書評:《安琪拉的灰燼》

《安琪拉的灰燼》是美國作家弗蘭克·邁考特根據自己在貧民窟中成長的經歷寫成的回憶錄。自1996年出版，此書便一舉獲得普利策文學獎、全美書評獎、洛杉磯時報圖書獎、美國年度好書獎等多種獎項，并連續117周雄踞《紐約時報》暢銷書榜，一年重印47次，印數高達150萬冊，創下了一連串的出版奇跡。本書現已譯成20多種語言全球發行，1999年的同名電影獲奧斯卡最佳電影獎提名。

For this review， we’re listening to Angela’s Ashes， written and read by Frank McCourt.

Young Frankie 1)polishes his earliest memories of Brooklyn， New York， and then travels back to Limerick to share what he calls， “the miserable Irish Catholic childhood，” typified by reflections like this one.

“The master says it’s a glorious thing to die for the faith， and dad says it’s a glorious thing to die for Ireland， and I wonder if there’s anyone in the world who would like us to live. My brothers are dead and my sister is dead， and I wonder if they died for Ireland or the faith. Dad says they were too young to die for anything. Mam says it was disease and starvation and him never having a job. Dad says， ‘Auch， Angela’， puts on his cap and goes for a long walk.”

As if 2)patriotism and religious 3)fervour aren’t enough to keep young Frank wondering about his future， the McCourt family itself is 4)perpetually on shakey ground. They live in the lanes of Limerick， a crowded damp neighbourhood， where sickness is 5)rampant and prospects are thin. Frank’s earliest Brooklyn memories capture the death of his baby sister， and more tragedy unfolds in Ireland. To make matters worse， Frank’s father is not a reliable provider.

“I’m seven， eight， nine， going on ten， and still Dad has no work. He drinks his tea in the morning， signs for the 6)dole at the labour exchange， reads the papers at the Carnegie Library， goes for his long walks far into the country. If he gets a job at the Limerick Cement Company or Ranks Flour Mills， he loses it in the third week. He loses it because he goes to the pubs on the third Friday of the job， drinks all his wages and misses the half day of work on Saturday morning.”

Frank must learn to be a man without the benefit of his father’s guidance， and a brighter future seems to lie within the walls of the school. Some of the greatest moments of this book recall McCourt’s school days with humourless masters and 7)hapless classmates. Here is one of my favorite scenes featuring the words of the teacher Frank seems to have admired most， Mr. O’Halloran.

“He says， ‘Ya have to study and learn so that you can make up your own mind about history and everything else， but you can’t make up an empty mind. Stock your mind. Stock your mind. It is your house of treasure， and no one in the world can 8)interfere with it. If you won the Irish 9)Sweepstakes and bought a house that needed furniture， would you fill it with bits and pieces of rubbish? Your mind is your house， and if you fill it with rubbish from the cinemas， it will rot in your head. You might be poor， your shoes might be broken， but your mind is a palace!’”

Frank does fill his mind， and that mind is indeed a palace， as this book attests. This memoir is 10)riveting and heartbreaking， yet 11)hilarious and inspiring. Trust me， this is a must-hear production.

本次書評，我們來聽一聽由弗蘭克·邁考特著述和朗讀的《安琪拉的灰燼》。

年幼的弗蘭奇細致敘述了其在紐約布魯克林的最早期記憶，然后回到利默瑞克講述了他稱之為“悲慘的愛爾蘭天主教徒的童年”的生活。以下這種思考就是其童年的典型寫照。

“老師說為信仰而死是件光榮的事情，而爸爸說為愛爾蘭而死是件光榮的事情，我想知道這個世界上還有沒有人想讓我們活。我的兄弟們死了，妹妹死了，我想知道他們是為愛爾蘭而死的，還是為信仰而死的。爸爸說他們太小，不是為了什么而死的。媽媽說他們是因為疾病、饑餓以及他的永遠失業而死的。爸爸說:‘唉呀，安琪拉。’隨后，他戴上帽子，出去長途散步了。”

如果說愛國主義和宗教狂熱不足以讓小弗蘭克對自己的未來深感迷惘的話，那還有邁考特一家本身就一直風雨飄搖的狀況。他們生活在利默瑞克的橫街窄巷之中，那是個擁擠潮濕的地方，疾病肆虐，前途渺茫。弗蘭奇最早關于布魯克林的記憶提及了他在襁褓中死去的妹妹，而在愛爾蘭的生活更是災難連連。……