西方當代文學

Italo Calvino is one of the earliest Western Contemporary writers who seems to me could control the words in his novels. His prima work may be “the invisible cities”, in which many wonderful ideas are rethought and mentioned, especially this:

Marco Polo described a bridge, stone by stone.
“But which is the stone that supports the bridge?” Kublai Khan asks.
“The bridge is not supported by one stone or another,” Marco answers, “but by the line of the arch that they form.”
Kublai Khan remains silent, reflecting. Then he adds: “Why do you speak to me of the stones? It is only the arch that matters to me.”
Polo answers: “Without stone there is no arch.”
From “The invisible cities”

At times I suspected these kinds of words and sentences had some other meanings concealed, as Michael Wood said, “文學心存歷史…心存自己…會引發歷史再度三思。” Are we going to 三思after studying his words?

The next I may talk about Kazuo Ishiguro, a Japanese writer who was born after the WWII. His first novel “The Pale View of Hills” which I admire is about two women and their daughters who lived in different places at different years. But what they met at last was similar – this is the most amazing part. Moreover, this novel gave me all the time the “pale views”, I mean, it was not hot (existing), or cold (dreary or horrible). I like the tone of the narrator as well – “a taste of peace” that meanwhile had something vigorously aspiring to be revealed. (可能我有些詞不達意，故在此以中文重複: 群山淡景的語氣雖淡，如同發生的事平常不過，但一直讀下去，愈來愈感到述事者隱藏了的不少憂慮。不過，故事的發展仍沒有離開過那給人不安的平淡和沉默，這是我讀此小說所得的“pale views”。)
I don’t like other of his novels like “Never let me go” and “When we were orphans”. They can’t attract me though they also have 平淡的語氣。(But one day I’ll try again, I always think/plan that.)

John Banville is somewhat older than Ishiguro and I find some of his first novels are disappointing when comparing to “The Sea” written in 2005. Some of them are boring and the sentences there are not well written. Another one, “The Newton letter”, seems to me describing the sexes for attracting the readers – I suppose it is not necessary to have them occupy so many pages! But in it Banville really has done well in making the narrator and Newton “mingled together” – they have the same traits and doing the same deeds, though they are living in different era.
One of my beloved, “The Sea”, is his best novel though it’s a bit confusing – or I am too stupid to manage some many words describing different things which all (maybe and seem to me) are from the same reason, that can also be said, due to one thing or one girl.
I first know about the main 特點 and of Contemporary novels by reading this, though I didn’t know this name, I knew its existence.

Anthony Doerr is very young and he studied (or still studying) science. In his first novel “About Grace” he used the science to accompany the story in which we can find terror.

在Michael Wood的沉默之子一書，當代小說會探索較黑暗的邏輯，因為掌管人的心靈，人的意志，及至人的言行，都不是物理法則。是什麼，就是作家希望可以從思量和寫作時逐漸找出。

我則覺得恐懼更為正確: About Grace 的男主角害怕的不是自己總有一日會錯手殺死女兒，而是預言他會錯手殺死女兒的夢會成真; “The Sea”的男主角害怕影響他一生的歷史 (這是我猜測的，因為未完看全書); “The Pale View of Hills”的女主角則害怕她遷往英國前所遇到的事…

大師名作坊的書都非常好，而且多為沉默之子(西方當代文學)，而不是現代文學 – 它們是太樂觀的動作和言語之子。

But how should we think in order to understand or write a piece of western contemporary work?


李察附語：

關於「現代文學」，前曾寫過一點，可能您亦看過了。問題是，
以李察的不成熟意見，二十世紀的思潮，是反智的。四大重要影
響人物：戲劇中的等待果陀，音樂的史泰拉文夫斯基，繪畫的畢
加索，文學的喬哀斯。不約而同，都用違反理智的方式寫作。或
者，他們是有理由的。只有畢加索沒有理由。此人的人品太差。

　過去的，或者是己經過去了。但，無論如何，誠意是應該未有
過去的。而愛意亦是未有過去的。有部份作家，全篇都是無厘頭
的苦悶之作，但一到了性愛場面，則逼真異常。這是不好的。
因為過份強調感官刺激，會損害了靈性。

　至於那些「苦悶」場面，是二十世紀迷失的偏差。若果我們回
到略為古典一些的場合，就會看到，人其實是有方向的。所謂
「苦悶」，只是進了牛角尖。

所謂「文學」，其實質，也是人類思考的一部份。文學是與哲
學等同的。有人以為，文學僅是發洩，那是太狹窄了。

匆匆作答，或者言未盡意的。

李察