dance hall where he happens on a young woman, Hermine, who quickly recognizes his desperation. They talk at length; Hermine alternately mocks Harry's self-pity and indulges him in his explanations regarding his view of life, to his astonished relief. Hermine promises a second meeting, and provides Harry with a reason to live (or at least a substantial excuse that justifies his decision to continue living) that he eagerly embraces.
During the next few weeks, Hermine introduces Harry to the indulgences of what he calls the "bourgeois". She teaches Harry to dance, introduces him to the casual use of drugs, finds him a lover (Maria), and more importantly, forces him to accept these as legitimate and worthy aspects of a full life.
The Magic Theatre
Hermine also introduces Harry to a mysterious saxophonist named Pablo, who appears to be the very opposite of what Harry considers a serious, thoughtful man. After attending a lavish masquerade ball, Pablo brings Harry to his metaphorical "magic theatre", where concerns and notions that plagued his soul disintegrate while he participates with the ethereal and phantasmal. The Magic Theatre is a place where he experiences the fantasies that exist in his mind. They are described as a long horseshoe-shaped corridor that is a mirror on one side and a great many doors on the other. Then, Harry enters five of these labeled doors, each of which symbolizes a fraction of his life.
Major characters
* Harry Haller – the protagonist, a middle-aged man
* Pablo – a saxophonist
* Hermine – a young woman Haller meets at a dance
* Maria – Hermine's friend
Character relationship diagram
Critical analysis
In the preface to the novel's 1960 edition, Hesse wrote that Steppenwolf was "more often and more violently misunderstood" than any of his other books. Hesse felt that his readers focused only on the suffering and despair that are depicted in Harry Haller's life, thereby missing the possibility of transcendence and healing. This could be due to the fact that at that time Western readers were not familiar with Buddhist philosophy, and therefore missed the point when reading it, because the notion of a human being consisting of a myriad of fragments of different souls is in complete contradiction of Judeo-Christian theologies. Also in the novel, Pablo instructs Harry Haller to relinquish his personality at one point, or at least for the duration of his journey through the corridors of the Magic Theater. In order to do so Harry must learn to use laughter to overcome the tight grip of his personality, to literally laugh at his personality until it shatters into so many small pieces. This concept also ran counter to the egocentric Western culture.
Hermann Hesse in 1926
Hesse is a master at blurring the distinction between reality and fantasy. In the moment of climax, it's debatable whether Haller actually kills Hermine or whether the "murder" is just another hallucination in the Magic Theater. It is argued that Hesse does not define reality based on what occurs in physical time and space; rather, reality is merely a function of metaphysical cause and effect. What matters is not whether the murder actually occurred, but rather that at that moment it was Haller's intention to kill Hermine. In that sense, Haller's various states of mind are of more significance than his actions.
It is also notable that the very existence of Hermine in the novel is never confirmed; the manuscript left in Harry Haller's room reflects a story that completely revolves around his personal experiences. In fact when Harry asks Hermine what her name is, she turns the question around. When he is challenged to guess her name, he tells her that she reminds him of a childhood friend named Hermann, and therefore he concludes, her name must be Hermine. Metaphorically, Harry creates Hermine as if a fragment of his own soul has broken off to form a female counterpart.
The underlying theme of transcendence is shown within group interaction and dynamics. Throughout the novel Harry concerns himself with being different, with separating himself from those he is around. Harry believes that he is better than his surroundings and fails to understand why he cannot be recognized as such, which raises the idea that in order to rise above a group one must first become one with a part of it.
The multilayered soul of human nature is the major theme in the novel and its two main characters, Harry Haller and Hermine, illustrate this. Harry illustrates through an inner conflict and an outer conflict. Inwardly, he believes two opposing natures battle over possession of him, a man and a wolf, high and low, spirit and animal. While he actually longs to live as a wolf free of social convention, he lives as a bourgeois bachelor, but his opposing wolfish nature isolates him from others until he meets Hermine.
Hermine represents the duality of human nature through an outer conflict. Hermine is a socialite, a foil to the isolated bachelor, and she coerces Harry to agree to subject himself to society, learning from her, in exchange for her murder. As Harry struggles through social interaction his isolation diminishes and he and Hermine grow closer to one another as the moment of her death approaches. The climax of the dualistic struggle culminates in the Magic Theater where Harry, seeing himself as a wolf, murders Hermine the socialite.
Critical reception
Later German Edition
From the very beginning, reception was harsh. American novelist Jack Kerouac dismissed it in Big Sur (1962) and it has had a long history of mixed critical reception and opinion at large. Already upset with Hesse's novel Siddhartha, political activists and patriots railed against him, and against the book, seeing an opportunity to discredit Hesse. Even close friends and longtime readers criticized the novel for its perceived lack of morality in its open depiction of sex and drug use, a criticism that indeed remained the primary rebuff of the novel for many years. However as society changed and formerly taboo topics such as sex and drugs became more openly discussed, critics came to attack the book for other reasons; mainly that it was too pessimistic, and that it was a journey in the footsteps of a psychotic and showed humanity through his warped and unstable viewpoint, a fact that Hesse did not dispute, although he did respond to critics by noting the novel ends on a theme of new hope.
Popular interest in the novel was renewed in the 1960s, primarily because it was seen as a counterculture book and because of its depiction of free love and frank drug usage. It was also introduced in many new colleges for study and interest in the book and in Hermann Hesse was feted in America for more than a decade afterwards.
"Treatise on the Steppenwolf"
The "Treatise on the Steppenwolf" is a booklet given to Harry Haller which describes himself. It is a literary mirror and, from the outset, describes what Harry had not learned, namely "to find contentment in himself and his own life." The cause of his discontent was the perceived dualistic nature of a human and a wolf within Harry. The treatise describes, as earmarks of his life, a threefold manifestation of his discontent: one, isolation from others, two, suicidal tendencies, and three, relation to the bourgeois. Harry isolates himself from others socially and professionally, frequently resists the temptation to take his life, and experiences feelings of benevolence and malevolence for bourgeois notions. The booklet predicts Harry may come to terms with his state in the dawning light of humor.
References in popular culture
Hesse's 1928 short story "Harry, the Steppenwolf" forms a companion piece to the novel. It is about a wolf named Harry who is kept in a zoo, and who entertains crowds by destroying images of German cultural icons like Goethe and Mozart.
The name Steppenwolf has become notable in popular culture for various organizations and establishments. In 1967, the band Steppenwolf, headed by German-born singer John Kay, took their name from the novel. The Belgian band DAAU (die Anarchistische Abendunterhaltung) is named after one of the advertising slogans of the novel's magical theatre. The Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago, which was founded in 1974 by actor Gary Sinise, also took its name from the novel. The 'lengthy track "Steppenwolf" appears on English rock band Hawkwind's album Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music and is directly inspired by the novel, including references to the magic theatre and the dual nature of the wolfman-manwolf (lutocost). Robert Calvert had initially written and performed the lyrics on 'Distances Between Us' by Adrian Wagner in 1974. The song also appears on later, live Hawkwind CD's and DVDs.
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Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
The novel was adapted into a film of the same name in 1974. Starring Max Von Sydow and Dominique Sanda, it was directed by Fred Haines.
我一開始就註意到他與衆不同，我覺得這個人有某種精神病或憂鬱癥。有一天，他在付清一切欠款後，悄無聲息地離開了我們的城市，從此以後就杳無音信了。他把他的一份手稿留給了我。通過閱讀他的手記我纔認識到，他的精神病並不是什麽個人的奇思怪想，而是這個時代的通病。下面是他的手記：
這一天又像往常那樣過去了：一種既無特殊痛苦又無特殊憂慮，既無真正苦惱也無絶望的日子。在大多數人看來，這是一件美事。遺憾的是我受不了這種平靜的生活，我總是燃起對強烈感情的渴望。夜幕降臨，我來到十分安靜的老城區，突然從一條漆黑的鬍同裏竄出一個人，扛着廣告牌，上面寫着“無政府主義的晚會!魔術劇——限製入……”。我想買票進入，但是他丟給我一本書之後，轉眼之間就不見了。
回傢後，我從大衣中掏出那本書，書名是《論荒原狼——僅供狂人閱讀》。這本小册子毫無掩飾地勾畫出我鬱鬱寡歡的人生，而且書的主人公竟然也叫哈立。
有一天我在城郊遇到一個殯葬隊，發現有個人很麵熟，好像就是那個扛廣告牌的人。他告訴我，如果需要消遣就到黑鷹酒店去。到了那兒之後，我遇到了一個很漂亮的姑娘，我們友好地談了起來。這個姑娘很瞭解我，勸我不要輕生，還教我跳舞。我們約好下次見面。
這位姑娘名叫赫爾米拉，她使我對生活産生了新的興趣。我們在一傢酒店見面，赫爾米拉給我介紹了一位叫瑪利亞的姑娘。她說要讓我學會戀愛。一種新的、可怕的、瓦解一切的東西正從四面八方涌來。幾天後，我和她們一起參加一個化裝舞會。舞會之後，有人告訴我赫爾米拉在“地獄”裏等我。我進入地下室，看到很多房間，每個房間都代表着人類靈魂各個神秘的側面。在最後一個房間內，我看到赫爾米拉和一個男人赤身裸體的躺在一起。狂怒之下，我刺死了赫爾米拉。
在一個光禿禿的院子裏，法官判我永生，還罰我被恥笑一次。因為我用鏡子裏的刀殺死了鏡子裏的姑娘，企圖把魔術劇當做自殺的工具。那個和赫爾米拉在一起的男人，把縮成一個棋子大小的赫爾米拉裝進了口袋。
我猜到了這件事的意義，我會把遊戲玩得更好。
荒原狼-欣賞導航
《荒原狼》是一部充滿了狂暴幻想、具有表現主義色彩的小說。小說先是虛擬了一個出版者對哈勒的手記的第一人稱敘述，描述了哈勒這個人物的形象和行為特徵。然後又根據哈勒留下的手記，通過另一個的第一人稱敘述展開後面的情節。黑塞在小說中大量運用了夢幻形式，把第一次世界大戰之後的一個中年歐洲知識分子的內心世界淋漓盡致地展示出來，使其成為20世紀西方小說的經典之作。
作品主人公哈勒是才智之士，有着豐富細膩的內心世界。他很孤獨，很少嚮別人敞開心扉。他好像是來自另外一個星球，對人世間的虛榮、做作、追名逐利和自私淺薄極其厭惡。但與此同時他又發現，自己的這種厭惡感更多的是指嚮自己。正因為如此，哈勒時時刻刻處於一種巨大的分裂和痛苦之中，用他的話來說，就是他身上有兩種截然相反的東西在鬥爭着：狼性和人性。人性和狼性互不協調，當人性沉睡而狼性蘇醒的時候，哈勒就走嚮墮落；當人性蘇醒而狼性沉睡的時候，哈勒就會對自己的墮落和罪惡充滿厭惡。正是人性和狼性的嚴重敵對，使哈勒産生了孤獨感和自殺傾嚮。
那麽拯救之路在哪裏?一開始，哈勒企圖用身上的人性去壓製狼性，但結果卻是不斷陷入更大的苦悶之中。然後他用狼性來取代人性，則更行不通。這其實說明，哈勒將人的本性簡單地看成狼性和人性的二元對立是錯誤的，是一種“毫無希望的兒戲”，“是對現實的強姦”。認識舞女赫爾米拉之後，哈勒逐漸認識到了這個錯誤。經赫爾米拉介紹，哈勒先後認識了舞女瑪利亞和赫爾米拉的男友、音樂師巴伯羅。在他們的熏陶之下，哈勒逐漸接受了許多自己原先根本不能接受的東西。他認識到，人的本性極其復雜，不是由兩種而是由上百種、上千種本質構成，不是在兩極之間搖擺，而是在無數對極性之間搖擺。
在小說最後的“魔術劇”中，哈勒終於找到了真正的解救之道。正因為世界和自我都是多元的而不是二元的，所以無論是回歸人性還是回歸狼性都是枉然。“回頭根本沒有路，既回不到狼那裏，也回不到兒童時代”。面對這個世界所有的背謬和荒誕，衹有用笑和幽默來對付。小說的最後，哈勒終於將生活戲劇的所有“十萬”個棋子裝進口袋，而且决定反復去體會生存的痛苦，將遊戲玩得更好些，“總有一天會學會笑”。
Background and publication history
In 1924 Hermann Hesse remarried wedding singer Ruth Wenger. After several weeks however, he left Basel, only returning near the end of the year. Upon his return he rented a separate apartment, adding to his isolation. After a short trip to Germany with Wenger, Hesse stopped seeing her almost completely. The resulting feeling of isolation and inability to make lasting contact with the outside world, led to increasing despair and thoughts of suicide.
Hesse began writing Steppenwolf in Basel, and finished it in Zürich. In 1926, a precursor to the book, a collection of poems titled The Crisis. From Hermann Hesse's Diary was published. The novel was later released in 1927. The first English edition was published in 1929 by Martin Secker in the United Kingdom and by Henry Holt and Company in the United States. This version was translated by Basil Creighton.
Plot summary
The book is presented as a manuscript by its protagonist, a middle-aged man named Harry Haller, who leaves it to a chance acquaintance, the nephew of his landlady. The acquaintance adds a short preface of his own and then has the manuscript published. The title of this "real" book-in-the-book is Harry Haller's Records (For Madmen Only).
As it begins, the hero is beset by reflections on his being ill-suited for the world of everyday regular people, specifically for frivolous bourgeois society. In his aimless wanderings about the city he encounters a person carrying an advertisement for a magic theatre who gives him a small book, Treatise on the Steppenwolf. This treatise, cited in full in the novel's text as Harry reads it, addresses Harry by name and strikes him as describing himself uncannily. It is a discourse of a man who believes himself to be of two natures: one high, the spiritual nature of man; while the other is low, animalistic; a "wolf of the steppes". This man is entangled in an irresolvable struggle, never content with either nature because he cannot see beyond this self-made concept. The pamphlet gives an explanation of the multifaceted and indefinable nature of every man's soul, which Harry is either unable or unwilling to recognize. It also discusses his suicidal intentions, describing him as one of the "suicides"; people who, deep down, knew they would take their own life one day. But to counter this it hails his potential to be great, to be one of the "Immortals".
The next day Harry meets a former academic friend with whom he had often discussed Indian mythology, and who invites Harry to his home. While there, Harry is disgusted by the nationalistic mentality of his friend, who inadvertently criticizes a column written by Harry, and offends the man and his wife by criticizing his wife's picture of Goethe, which Harry feels is too thickly sentimental and insulting to Goethe's true brilliance, reassuring the proposition that Harry is, and will always be a stranger to his society.
Trying to postpone returning home (to where he has planned suicide), Harry walks aimlessly around the town for most of the night, finally stopping to rest at a dance hall where he happens on a young woman, Hermine, who quickly recognizes his desperation. They talk at length; Hermine alternately mocks Harry's self-pity and indulges him in his explanations regarding his view of life, to his astonished relief. Hermine promises a second meeting, and provides Harry with a reason to live (or at least a substantial excuse that justifies his decision to continue living) that he eagerly embraces.
During the next few weeks, Hermine introduces Harry to the indulgences of what he calls the "bourgeois". She teaches Harry to dance, introduces him to the casual use of drugs, finds him a lover (Maria), and more importantly, forces him to accept these as legitimate and worthy aspects of a full life.
The Magic Theatre
Hermine also introduces Harry to a mysterious saxophonist named Pablo, who appears to be the very opposite of what Harry considers a serious, thoughtful man. After attending a lavish masquerade ball, Pablo brings Harry to his metaphorical "magic theatre", where concerns and notions that plagued his soul disintegrate while he participates with the ethereal and phantasmal. The Magic Theatre is a place where he experiences the fantasies that exist in his mind. They are described as a long horseshoe-shaped corridor that is a mirror on one side and a great many doors on the other. Then, Harry enters five of these labeled doors, each of which symbolizes a fraction of his life.
Major characters
* Harry Haller – the protagonist, a middle-aged man
* Pablo – a saxophonist
* Hermine – a young woman Haller meets at a dance
* Maria – Hermine's friend
Character relationship diagram
Critical analysis
In the preface to the novel's 1960 edition, Hesse wrote that Steppenwolf was "more often and more violently misunderstood" than any of his other books. Hesse felt that his readers focused only on the suffering and despair that are depicted in Harry Haller's life, thereby missing the possibility of transcendence and healing. This could be due to the fact that at that time Western readers were not familiar with Buddhist philosophy, and therefore missed the point when reading it, because the notion of a human being consisting of a myriad of fragments of different souls is in complete contradiction of Judeo-Christian theologies. Also in the novel, Pablo instructs Harry Haller to relinquish his personality at one point, or at least for the duration of his journey through the corridors of the Magic Theater. In order to do so Harry must learn to use laughter to overcome the tight grip of his personality, to literally laugh at his personality until it shatters into so many small pieces. This concept also ran counter to the egocentric Western culture.
Hermann Hesse in 1926
Hesse is a master at blurring the distinction between reality and fantasy. In the moment of climax, it's debatable whether Haller actually kills Hermine or whether the "murder" is just another hallucination in the Magic Theater. It is argued that Hesse does not define reality based on what occurs in physical time and space; rather, reality is merely a function of metaphysical cause and effect. What matters is not whether the murder actually occurred, but rather that at that moment it was Haller's intention to kill Hermine. In that sense, Haller's various states of mind are of more significance than his actions.
It is also notable that the very existence of Hermine in the novel is never confirmed; the manuscript left in Harry Haller's room reflects a story that completely revolves around his personal experiences. In fact when Harry asks Hermine what her name is, she turns the question around. When he is challenged to guess her name, he tells her that she reminds him of a childhood friend named Hermann, and therefore he concludes, her name must be Hermine. Metaphorically, Harry creates Hermine as if a fragment of his own soul has broken off to form a female counterpart.
The underlying theme of transcendence is shown within group interaction and dynamics. Throughout the novel Harry concerns himself with being different, with separating himself from those he is around. Harry believes that he is better than his surroundings and fails to understand why he cannot be recognized as such, which raises the idea that in order to rise above a group one must first become one with a part of it.
The multilayered soul of human nature is the major theme in the novel and its two main characters, Harry Haller and Hermine, illustrate this. Harry illustrates through an inner conflict and an outer conflict. Inwardly, he believes two opposing natures battle over possession of him, a man and a wolf, high and low, spirit and animal. While he actually longs to live as a wolf free of social convention, he lives as a bourgeois bachelor, but his opposing wolfish nature isolates him from others until he meets Hermine.
Hermine represents the duality of human nature through an outer conflict. Hermine is a socialite, a foil to the isolated bachelor, and she coerces Harry to agree to subject himself to society, learning from her, in exchange for her murder. As Harry struggles through social interaction his isolation diminishes and he and Hermine grow closer to one another as the moment of her death approaches. The climax of the dualistic struggle culminates in the Magic Theater where Harry, seeing himself as a wolf, murders Hermine the socialite.
Critical reception
Later German Edition
From the very beginning, reception was harsh. American novelist Jack Kerouac dismissed it in Big Sur (1962) and it has had a long history of mixed critical reception and opinion at large. Already upset with Hesse's novel Siddhartha, political activists and patriots railed against him, and against the book, seeing an opportunity to discredit Hesse. Even close friends and longtime readers criticized the novel for its perceived lack of morality in its open depiction of sex and drug use, a criticism that indeed remained the primary rebuff of the novel for many years. However as society changed and formerly taboo topics such as sex and drugs became more openly discussed, critics came to attack the book for other reasons; mainly that it was too pessimistic, and that it was a journey in the footsteps of a psychotic and showed humanity through his warped and unstable viewpoint, a fact that Hesse did not dispute, although he did respond to critics by noting the novel ends on a theme of new hope.
Popular interest in the novel was renewed in the 1960s, primarily because it was seen as a counterculture book and because of its depiction of free love and frank drug usage. It was also introduced in many new colleges for study and interest in the book and in Hermann Hesse was feted in America for more than a decade afterwards.
"Treatise on the Steppenwolf"
The "Treatise on the Steppenwolf" is a booklet given to Harry Haller which describes himself. It is a literary mirror and, from the outset, describes what Harry had not learned, namely "to find contentment in himself and his own life." The cause of his discontent was the perceived dualistic nature of a human and a wolf within Harry. The treatise describes, as earmarks of his life, a threefold manifestation of his discontent: one, isolation from others, two, suicidal tendencies, and three, relation to the bourgeois. Harry isolates himself from others socially and professionally, frequently resists the temptation to take his life, and experiences feelings of benevolence and malevolence for bourgeois notions. The booklet predicts Harry may come to terms with his state in the dawning light of humor.
References in popular culture
Hesse's 1928 short story "Harry, the Steppenwolf" forms a companion piece to the novel. It is about a wolf named Harry who is kept in a zoo, and who entertains crowds by destroying images of German cultural icons like Goethe and Mozart.
The name Steppenwolf has become notable in popular culture for various organizations and establishments. In 1967, the band Steppenwolf, headed by German-born singer John Kay, took their name from the novel. The Belgian band DAAU (die Anarchistische Abendunterhaltung) is named after one of the advertising slogans of the novel's magical theatre. The Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago, which was founded in 1974 by actor Gary Sinise, also took its name from the novel. The 'lengthy track "Steppenwolf" appears on English rock band Hawkwind's album Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music and is directly inspired by the novel, including references to the magic theatre and the dual nature of the wolfman-manwolf (lutocost). Robert Calvert had initially written and performed the lyrics on 'Distances Between Us' by Adrian Wagner in 1974. The song also appears on later, live Hawkwind CD's and DVDs.
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Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
The novel was adapted into a film of the same name in 1974. Starring Max Von Sydow and Dominique Sanda, it was directed by Fred Haines.
米蘭·昆德拉1975年流亡法國後創作了《生活在別處》這部充滿了現代主義色彩的傑作，在作品中他把主人公——一個敏感的年輕詩人雅羅米爾的內心世界刻畫的細緻入微，在描寫手法上也獨具個性，尤其是一個夢境套着一個夢境的超現實主義手法使我們再次領略了現代派小說的精髓。其中還大量涉及了象徵主義詩歌，雖然我們未曾接觸到他的先鋒電影，但從他作品中，我們無時不刻感到如同攝影機般捕捉着事件的運動感。
簡介 ······
《生活在別處》是一個年輕藝術傢的肖像畫。昆德拉以其獨到的筆觸塑造出雅羅米爾這樣一個形象，描繪了這個年輕詩人充滿激情而又短暫的一生，具有“發展小說”的許多特點。就其題材而言，表現一個藝術傢（或知識分子）是本世紀文學的一個重要領域，因為展示我們這個復雜的時代也衹有復雜的人物才能承擔。在這部作品中，作者對詩人創作過程的分析是微妙而精細的。創作過程當然不僅指下筆寫作的過程，而且更廣義地指一個詩人的全部成長過程。用作者自己的話說，這部小說是“對我所稱之為抒情態度的一個分析。”正是在這樣的創作意圖下，這部書最初曾被題名為《抒情時代》。作者所要表現和所要探究的是，人的心靈所具有的激情，它的産生和它的結果。因而這本書又是一本現代心理小說，表現了一個詩人的藝術感覺的成長。書中每一章 節的名稱都展示了詩人生命歷程的一個階段。他的童年、少年和青年時代，他怎樣讀書，怎樣戀愛，以及怎樣做夢等等。關於時代的全貌和他人的活動都遲到了遠處，一切觀察的焦點都集中在主人公身上，並且與他的內心活動有關。有如激情的澗水，在時間的亂山碎石中流過，兩岸的景緻並不重要，重要的是溪流將流嚮沃野還是沙漠。換句話說，作者在這裏所關心的是詩人心理和精神上的發育。為了潛入到人物意識中最隱秘的角落，作者采用了一種我們可以稱之為客觀意識流的敘述方式：時間與空間交織（不同時期不同地點所發生的事常常出現在同一段敘述中），現實與夢幻交織（第二章 《澤維爾》完全是一個夢套一個夢），情節的跳宏，思考的猝然與不連貫，故意模糊主語的陳述，這些都使此書更接近於詩歌而不是小說。假如我們把書中這些抒情性的因素去掉，這部作品的內容就剩不下什麽了。這種形式使我們更能切近詩人的內心活動，感觸到詩人的激情是怎樣産生和燃燒的。
簡介 ······
《生活在別處》是一個年輕藝術傢的肖像畫。昆德拉以其獨到的筆觸塑造出雅羅米爾這樣一個形象，描繪了這個年輕詩人充滿激情而又短暫的一生，具有“發展小說”的許多特點。就其題材而言，表現一個藝術傢（或知識分子）是本世紀文學的一個重要領域，因為展示我們這個復雜的時代也衹有復雜的人物才能承擔。在這部作品中，作者對詩人創作過程的分析是微妙而精細的。創作過程當然不僅指下筆寫作的過程，而且更廣義地指一個詩人的全部成長過程。用作者自己的話說，這部小說是“對我所稱之為抒情態度的一個分析。”正是在這樣的創作意圖下，這部書最初曾被題名為《抒情時代》。作者所要表現和所要探究的是，人的心靈所具有的激情，它的産生和它的結果。因而這本書又是一本現代心理小說，表現了一個詩人的藝術感覺的成長。書中每一章 節的名稱都展示了詩人生命歷程的一個階段。他的童年、少年和青年時代，他怎樣讀書，怎樣戀愛，以及怎樣做夢等等。關於時代的全貌和他人的活動都遲到了遠處，一切觀察的焦點都集中在主人公身上，並且與他的內心活動有關。有如激情的澗水，在時間的亂山碎石中流過，兩岸的景緻並不重要，重要的是溪流將流嚮沃野還是沙漠。換句話說，作者在這裏所關心的是詩人心理和精神上的發育。為了潛入到人物意識中最隱秘的角落，作者采用了一種我們可以稱之為客觀意識流的敘述方式：時間與空間交織（不同時期不同地點所發生的事常常出現在同一段敘述中），現實與夢幻交織（第二章 《澤維爾》完全是一個夢套一個夢），情節的跳宏，思考的猝然與不連貫，故意模糊主語的陳述，這些都使此書更接近於詩歌而不是小說。假如我們把書中這些抒情性的因素去掉，這部作品的內容就剩不下什麽了。這種形式使我們更能切近詩人的內心活動，感觸到詩人的激情是怎樣産生和燃燒的。
王爾德的唯美主義藝術觀在他的小說《道林.格雷的畫像》中有充分的體現,主要包括藝術與形式,藝術與生活,藝術與道德三個方面與其藝術觀相對應的王爾德的人生觀,在其入獄前後發生了明顯的改變。藝術與人生的衝突和融合也就是王爾德的藝術魅力所在。
The novel tells of a young man named Dorian Gray, the subject of a painting by artist Basil Hallward. Basil is impressed by Dorian's beauty and becomes infatuated with him, believing his beauty is responsible for a new mode in his art. Dorian meets Lord Henry Wotton, a friend of Basil's, and becomes enthralled by Lord Henry's world view. Espousing a new hedonism, Lord Henry suggests the only things worth pursuing in life are beauty and fulfillment of the senses. Realizing that one day his beauty will fade, Dorian expresses his desire to sell his soul to ensure the portrait Basil has painted would age rather than himself. Dorian's wish is fulfilled, plunging him into debauched acts. The portrait serves as a reminder of the effect each act has upon his soul, with each sin displayed as a disfigurement of his form, or through a sign of aging.
The Picture of Dorian Gray is considered a work of classic gothic horror fiction with a strong Faustian theme.
The novel tells of a young man named Dorian Gray, the subject of a painting by artist Basil Hallward. Basil is impressed by Dorian's beauty and becomes infatuated with him, believing his beauty is responsible for a new mode in his art. Dorian meets Lord Henry Wotton, a friend of Basil's, and becomes enthralled by Lord Henry's world view. Espousing a new hedonism, Lord Henry suggests the only things worth pursuing in life are beauty and fulfillment of the senses. Realizing that one day his beauty will fade, Dorian expresses his desire to sell his soul to ensure the portrait Basil has painted would age rather than himself. Dorian's wish is fulfilled, plunging him into debauched acts. The portrait serves as a reminder of the effect each act has upon his soul, with each sin displayed as a disfigurement of his form, or through a sign of aging.
The Picture of Dorian Gray is considered a work of classic gothic horror fiction with a strong Faustian theme.
弗吉尼亞·伍爾夫是二十世紀上半葉西方現代主義文學的代表人物。她既是“意識流”小說理論的闡述者，又是“詩化小說”的倡導者。她一生都力求突破傳統，在西方文學發展史上樹立了一座新的里程碑，成為浩瀚的文學星空中一顆熠熠閃光的明星。 本文首先考察弗吉尼亞·伍爾夫對於“詩化小說”的理論建構。時代變化了，人們的生活也變化了，“而人與人之間的關係一旦發生了變化，信仰、行為、政治和文學也隨之而發生變化”。 因此，弗吉尼亞·伍爾夫將小說的重心轉嚮人的內心世界，這是歷史的轉變在文學上的反映。 弗吉尼亞·伍爾夫提出了“主觀真實論”。她認為，小說應該更重視的是人的內心世界，要求由重視外部真實轉嚮表現人物的內心真實，杜絶當時英國文壇那些“物質主義者”“衹關心軀體而不關心人的靈魂”，以此來拯救英國小說。最後，弗吉尼亞·伍爾夫提出了“詩化小說論”。她的小說與傳統意義上的小說是截然不同的，她的“詩化小說”運用詩的技巧，詩的語言，構造詩的意境，它是用散文寫成的，但那是一種具有許多詩歌特徵的散文。 弗吉尼亞·伍爾夫不僅在理論上建構了自己的“詩化小說”，並將這種文學理想應用到文學創作中去。早期的“意識流”小說《墻上的斑點》、《雅各布的房間》，為她實驗自己的“詩化小說”奠定了基礎，同時也使她看到了“詩化小說”的希望之光。弗吉尼亞·伍爾夫隨後創作了《達洛衛夫人》、《到燈塔去》、《海浪》等長篇小說，成了她“詩化小說”的成功代表。首先，在《達洛衛夫人》中，弗吉尼亞·伍爾夫的“詩化小說”不像傳統小說那樣着眼於人物的刻畫，它並不局限於敘述故事，表現人物的悲歡離合，而是具有詩歌的某些屬性。它開始表現人與自然、 人與命運之間的關係，更主要的是采用那個不協調因素的奇異的混合體——現代心靈——的模式。其次，在《到燈塔去》中，弗吉尼亞·伍爾夫在作品中大量運用象徵，整部小說都是一個象徵體，使小說更具有詩的意藴。最後，《海浪》是弗吉尼亞·伍爾夫的“詩化小說”的集大成之作。她對人物不作客觀真實的描繪，使人物變成了抽象的模式和沒有軀殼的靈魂。純詩一般的獨白片斷，象生生不息的海浪一樣自由自在地生成。通過對這三部作品的分析，我們對弗吉尼亞·伍爾夫的“詩化小說”的特點可以獲得深刻的認識。 最後，本文對弗吉尼亞·伍爾夫的“詩化小說”所引發的爭論，作了一個綜述。首先，面對傳統的現實主義小說對“客觀真實”的重視，她提出的“主觀真實”引起了爭論。弗吉尼亞·伍爾夫不寫“專名”式的典型人物，從對外部世界的觀照、摹寫，轉嚮對人的本性和情感世界的審美表述，小說思維明顯地呈現了“嚮內轉”的審美意嚮。這成為她為掙脫傳統的藩籬而跨出的第一步。其次，弗吉尼亞·伍爾夫小說的“詩化”特徵也引起了文學界的爭論。她的小說具有很強的詩意特徵，作品中充滿了自由聯想、意象、隱喻、象徵、抒情等詩歌因素。她將詩歌的技巧運用在小說中，給傳統小說的讀者造成了閱讀睏難；也這些因素使得許多評論傢不能接受她的作品。然而，她的創新為文壇註入了新鮮的血液，這正是評論傢們所贊譽的。 縱觀古希臘到十九世紀末的西方文壇，弗吉尼亞·伍爾夫的“詩化小說”的出現並不是一個偶然的現象，它是西方文藝思潮發展到一定階段的必然結果。“詩化小說”為現代小說帶來新的面貌，新的氣息，它標志着小說創作在審美的道路上大大跨進了一步，為小說的藝術創新做出了重大貢獻。
The novel centres, in a very ambiguous way, around the life story of the protagonist Jacob Flanders, and is presented entirely by the impressions other characters have of Jacob [except for those times when we do indeed get Jacob's perspective]. Thus, although it could be said that the book is primarily a character study and has little in the way of plot or background, the narrative is constructed as a void in place of the central character, if indeed the novel can be said to have a 'protagonist' in conventional terms. Motifs of emptiness and absence haunt the novel and establish its elegiac feel. Jacob is described to us, but in such indirect terms that it would seem better to view him as an amalgamation of the different perceptions of the characters and narrator. He does not exist as a concrete reality, but rather as a collection of memories and sensations.
Plot summary
Set in pre-war England, the novel begins in Jacob's childhood and follows him through college at Cambridge, and then into adulthood. The story is told mainly through the perspectives of the women in Jacob's life, including the repressed upper-middle-class Clara Durrant and the uninhibited young art student Florinda, with whom he has an affair. His time in London forms a large part of the story, though towards the end of the novel he travels to Italy, then Greece. Jacob eventually dies in the war and in lieu of a description of the death scene, Woolf describes the empty room that he leaves behind.
Literary significance
The novel is a departure from Woolf's earlier two novels, The Voyage Out (1915) and Night and Day (1919), which are more conventional in form. The work is seen as an important modernist text; its experimental form is viewed as a progression of the innovative writing style Woolf presented in her earlier collection of short fiction titled Monday or Tuesday (1919).
The novel centres, in a very ambiguous way, around the life story of the protagonist Jacob Flanders, and is presented entirely by the impressions other characters have of Jacob [except for those times when we do indeed get Jacob's perspective]. Thus, although it could be said that the book is primarily a character study and has little in the way of plot or background, the narrative is constructed as a void in place of the central character, if indeed the novel can be said to have a 'protagonist' in conventional terms. Motifs of emptiness and absence haunt the novel and establish its elegiac feel. Jacob is described to us, but in such indirect terms that it would seem better to view him as an amalgamation of the different perceptions of the characters and narrator. He does not exist as a concrete reality, but rather as a collection of memories and sensations.
Plot summary
Set in pre-war England, the novel begins in Jacob's childhood and follows him through college at Cambridge, and then into adulthood. The story is told mainly through the perspectives of the women in Jacob's life, including the repressed upper-middle-class Clara Durrant and the uninhibited young art student Florinda, with whom he has an affair. His time in London forms a large part of the story, though towards the end of the novel he travels to Italy, then Greece. Jacob eventually dies in the war and in lieu of a description of the death scene, Woolf describes the empty room that he leaves behind.
Literary significance
The novel is a departure from Woolf's earlier two novels, The Voyage Out (1915) and Night and Day (1919), which are more conventional in form. The work is seen as an important modernist text; its experimental form is viewed as a progression of the innovative writing style Woolf presented in her earlier collection of short fiction titled Monday or Tuesday (1919).
如果在鼕夜，一個旅人
作者:塔洛·卡爾維諾
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柏拉圖，如同他那個時代的許多偉大的人，是個夢想傢。在他的幻界之中，人本應是雌
雄同體的；衹是為了人所犯下的罪，人就被分成了兩部分，於是就有了男人和女人的分別。
柏拉圖還證明了：完美的世界不能多於五個，因為正則的數學體係衹有五種。柏拉圖的
“理想國”是他的最緊要的夢幻的體現。在柏拉圖的幻境裏，人先是睡覺，然後醒來張着眼
四下觀看，然後又是睡覺；人也不應該把了肉眼去看日食，要弄桶水來看水中的倒影，不然
會變成瞎子的。夢幻，在柏拉圖的時代，還有極好的名譽。
今天，我要講的就是柏拉圖的一個夢，這個夢可不是一點趣味也沒有的那種。在柏拉圖
的這個夢裏，偉大的地米古斯，那位留芳萬世的幾何傢，那位在太空製造了無數圓球並在每
顆球上放了許許多人的，要看看妖怪們到底從他那學了多少東西。於是，地米古斯給了每一
位妖怪一些物質去發揮他們的想象，要是沒人介意，打個比方吧，那就象菲底阿思和宙苛西
斯教他們的門徒那樣：給個像，讓他們照着畫。
魔王領了他那塊物質，就是我們現在稱為地球的。一陣忙碌之後，魔王把地球弄成了現
在的這個樣子。魔王高興極了，他覺着這是一件可以被稱為傑作的上上品。魔王覺着他已成
功地讓妒忌之神都閉上了她的嘴，他盤算着該如何欣賞即刻可至的其他妖怪的頌詞。使魔王
大惑不解的是：兄弟們送給他的衹是一陣不屑的噓聲。
兄弟中那個最好挖苦人的傢夥還湊上前來說了這樣的話：
“可不是嗎，你倒真地幹了件了不起的事呢！你把你那世界分成了兩部分；又為了阻斷
兩邊的來往，還那麽小心地弄了那麽些水在兩個半球之間。要是有誰膽敢靠近你做的那兩個
極地，誰就得給凍僵；誰膽敢靠近赤道，誰就得給烤焦了。你又是那樣深謀遠慮，造了那麽
大片的沙漠，任何試圖穿越它的不是得給餓斃就是得給渴死。我倒是沒從你造的那些牛、
羊、公雞、母雞身上找出什麽毛病來；可我覺着沒法理解你為什麽要弄出那麽些毒蛇和蜘
蛛。你那些洋蔥、洋薊是好東西，可你幹嘛又弄那麽老些毒草種得到處都是？除非你想着去
毒一毒那些你造的人們。而且，我沒數錯的話，你大約造了三十幾種猴子，還有更多種類的
狗，可你衹造了四種或是五種人。你又給了這後一種動物一種本能，就是你喚它作推理的；
可實際上，那個什麽推理不過是一種可笑的玩意兒，離那個你喚它作愚蠢的不會遠於一寸。
除了上邊提到的，你還一點也不尊重你造的那些兩條腿的朋友們，你衹給了他們少得可憐的
一點自衛；你把他們丟在那樣一種混沌之中，衹給他們那麽星點補償；你又給了他們那麽多
情感、那樣少的用來抵禦感情的智慧與謹慎。你一準早就沒想要這個球面上在任何時間有許
多的人可以生存；你又弄了那天花去日復一日地折磨他們，整得他們的數目每隔幾年就要少
去十分之一，還給那餘下的十分之九以疾病；你還嫌這些還不夠，又讓那幸存的人們不是對
簿公堂就是自相殘殺。
“為了你這所謂的傑作，人們還要對你終生頂禮膜拜。”
聽到這，魔王的臉紅了。魔王覺察出這裏面倒也是涉及了不但有實在的而且有精神上的
邪惡；可他還是堅稱：他那傑作裏邊，基本上講，是善多於惡的。
“聽着，好心腸的夥計，沒有比到處去挑毛病更容易的了，”魔王說，“你不想想，造
一種動物，給了他們推理的本能不算，還搭上自由意志，又要想法不使他們濫用他們那自
由，容易嗎？也不想想，養出一萬種植物，出點有毒的算什麽？你以為，那麽多的水、沙
子、土，你就能造出個又沒海又沒沙漠的球來？
“看看你自己吧，我的專出冷言冷語的朋友，你不是剛造完那個木星嗎，也讓咱來看看
你做得那條大帶子、那長夜、那四顆月亮。看看，你造的那個世界，是不是上面的居民既不
生病也不愚蠢。”
有跑得快的妖怪立刻去了趟木星，回來和哥幾個說了說，於是，大夥又一塊去笑那剛剛
還在猛挑刺的主兒。哥幾個裏做事最認真的那妖怪，這回他造得土星，可即使是他也沒能免
受嘲諷。其他造了火星、水星、金星的也都給找出了好些特丟面子的錯誤。
後來，好幾大本書、無數小册子被製造了出來記述這造太陽係記；天底下想得出來的花
言巧語無所不用；老話說得好：言多有失。費了那麽多紙寫下那麽多字，弄出老些個自相矛
盾處。
後來，偉大的地米古斯對那幾個妖怪說：
“你們幾個做的那幾個球各有好的一面和不好的另一面，經過熱烈的討論，大夥都有了
不同程度的更進一步的理解。你們幾個離完美還有好些距離。這樣吧，你們的作品就留在這
一億年好了。再過一億年，你們都會知道更多，做起事來就會好許多了的。不要對你們自己
要求過高，要知道，這個宇宙裏，衹有我才能製造完美與永恆。”
這就是柏拉圖傳給他的門徒的教條。柏拉圖剛完成他的高談闊論，有位門徒高叫道，
“您醒了嗎？”
雄同體的；衹是為了人所犯下的罪，人就被分成了兩部分，於是就有了男人和女人的分別。
柏拉圖還證明了：完美的世界不能多於五個，因為正則的數學體係衹有五種。柏拉圖的
“理想國”是他的最緊要的夢幻的體現。在柏拉圖的幻境裏，人先是睡覺，然後醒來張着眼
四下觀看，然後又是睡覺；人也不應該把了肉眼去看日食，要弄桶水來看水中的倒影，不然
會變成瞎子的。夢幻，在柏拉圖的時代，還有極好的名譽。
今天，我要講的就是柏拉圖的一個夢，這個夢可不是一點趣味也沒有的那種。在柏拉圖
的這個夢裏，偉大的地米古斯，那位留芳萬世的幾何傢，那位在太空製造了無數圓球並在每
顆球上放了許許多人的，要看看妖怪們到底從他那學了多少東西。於是，地米古斯給了每一
位妖怪一些物質去發揮他們的想象，要是沒人介意，打個比方吧，那就象菲底阿思和宙苛西
斯教他們的門徒那樣：給個像，讓他們照着畫。
魔王領了他那塊物質，就是我們現在稱為地球的。一陣忙碌之後，魔王把地球弄成了現
在的這個樣子。魔王高興極了，他覺着這是一件可以被稱為傑作的上上品。魔王覺着他已成
功地讓妒忌之神都閉上了她的嘴，他盤算着該如何欣賞即刻可至的其他妖怪的頌詞。使魔王
大惑不解的是：兄弟們送給他的衹是一陣不屑的噓聲。
兄弟中那個最好挖苦人的傢夥還湊上前來說了這樣的話：
“可不是嗎，你倒真地幹了件了不起的事呢！你把你那世界分成了兩部分；又為了阻斷
兩邊的來往，還那麽小心地弄了那麽些水在兩個半球之間。要是有誰膽敢靠近你做的那兩個
極地，誰就得給凍僵；誰膽敢靠近赤道，誰就得給烤焦了。你又是那樣深謀遠慮，造了那麽
大片的沙漠，任何試圖穿越它的不是得給餓斃就是得給渴死。我倒是沒從你造的那些牛、
羊、公雞、母雞身上找出什麽毛病來；可我覺着沒法理解你為什麽要弄出那麽些毒蛇和蜘
蛛。你那些洋蔥、洋薊是好東西，可你幹嘛又弄那麽老些毒草種得到處都是？除非你想着去
毒一毒那些你造的人們。而且，我沒數錯的話，你大約造了三十幾種猴子，還有更多種類的
狗，可你衹造了四種或是五種人。你又給了這後一種動物一種本能，就是你喚它作推理的；
可實際上，那個什麽推理不過是一種可笑的玩意兒，離那個你喚它作愚蠢的不會遠於一寸。
除了上邊提到的，你還一點也不尊重你造的那些兩條腿的朋友們，你衹給了他們少得可憐的
一點自衛；你把他們丟在那樣一種混沌之中，衹給他們那麽星點補償；你又給了他們那麽多
情感、那樣少的用來抵禦感情的智慧與謹慎。你一準早就沒想要這個球面上在任何時間有許
多的人可以生存；你又弄了那天花去日復一日地折磨他們，整得他們的數目每隔幾年就要少
去十分之一，還給那餘下的十分之九以疾病；你還嫌這些還不夠，又讓那幸存的人們不是對
簿公堂就是自相殘殺。
“為了你這所謂的傑作，人們還要對你終生頂禮膜拜。”
聽到這，魔王的臉紅了。魔王覺察出這裏面倒也是涉及了不但有實在的而且有精神上的
邪惡；可他還是堅稱：他那傑作裏邊，基本上講，是善多於惡的。
“聽着，好心腸的夥計，沒有比到處去挑毛病更容易的了，”魔王說，“你不想想，造
一種動物，給了他們推理的本能不算，還搭上自由意志，又要想法不使他們濫用他們那自
由，容易嗎？也不想想，養出一萬種植物，出點有毒的算什麽？你以為，那麽多的水、沙
子、土，你就能造出個又沒海又沒沙漠的球來？
“看看你自己吧，我的專出冷言冷語的朋友，你不是剛造完那個木星嗎，也讓咱來看看
你做得那條大帶子、那長夜、那四顆月亮。看看，你造的那個世界，是不是上面的居民既不
生病也不愚蠢。”
有跑得快的妖怪立刻去了趟木星，回來和哥幾個說了說，於是，大夥又一塊去笑那剛剛
還在猛挑刺的主兒。哥幾個裏做事最認真的那妖怪，這回他造得土星，可即使是他也沒能免
受嘲諷。其他造了火星、水星、金星的也都給找出了好些特丟面子的錯誤。
後來，好幾大本書、無數小册子被製造了出來記述這造太陽係記；天底下想得出來的花
言巧語無所不用；老話說得好：言多有失。費了那麽多紙寫下那麽多字，弄出老些個自相矛
盾處。
後來，偉大的地米古斯對那幾個妖怪說：
“你們幾個做的那幾個球各有好的一面和不好的另一面，經過熱烈的討論，大夥都有了
不同程度的更進一步的理解。你們幾個離完美還有好些距離。這樣吧，你們的作品就留在這
一億年好了。再過一億年，你們都會知道更多，做起事來就會好許多了的。不要對你們自己
要求過高，要知道，這個宇宙裏，衹有我才能製造完美與永恆。”
這就是柏拉圖傳給他的門徒的教條。柏拉圖剛完成他的高談闊論，有位門徒高叫道，
“您醒了嗎？”
（意）馬萊巴 瀋萼梅/劉錫榮 譯
一隻帕多瓦種的母雞，在靠近帕爾馬城的一所農莊裏出生長大，它有個毛病：生出的雞蛋的蛋殼很容易碎。原因在於其它的母雞都吃小石子和石灰微粒，所以：它們生下的雞蛋殼都結實；而它衹吃小麥、高粱和玉米粒，或者吃小蟲子，它吃的蟲子有玫瑰色的、黑色的和其它各種顔色的，它從來不吃小石子和石灰微粒，因為它消化不了。要是偶然吃下去一顆石子，那石子就整天呆在它的胃裏了，而且使它整夜合不上眼，所以，它生的雞蛋殼很容易破碎。
一天帕多瓦母雞聽到一位賣雞蛋的商人對農莊的女主人抱怨說，有一隻母雞生的蛋太容易破了，每次運輸途中都得碎。母雞聽了十分擔心，因為它知道，一旦女主人發現了那些蛋殼易破碎的雞蛋都是它生的話，那麽很可能就會把它宰了。農莊附近有一傢大理石匠鋪。一夭，母雞試着去嘗大理石粉末。石粉既不好吃也不難吃，但跟小石子和石灰微粒一樣難消化。第二天，它生下的雞蛋蛋殼呈大理石的顔色，外表十分好看，但還是很容易打碎。另有一天母雞從石匠鋪面前走過時，看到有一桶罐子打開着，上面寫有“硬化劑”的字樣。“但願這東西沒有毒。”可憐的母雞自言自語道。母雞在那白色的糊狀物上啄了兩三下，原來那是石匠用來粘大理石的粘膠。它隨後跑回到雞捨去，因為要是吃了那東西要死的話。它情願死在自己的窩裏也不能死在馬路上。它久久地睜着眼睛等着肚子作疼，最後它睡着了，它一夜睡到大天亮。黎明時它生了蛋。
它不像往常那樣啼叫以通知女主人來取蛋，它拿了雞蛋到一片樹叢後面去。母雞先用嘴啄，然後拿一塊石子敲：這一回，它生的蛋可真硬，於是，它就把雞蛋放回雞捨去。
帕多瓦母雞生下的蛋在運輸途中沒有破碎，它被放在市場的貨攤上，讓一位工人的妻子煎雞蛋吃。女人回到傢，把所有雞蛋都在碗邊，她拿起帕多瓦母雞生的這個雞蛋在碗邊一敲。但雞醚有打碎，碗卻打碎了。“咦，真怪！”女人自言自語，她拿起雞蛋，在大理石做的桌子角上敲。大理石被敲掉了一角。她拿來了錘子，試着用錘子敲雞蛋。還是敲不碎，於是她把那衹蛋放在一邊，因為她不好意思對丈夫和兒子說自己連一隻雞蛋也敲不碎。
丈夫與兒子吃了用三衹雞蛋煎的蛋，而不是四衹。妻子說人傢賣給她一隻不新鮮的雞蛋，也許已經壞了，所以她故意沒煎進去。
第二天，她那個大學生兒子把幾寅爛西紅柿和那衹雞蛋放進包裏，因為那天有部長來參觀。那個部長詭計多端，他想與大學生們見面，讓他們鼓掌歡迎。大學生們商議好給予他應有的歡迎。當那位部長一出現在學校門口時，爛西紅柿和臭雞蛋朝他劈頭蓋腦地扔過去，那個工人的兒子瞄準了部長，把那衹敲不碎的雞蛋朝他的前額扔過去。衹聽見“啪”，像是打過去一塊石頭似的，部長應聲倒地。大傢把他擡出去，用冰水袋敷在他的額頭上，因為部長的前額正中長出一個大鼓包。儘管用冰水敷，他那個腫包越來越大，活像犀牛的角。
打從那天以後，部長再也不接見大學生了，也不再去參觀什麽開幕式了，因為不管怎麽冷敷和治療，部長額頭上的那塊包怎麽也消不下去了。
一隻帕多瓦種的母雞，在靠近帕爾馬城的一所農莊裏出生長大，它有個毛病：生出的雞蛋的蛋殼很容易碎。原因在於其它的母雞都吃小石子和石灰微粒，所以：它們生下的雞蛋殼都結實；而它衹吃小麥、高粱和玉米粒，或者吃小蟲子，它吃的蟲子有玫瑰色的、黑色的和其它各種顔色的，它從來不吃小石子和石灰微粒，因為它消化不了。要是偶然吃下去一顆石子，那石子就整天呆在它的胃裏了，而且使它整夜合不上眼，所以，它生的雞蛋殼很容易破碎。
一天帕多瓦母雞聽到一位賣雞蛋的商人對農莊的女主人抱怨說，有一隻母雞生的蛋太容易破了，每次運輸途中都得碎。母雞聽了十分擔心，因為它知道，一旦女主人發現了那些蛋殼易破碎的雞蛋都是它生的話，那麽很可能就會把它宰了。農莊附近有一傢大理石匠鋪。一夭，母雞試着去嘗大理石粉末。石粉既不好吃也不難吃，但跟小石子和石灰微粒一樣難消化。第二天，它生下的雞蛋蛋殼呈大理石的顔色，外表十分好看，但還是很容易打碎。另有一天母雞從石匠鋪面前走過時，看到有一桶罐子打開着，上面寫有“硬化劑”的字樣。“但願這東西沒有毒。”可憐的母雞自言自語道。母雞在那白色的糊狀物上啄了兩三下，原來那是石匠用來粘大理石的粘膠。它隨後跑回到雞捨去，因為要是吃了那東西要死的話。它情願死在自己的窩裏也不能死在馬路上。它久久地睜着眼睛等着肚子作疼，最後它睡着了，它一夜睡到大天亮。黎明時它生了蛋。
它不像往常那樣啼叫以通知女主人來取蛋，它拿了雞蛋到一片樹叢後面去。母雞先用嘴啄，然後拿一塊石子敲：這一回，它生的蛋可真硬，於是，它就把雞蛋放回雞捨去。
帕多瓦母雞生下的蛋在運輸途中沒有破碎，它被放在市場的貨攤上，讓一位工人的妻子煎雞蛋吃。女人回到傢，把所有雞蛋都在碗邊，她拿起帕多瓦母雞生的這個雞蛋在碗邊一敲。但雞醚有打碎，碗卻打碎了。“咦，真怪！”女人自言自語，她拿起雞蛋，在大理石做的桌子角上敲。大理石被敲掉了一角。她拿來了錘子，試着用錘子敲雞蛋。還是敲不碎，於是她把那衹蛋放在一邊，因為她不好意思對丈夫和兒子說自己連一隻雞蛋也敲不碎。
丈夫與兒子吃了用三衹雞蛋煎的蛋，而不是四衹。妻子說人傢賣給她一隻不新鮮的雞蛋，也許已經壞了，所以她故意沒煎進去。
第二天，她那個大學生兒子把幾寅爛西紅柿和那衹雞蛋放進包裏，因為那天有部長來參觀。那個部長詭計多端，他想與大學生們見面，讓他們鼓掌歡迎。大學生們商議好給予他應有的歡迎。當那位部長一出現在學校門口時，爛西紅柿和臭雞蛋朝他劈頭蓋腦地扔過去，那個工人的兒子瞄準了部長，把那衹敲不碎的雞蛋朝他的前額扔過去。衹聽見“啪”，像是打過去一塊石頭似的，部長應聲倒地。大傢把他擡出去，用冰水袋敷在他的額頭上，因為部長的前額正中長出一個大鼓包。儘管用冰水敷，他那個腫包越來越大，活像犀牛的角。
打從那天以後，部長再也不接見大學生了，也不再去參觀什麽開幕式了，因為不管怎麽冷敷和治療，部長額頭上的那塊包怎麽也消不下去了。
我躺在床上，看着窗外那夕陽照耀下的楊樹，樹上的葉子忽然從金黃變成火紅，天空也變成了墨水似的暗藍色。我的心情變得好起來。我從床上爬起來，到外邊去。那棵楊樹的葉子都變成了紅綢子似的火焰，在樹枝上輕盈地飄動。從太陽上流出很多金色的河流，在暗暗的天頂上流動。大街上的燈忽然全亮了，一串串發光的氣球浮在空中。我心情愉快，騎上自行車到立交橋下去找我的女朋友。
她站在那兒等我，穿着一件發紫光的連衣裙，頭上有一團微微發紅的月白色光輝。那一點紅色是着急的顔色。我跳下自行車說：“你有點着急了吧，其實時候還不到。”
她沒說話，頭上的光又有點發緑。我說：“為什麽不好意思？這兒很黑，別人看不到我們。”
她頭上的光飄忽不定起來。我說：“什麽事使你不耐煩了呢？”
她斬釘截鐵地說：“你！你什麽都知道，像上帝一樣，真討厭！”
我不說話了，轉過頭去看那些騎車的人。他們魚貫穿過橋下黑影，拖着五顔六色的光尾巴，好像魚缸裏的熱帶魚在遊動。忽然她又來捅我，說：“咱們到外面走走吧，你把見到的事情說給我聽。”我們就一起到橋上去。因為剛纔我說她不好意思，這時她就輓着我的胳膊，其實鱢得從頭到腳都罩在緑光裏。我說：“你真好看，像翡翠雕成的一樣。”
她大吃一驚：“怎麽啦？”
“你害羞呢？”
她一把摔開我的胳膊說：“跟你在一起連害羞都害不成，真要命。你看，那個人真可怕！”
對面走過一個人，臉腮上一邊蹲了一隻晶瑩碧緑的大癩蛤蟆。我問她那人怎麽啦，她說他滿臉都是大疙瘩。我說不是疙瘩，是一對蛤蟆在上面安息。她說真有意思。後來一個大胖子騎車走過，肚子好像開了鍋似的亂響，這是因為他天天都和老婆吵架。過了一會，開過一輛紅旗車，裏面坐了一個男扮女裝的老處女，威嚴得像個將軍，皺紋像地震後的裂紋，大腿像筷子，陰毛又粗又長，像鋼劍一樣閃閃發光。我把見過的事情告訴她，不過沒告訴她我在首長的小肚子上看見一豪豬。她笑個不停，還說要我把這些事寫到我的詩集裏去。
我有一本詩集，寫的都是我在這種時刻的所見所聞。除了她，我沒敢給任何人看，生怕被送到精神病院裏去，但是她看了以後就愛上了我。我們早就在辦事處登記結婚了，可是還保持着純潔的關係。我老想把她帶到我那兒去，那天我也說：“晚上到我那兒吧！”
“不，我今天不喜歡。”
“可是你什麽時候喜歡呢！”
她忽然拉住我的手，把臉湊過來說：“你真的這麽着忙嗎？”我吻了她一下，剎時間天昏地暗，好像整個世界都倒了個兒，原來在左邊的全換到右邊去了。我前邊站了一個男人，我自己倒穿起了連衣裙，後腳跟下好像長了一對豬蹄，而且頭重腳輕得直要往前栽倒。我驚叫一生，聲氣輕微。
等我驚魂稍定，就對自己很不滿意。我的肩膀渾圓，胸前肥嘟嘟的，身材又變得那麽矮小，尤其是腳下好像踩着高蹺，簡直要把腳筋綳斷。於是我尖聲尖氣地叫起來：“這是怎麽了？”
那個男人說：“我也不知道，不知怎麽就換過來了。嘿，這可真有意思。”
原來那個男人前十秒鐘還是我呢，現在就成了她了。我說：“有什麽意思！這可糟透了！還能換過來嗎？”
她的聲音充滿了幸災樂禍：“你問我，我問誰去？”
我氣急敗壞地說：“這太可怕了！這種情況要持續很久嗎？”
“誰知道呢？也許會這麽一直持續下去，我當個老頭終此一生呢。我覺得這也不要緊，你我反正也到了這個程度了，還分什麽彼此呢！”
我急得直跺腳，高跟鞋發出蹄子般的聲音。我說：“我可不幹！我不幹！這叫什麽事呀！”
“小聲點！你嚷嚷什麽呀。這事又不是我做主。這兒不好說話，咱們到你傢去吧。”
我不走，非要把事情弄明白不可：“不行，咱倆得說清楚了。要是暫時的，我還可以替你支撐着，久了我可不幹。”
“這種事情誰能說得準呢。你的衣服全是一股怪味，皮鞋還夾腳呢。我也討厭當個男人，當兩天新鮮新鮮還可以。咱們回傢吧。”
我和她一起往回走，她推着自行車。我走起路來很費勁，不光高跟鞋彆扭，裙子還絆腿。身體也不大聽我使喚，走了一百多步，走出我一頭大汗來。我一屁股坐在馬路牙子上想喘喘氣，她就怪聲怪氣地說：“你就這麽往地下坐呀！”
“我纍了！”
“喲，我的裙子可是全新的，尼竜針織的呢！快起來，好好撣撣土！”
我勉強站起來，滿懷仇恨地瞪了她一眼。為了表示對她的蔑視，我沒有撣土，又往前走了。走了幾步，高跟鞋穿着太憋氣，就把它脫下來提在手裏。走了一段，我還是不能滿意，就說：“你怎麽長這麽小的腳！雖說個兒小，這腳也小得不成比例。你就用這種蹄子走路嗎？”
她哼了一聲：“不要怨天尤人，拿出點男子氣概來！”
男子氣概從那兒來呢，我頭上長滿了長頭髮，真是氣悶非常，渾身上下都不得勁。我們摸着黑走進我的房子，坐在我為結婚買來的雙人床上，好半天沒有開燈。後來她說：“你的腳真臭！我要去洗一洗。”
我說：“你去吧！”
她走到那間厠所兼洗澡間裏去了，在那兒嘩啦嘩啦的濺了半天水。我躺在床上直發傻。後來她回來了，光着膀子，小聲說：“真把我嚇壞了，嘿嘿，你在外邊顯得像個好人似的，脫下衣服一看，一副強盜相。你也去洗洗吧，涼快。”
我到洗澡間裏照照鏡子，真不成個體統。脫下衣服一照鏡子，我差一點昏死過去。乖乖，她長得真是漂亮，可惜不會給我帶來什麽好處。我洗了洗，把衣服又都穿上，把燈關上，又到床上去。她在黑地裏摸到我，說：“怎麽樣，還滿意吧，咱長得比你帥多了。”
我帶着哭腔說：“帥，帥。他媽的，但願今天晚上能換回來，要不明天怎麽見人。”
“嘿，我覺得還挺帶勁。明天去打個電話，說咱們歇三天婚假。”
這倒是個好主意。“可是三天以後呢？”
“這倒有點討厭。這樣吧，我上你的班，你上我的班，怎麽樣？我討厭上男厠所，不過事到臨頭也衹好這麽辦了。”
我反對這樣。我主張上公安局投誠，或者上法院自首，請政府來解决這個問題。她哈哈大笑：“誰管你這事兒！去了無非是叫人看個笑話。”
她這話也不無道理。我想了又想，什麽好辦法也想不出來。可是她心滿意足地躺下了，還說：“有問題明日再說，今天先睡覺。”
我也睏得要命，但是不喜歡和她睡一個床。我說：“咱們可說好了，躺下誰也別鬍來。”她說：“怎麽叫鬍來，我還不會呢。”於是我就放心和她並頭睡去。
第二天早上，我叫她給兩個工作單位打電話，叫我們歇婚假。她回來後說：“請假照準了。今天咱們幹什麽？奧，你去到我宿舍把我的箱子拿來。”
我說：“你的東西，你去拿。”
“瞎說！我這個樣子能拿得出來嗎？你愛去不去，反正拿來是你用。”
我坐在床上，忽然鼻子一酸，哭了起來。她走過來，拍我的肩膀說：“這纔像個女人。看你這樣子我都喜歡了。你去吧，沒事兒。”
我被逼無奈，衹好我去拿東西。走到街上，我怕露了馬腳，衹好做出女人樣，扭扭捏捏的走路。路上的男人都築麯綫畢露的連衣裙太糟糕，真不如做件大襟褂子，再把頭髮盤得和老太太一樣。
她宿舍裏沒人，我像賊一樣溜進去，把箱子提了出來。回到傢裏，衹見她還比手劃腳的拿保險刀颳鬍子，鬍子沒剃下來，倒把眉毛颳下來不少。我大喝一聲：“別糟踐我的眉毛！你應該這樣颳”……。她學會之後很高興，就打開箱子，傳授我那些破爛的用法，真是叫人惡心到極點。
變成女人之後，我變得千刁萬惡，上午一小時就和她吵了十一架。我覺得屋裏佈置得不好，讓她移動一下，她不樂意，我就嘟噥個不停。後來又去做午飯，她買的菜，我嫌貴嫌老。她買了一瓶四塊錢的葡萄酒，我一聽價錢就聲嘶力竭地怪叫起來，她衹好用兩個枕頭把耳朵捂住。我對一切都感到不滿，在廚房裏摔摔打打，打碎了兩三個碟子。她開頭極力忍受，後來忍無可忍，就厲聲喝斥我。我立刻火冒三丈，想衝出去把她揪翻，誰知力不從心，反被她按倒在沙發上。
她不懷好意地冷笑着說：“你別胡闹了，否則我就打你的屁股！”
我咬牙切齒地說：“放我起來！”
她在我屁股上輕輕打了一下，我立刻尖叫起來：“救命呀！打人了！”她馬上鬆了手，拿到一邊去，臉上滿是不屑之色：“至於的嗎？就打了那麽一下。”我坐起來，嚎哭着說：“好哇！纔結婚第一天就打人，這日子可怎麽過……”我又嘟噥了一陣，可是她不理我，我也就不說什麽了。
吃過晚飯，她提議出去走走。可我寧願待在傢裏。我們看了會電視，然後我就去洗澡，準備睡覺。不知為什麽，我覺得她的身體十分討厭。在那婀娜多姿的麯綫裏包含着一種令人作嘔的味道，豐滿的乳房和修長的大腿都很使我反感。長着這樣的東西衹能引起好色之徒的卑鄙感情，所以我應該盡可能少出門。
要當一個女人，應該遠離淫穢。我希望臉上爬滿皺紋，乳房下垂，肚子上的肉搭拉下來，這纔是新中國婦女應有的形象。招引男人的眼目的，一定是個婊子。我覺得我現在這個形象和婊子就差不多。
當我們兩個一起躺在床上時，她告訴我：“你今天的表現比較像個女人了。照這樣下去，三四天後你就能適應女人生活，可以去上班，不至於露馬腳了。”
我聽了以後很高興，可是她又說：“你的情緒可和我過去不一樣，顯得像個老太太。不過在婦聯工作這樣很合適。”
我告訴她，她的表現很像個男人。我們倆談得投機起來。她推心置腹地告訴我：她很想“鬍來”一下。我堅决拒絶了。可是過了一會，我又想到她可能會起意到外邊也去鬍來，這就太糟糕了。我就告訴她，可以和我“鬍來”，但是不準和別的女人亂搞，她答應了。我告訴她“鬍來”的方法，她就爬到我身上來，摸摸索索地很讓人討厭。忽然我覺得奇痛難忍，就殺豬也似的哀號一聲，把她嚇得連動都不敢動，過了好半天才說：“我下來了。”可我在黑地裏哭了好久，想着不報她弄傷我之仇誓不為人。
第二天早上，我醒來時發現自己又變成了原來的形象。她躺在我身邊，瞪大眼睛，顯然已經醒了很久了。她還是那個漂亮女人，從任何方面來說都是一個好妻子。我伸手去摸她的肩膀，她哆嗦了一下，然後說：“我不是在做夢吧？”
“做什麽夢？”
“我昨天好像是個男人。”
我認為她說得對，但是這不能改變現狀。我伸手把她抱在懷裏，她羞得滿臉通紅，但是表現得還算老實。後來她起了床，站在床前說：“這麽變來變去可受不了，現在我真不知該站在男人的立場上還是該站在女人的立場上了。”
這話說得不錯。男人和女人之間天然不和，她們偶爾願意和男人在一起，而後就開始折騰起來，嚮男人發泄仇恨。到現在為止，我們夫妻和睦，可我始終防着她一手。
註：原稿無題，標題係編者所
她站在那兒等我，穿着一件發紫光的連衣裙，頭上有一團微微發紅的月白色光輝。那一點紅色是着急的顔色。我跳下自行車說：“你有點着急了吧，其實時候還不到。”
她沒說話，頭上的光又有點發緑。我說：“為什麽不好意思？這兒很黑，別人看不到我們。”
她頭上的光飄忽不定起來。我說：“什麽事使你不耐煩了呢？”
她斬釘截鐵地說：“你！你什麽都知道，像上帝一樣，真討厭！”
我不說話了，轉過頭去看那些騎車的人。他們魚貫穿過橋下黑影，拖着五顔六色的光尾巴，好像魚缸裏的熱帶魚在遊動。忽然她又來捅我，說：“咱們到外面走走吧，你把見到的事情說給我聽。”我們就一起到橋上去。因為剛纔我說她不好意思，這時她就輓着我的胳膊，其實鱢得從頭到腳都罩在緑光裏。我說：“你真好看，像翡翠雕成的一樣。”
她大吃一驚：“怎麽啦？”
“你害羞呢？”
她一把摔開我的胳膊說：“跟你在一起連害羞都害不成，真要命。你看，那個人真可怕！”
對面走過一個人，臉腮上一邊蹲了一隻晶瑩碧緑的大癩蛤蟆。我問她那人怎麽啦，她說他滿臉都是大疙瘩。我說不是疙瘩，是一對蛤蟆在上面安息。她說真有意思。後來一個大胖子騎車走過，肚子好像開了鍋似的亂響，這是因為他天天都和老婆吵架。過了一會，開過一輛紅旗車，裏面坐了一個男扮女裝的老處女，威嚴得像個將軍，皺紋像地震後的裂紋，大腿像筷子，陰毛又粗又長，像鋼劍一樣閃閃發光。我把見過的事情告訴她，不過沒告訴她我在首長的小肚子上看見一豪豬。她笑個不停，還說要我把這些事寫到我的詩集裏去。
我有一本詩集，寫的都是我在這種時刻的所見所聞。除了她，我沒敢給任何人看，生怕被送到精神病院裏去，但是她看了以後就愛上了我。我們早就在辦事處登記結婚了，可是還保持着純潔的關係。我老想把她帶到我那兒去，那天我也說：“晚上到我那兒吧！”
“不，我今天不喜歡。”
“可是你什麽時候喜歡呢！”
她忽然拉住我的手，把臉湊過來說：“你真的這麽着忙嗎？”我吻了她一下，剎時間天昏地暗，好像整個世界都倒了個兒，原來在左邊的全換到右邊去了。我前邊站了一個男人，我自己倒穿起了連衣裙，後腳跟下好像長了一對豬蹄，而且頭重腳輕得直要往前栽倒。我驚叫一生，聲氣輕微。
等我驚魂稍定，就對自己很不滿意。我的肩膀渾圓，胸前肥嘟嘟的，身材又變得那麽矮小，尤其是腳下好像踩着高蹺，簡直要把腳筋綳斷。於是我尖聲尖氣地叫起來：“這是怎麽了？”
那個男人說：“我也不知道，不知怎麽就換過來了。嘿，這可真有意思。”
原來那個男人前十秒鐘還是我呢，現在就成了她了。我說：“有什麽意思！這可糟透了！還能換過來嗎？”
她的聲音充滿了幸災樂禍：“你問我，我問誰去？”
我氣急敗壞地說：“這太可怕了！這種情況要持續很久嗎？”
“誰知道呢？也許會這麽一直持續下去，我當個老頭終此一生呢。我覺得這也不要緊，你我反正也到了這個程度了，還分什麽彼此呢！”
我急得直跺腳，高跟鞋發出蹄子般的聲音。我說：“我可不幹！我不幹！這叫什麽事呀！”
“小聲點！你嚷嚷什麽呀。這事又不是我做主。這兒不好說話，咱們到你傢去吧。”
我不走，非要把事情弄明白不可：“不行，咱倆得說清楚了。要是暫時的，我還可以替你支撐着，久了我可不幹。”
“這種事情誰能說得準呢。你的衣服全是一股怪味，皮鞋還夾腳呢。我也討厭當個男人，當兩天新鮮新鮮還可以。咱們回傢吧。”
我和她一起往回走，她推着自行車。我走起路來很費勁，不光高跟鞋彆扭，裙子還絆腿。身體也不大聽我使喚，走了一百多步，走出我一頭大汗來。我一屁股坐在馬路牙子上想喘喘氣，她就怪聲怪氣地說：“你就這麽往地下坐呀！”
“我纍了！”
“喲，我的裙子可是全新的，尼竜針織的呢！快起來，好好撣撣土！”
我勉強站起來，滿懷仇恨地瞪了她一眼。為了表示對她的蔑視，我沒有撣土，又往前走了。走了幾步，高跟鞋穿着太憋氣，就把它脫下來提在手裏。走了一段，我還是不能滿意，就說：“你怎麽長這麽小的腳！雖說個兒小，這腳也小得不成比例。你就用這種蹄子走路嗎？”
她哼了一聲：“不要怨天尤人，拿出點男子氣概來！”
男子氣概從那兒來呢，我頭上長滿了長頭髮，真是氣悶非常，渾身上下都不得勁。我們摸着黑走進我的房子，坐在我為結婚買來的雙人床上，好半天沒有開燈。後來她說：“你的腳真臭！我要去洗一洗。”
我說：“你去吧！”
她走到那間厠所兼洗澡間裏去了，在那兒嘩啦嘩啦的濺了半天水。我躺在床上直發傻。後來她回來了，光着膀子，小聲說：“真把我嚇壞了，嘿嘿，你在外邊顯得像個好人似的，脫下衣服一看，一副強盜相。你也去洗洗吧，涼快。”
我到洗澡間裏照照鏡子，真不成個體統。脫下衣服一照鏡子，我差一點昏死過去。乖乖，她長得真是漂亮，可惜不會給我帶來什麽好處。我洗了洗，把衣服又都穿上，把燈關上，又到床上去。她在黑地裏摸到我，說：“怎麽樣，還滿意吧，咱長得比你帥多了。”
我帶着哭腔說：“帥，帥。他媽的，但願今天晚上能換回來，要不明天怎麽見人。”
“嘿，我覺得還挺帶勁。明天去打個電話，說咱們歇三天婚假。”
這倒是個好主意。“可是三天以後呢？”
“這倒有點討厭。這樣吧，我上你的班，你上我的班，怎麽樣？我討厭上男厠所，不過事到臨頭也衹好這麽辦了。”
我反對這樣。我主張上公安局投誠，或者上法院自首，請政府來解决這個問題。她哈哈大笑：“誰管你這事兒！去了無非是叫人看個笑話。”
她這話也不無道理。我想了又想，什麽好辦法也想不出來。可是她心滿意足地躺下了，還說：“有問題明日再說，今天先睡覺。”
我也睏得要命，但是不喜歡和她睡一個床。我說：“咱們可說好了，躺下誰也別鬍來。”她說：“怎麽叫鬍來，我還不會呢。”於是我就放心和她並頭睡去。
第二天早上，我叫她給兩個工作單位打電話，叫我們歇婚假。她回來後說：“請假照準了。今天咱們幹什麽？奧，你去到我宿舍把我的箱子拿來。”
我說：“你的東西，你去拿。”
“瞎說！我這個樣子能拿得出來嗎？你愛去不去，反正拿來是你用。”
我坐在床上，忽然鼻子一酸，哭了起來。她走過來，拍我的肩膀說：“這纔像個女人。看你這樣子我都喜歡了。你去吧，沒事兒。”
我被逼無奈，衹好我去拿東西。走到街上，我怕露了馬腳，衹好做出女人樣，扭扭捏捏的走路。路上的男人都築麯綫畢露的連衣裙太糟糕，真不如做件大襟褂子，再把頭髮盤得和老太太一樣。
她宿舍裏沒人，我像賊一樣溜進去，把箱子提了出來。回到傢裏，衹見她還比手劃腳的拿保險刀颳鬍子，鬍子沒剃下來，倒把眉毛颳下來不少。我大喝一聲：“別糟踐我的眉毛！你應該這樣颳”……。她學會之後很高興，就打開箱子，傳授我那些破爛的用法，真是叫人惡心到極點。
變成女人之後，我變得千刁萬惡，上午一小時就和她吵了十一架。我覺得屋裏佈置得不好，讓她移動一下，她不樂意，我就嘟噥個不停。後來又去做午飯，她買的菜，我嫌貴嫌老。她買了一瓶四塊錢的葡萄酒，我一聽價錢就聲嘶力竭地怪叫起來，她衹好用兩個枕頭把耳朵捂住。我對一切都感到不滿，在廚房裏摔摔打打，打碎了兩三個碟子。她開頭極力忍受，後來忍無可忍，就厲聲喝斥我。我立刻火冒三丈，想衝出去把她揪翻，誰知力不從心，反被她按倒在沙發上。
她不懷好意地冷笑着說：“你別胡闹了，否則我就打你的屁股！”
我咬牙切齒地說：“放我起來！”
她在我屁股上輕輕打了一下，我立刻尖叫起來：“救命呀！打人了！”她馬上鬆了手，拿到一邊去，臉上滿是不屑之色：“至於的嗎？就打了那麽一下。”我坐起來，嚎哭着說：“好哇！纔結婚第一天就打人，這日子可怎麽過……”我又嘟噥了一陣，可是她不理我，我也就不說什麽了。
吃過晚飯，她提議出去走走。可我寧願待在傢裏。我們看了會電視，然後我就去洗澡，準備睡覺。不知為什麽，我覺得她的身體十分討厭。在那婀娜多姿的麯綫裏包含着一種令人作嘔的味道，豐滿的乳房和修長的大腿都很使我反感。長着這樣的東西衹能引起好色之徒的卑鄙感情，所以我應該盡可能少出門。
要當一個女人，應該遠離淫穢。我希望臉上爬滿皺紋，乳房下垂，肚子上的肉搭拉下來，這纔是新中國婦女應有的形象。招引男人的眼目的，一定是個婊子。我覺得我現在這個形象和婊子就差不多。
當我們兩個一起躺在床上時，她告訴我：“你今天的表現比較像個女人了。照這樣下去，三四天後你就能適應女人生活，可以去上班，不至於露馬腳了。”
我聽了以後很高興，可是她又說：“你的情緒可和我過去不一樣，顯得像個老太太。不過在婦聯工作這樣很合適。”
我告訴她，她的表現很像個男人。我們倆談得投機起來。她推心置腹地告訴我：她很想“鬍來”一下。我堅决拒絶了。可是過了一會，我又想到她可能會起意到外邊也去鬍來，這就太糟糕了。我就告訴她，可以和我“鬍來”，但是不準和別的女人亂搞，她答應了。我告訴她“鬍來”的方法，她就爬到我身上來，摸摸索索地很讓人討厭。忽然我覺得奇痛難忍，就殺豬也似的哀號一聲，把她嚇得連動都不敢動，過了好半天才說：“我下來了。”可我在黑地裏哭了好久，想着不報她弄傷我之仇誓不為人。
第二天早上，我醒來時發現自己又變成了原來的形象。她躺在我身邊，瞪大眼睛，顯然已經醒了很久了。她還是那個漂亮女人，從任何方面來說都是一個好妻子。我伸手去摸她的肩膀，她哆嗦了一下，然後說：“我不是在做夢吧？”
“做什麽夢？”
“我昨天好像是個男人。”
我認為她說得對，但是這不能改變現狀。我伸手把她抱在懷裏，她羞得滿臉通紅，但是表現得還算老實。後來她起了床，站在床前說：“這麽變來變去可受不了，現在我真不知該站在男人的立場上還是該站在女人的立場上了。”
這話說得不錯。男人和女人之間天然不和，她們偶爾願意和男人在一起，而後就開始折騰起來，嚮男人發泄仇恨。到現在為止，我們夫妻和睦，可我始終防着她一手。
註：原稿無題，標題係編者所
《貓城記》是老捨的喜劇作品中比較有特色的一篇作品。它不同於老捨的其他幽默作品，它的特色是引人發笑，但是給人沉重，簡而概之，即“悲鬱的幽默”。它以散亂的筆法，嚮我們闡述了一個將要滅亡的國傢及其生活在其中的國民們；以低沉的表達方式組織了全篇的文字，形成了一個灰色的文本；以“毀滅的手指”為靈魂統領全文。