佩內洛普·菲茨杰拉德 張菊

【導讀】本文節(jié)選自1979年英國布克獎小說《離岸》。該部小說是英國女作家佩內洛普·菲茨杰拉德（1916—2000）的半自傳體小說，講述了20世紀60年代初，女主人公尼娜和兩個女兒及其他船居者在泰晤士河畔的船居生活。作家以精簡細膩的筆觸揭示了船居者所面臨的物質、精神、情感等多重困境。本節(jié)選部分主要展示了上世紀60年代初倫敦國王路一帶繁華商業(yè)區(qū)的風貌。

國王路是倫敦切爾西地區(qū)一條東西向的路，曾是查理二世的專用道路;1830年，為改善倫敦交通而開放給民眾使用。國王路匯集豪華專賣店、國際名牌店及古董店。通過本節(jié)選內容，讀者可跟隨瑪莎和海因里希這對年輕懵懂的小情侶游覽國王路，窺一斑而知全豹，領略上世紀60年代初“搖擺倫敦”的特點：浸透著消費主義又略帶小資情調的氛圍。

In this， its heyday， the Kings Road fluttered， like a gypsy encampment， with hastily-dyed finery， while stage folk emerged from their beds at a given hour， to patrol the long pavements between Sloane Square and the Town Hall. Heinrich and Martha went in and out of one boutique after another， Dressing Down， Wearwithal， Wearabouts， Virtuous Heroin， Legs， Rags， Bags. A paradise for children， a riot of misrule， the queer looking shops reversed every fixed idea in the venerable history of commerce. Sellers， dressed in brilliant colours， outshone the purchasers， and， instead of welcoming them， either ignored them or were so rude that they could only have hoped to drive them away. The customers in return sneered at the clothing offered to them， and flung it on the ground. There were no prices， no sizes， no way to tell which stock was which， so that racks and rails of dresses were transferred as though by a magic hand from one shop to another. The doors stood open， breathing out incense and heavy soul， and the spirit was that of the market scene in the pantomime when the cast， encouraged by the audience， has let the business get out of hand.

Heinrich and Martha walked through this world， which was fated to last only a few years before the spell was broken， like a prince and princess. At Wearwithal， Heinrich tried on a pair of pale blue sateen trousers， which fitted tightly. Martha， guarding his jeans while he changed， admired him more for deciding against them than if he had bought them.

“Wont they do？” she asked.

“Such trousers are not worn on the Continent.”

“I thought perhaps you hadnt enough money.”

Heinrich in fact had plenty of money， and his own chequebook， but his delicacy， responding to Marthas pride， prevented him from saying so.

“We will go to a coffee bar.”

These， too， were something new in London， if not in Vienna. The shining Gaggia1 dispensed one-and-a-half inches of bitter froth into an earthenware cup， and for two shillings lovers could sit for many hours in the dark brown shadows， with a bowl of brown sugar between them.

“Perhaps theyll be annoyed if we dont have another cup.”

Heinrich again put his fine， long-fingered hand over hers. She was amazed at its cleanliness. Her own hands were almost as black as Tildas.

“You must not worry. I am in charge. How does that suit you？”

“Im not sure. Ill tell you later，” said Martha， who wished one of her school friends would come in and see her. Theyd tell Father Watson and the nuns， but what did that matter， they must know why she was absent from school anyway.

“I expect， living here in Chelsea， you go out a great deal.”

“How can I？ Ive no-one to go out with.”

… He leaned forward and kissed her cheek， which， from being cold when they entered the coffee-bar， was now glowing pink. This was quite the right thing to do in a coffee-bar in the Kings road. But afterwards they became， for the time being， rather more distant.

“It has been very pleasant to spend the day here， Martha， and to see your boat.”

“Yes， well， at least thats something you havent got in Vienna.”

Heinrichs father was a member of the Wiener Yacht Club.

“Certainly， not such a large one.”

Outside the boutiques were still aglow with heaps of motley flung about the feet of the disdainful assistants. The music grew louder， the Chelsea Granada welcomed all who would like to come in and watch the transmission of Bootsie and Snudge2. They wandered on together at random.

“Two people can become close in a very short time，” Heinrich said. “It is up to them not to let circumstances get the better of them. It is my intention， as I think I told you， to shape my own life.”

【英文出自：Penelope Fitzgerald， Offshore， London： Fourth Estate， 2009： 147-152。感謝原作版權代理人特倫斯·杜利先生（Mr. Terence Dooley）授權刊發(fā)。】

此時正是國王路一天中最熱鬧的時候，不斷有人涌入，就像吉卜賽人的營地，各種服飾色彩奔放。斯隆廣場和市政廳之間長長的人行道上，人群熙熙攘攘，人們就像在某個特定時間醒來登場的舞臺演員。海因里希和瑪莎樂此不疲地逛著一家家精品店：酷裝、維爾唯我、維爾寶姿、美德女裝、褲裝店、布料店和手袋店。這里真是孩子的樂園，一片混亂之中，看起來奇奇怪怪的店鋪顛覆了古老商業(yè)史上的每一個陳見。售貨員衣著光鮮，比顧客穿得還好，而且顧客并不受待見，售貨員要么對他們視而不見，要么粗魯?shù)胶薏坏弥苯影杨櫩挖s走。顧客則對提供的試裝服報以譏諷，把衣服扔在地上。衣服上沒有價簽，沒有型號大小，也沒法說哪件衣服是哪堆貨里的，衣服和衣架像是被一只神奇的手從一家店轉到另一家店。門都敞開著，向外飄出熏香和深沉的靈樂，那店鋪就像啞劇里的市場，受到觀眾慫恿的演員演著演著就完全失控了。

海因里希和瑪莎仿如王子和公主穿行在這個世界——然而只要再過幾年，魔咒就會被解除。在維爾唯我，海因里希試穿了一條淡藍色棉緞褲，緊緊地貼身繃著?，斏谒囈聲r看著他脫下的牛仔褲，他決定不買后，她因此而更敬佩他。

“是不合適嗎？”她問。

“歐洲大陸不穿這種風格的褲子?！?/p>

“我以為你錢不夠呢?！?/p>

事實是海因里希很有錢，他還有自己的支票簿，但他很細心，很照顧瑪莎的自尊心，沒把實情托出。

“我們去咖啡吧坐會兒?！?/p>

雖然咖啡吧在維也納已不算新事物，但在倫敦還是。閃閃發(fā)光的加吉亞咖啡機把一英寸半的苦沫倒進陶制杯子，情侶們花兩先令就可以在深棕色調的環(huán)境里坐上好幾個小時，桌上還放著一碗紅糖。

“要是我們不再點一杯，他們也許會生氣。”

海因里希把手又放在了她的手上，他的手指細長秀氣。她驚嘆這只手如此干凈——她自己的手幾乎跟蒂爾達的一樣黑。

“別擔心，我付賬。你覺得怎么樣？”

“我不確定，過會兒告訴你?！爆斏f。她真希望她的同學能進來看到她。她們就會把看到的報告給沃森神父和修女，但那有什么關系呢，得讓他們明白她到底為什么逃學了。

“我猜，你們既然住在切爾西，一定經常出門。”

“怎么會呢？沒人陪我?！?/p>

……他俯身向前親了親她的臉，剛進咖啡吧時，她的臉涼涼的，現(xiàn)在白里透紅。在國王路的咖啡館，這正是應該做的事情。但之后，他們暫時又變得疏遠了。

“瑪莎，我在這兒待了一天，還看了你們的船，很愉快?！?/p>

“那好啊，嗯，起碼在維也納你們沒有這樣的船。”

海因里希的父親是維也納游艇俱樂部成員。

“是，沒這么大的船?！?/p>

精品店外依舊燈火通明，倨傲的店員腳邊扔著一堆堆亂七八糟的東西。音樂聲越來越大，切爾西格拉納達歡迎任何一個想進店看《布西和斯威齊》轉播的人。他倆漫無目的地逛著。

“兩個人可以在很短時間內變得很親密，”海因里希說，“受不受外界干擾要看他們自己。我想我告訴過你，我的目標就是塑造我自己的生活。”

【中文出自：《離岸》，佩內洛普·菲茨杰拉德著，張菊譯，中信出版社，2020。感謝中信出版社授權刊發(fā)?！?/p>

（譯者單位：北京化工大學）

1加吉亞，意大利歷史悠久的咖啡機品牌。產品包括家用全自動、半自動意式咖啡機，商用全自動、半自動大型咖啡機等，由意大利人加吉亞發(fā)明。

2《布西和斯威齊》，英國情景喜劇，1960至1963年在ITV上播出了三季;1974年播出了第四季。該節(jié)目是《陸軍游戲》的衍生作品，講述了前中士克勞德·斯威齊少校和布西下士退役后的生活。