《島上書店》：沒有人是一座孤島

愛永

加布瑞埃拉·澤文（Gabrielle Zevin， 1977～），美國作家、電影劇本編劇。澤文畢業(yè)于哈佛大學英美文學系，現已出版了八部小說，第一部小說《我在另一個世界等你》（Elsewhere）被翻譯成二十多種語言。她曾擔任電影《與女人們的對話》（Conversations with Other Women）的編劇，并獲得獨立精神獎提名?！秿u上書店》（The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry）是她的第八部小說，在2014年獲選美國獨立書商選書第一名，登上《紐約時報》暢銷書排行榜，風行全球30多個國家。

加布瑞埃拉·澤文

Excerpts1）

Once the store is closed， A. J. goes upstairs to change into his running clothes. He leaves through the bookstores front entrance and， as has become his custom， does not lock the door.

A. J. had run cross-country2） on his high schools team and then at Princeton. He picked up the sport mainly because he had no skill for any other sport aside from the close reading of texts. He never really considered running cross-country to be much of a talent. His high school coach had romantically referred to him as a reliable middleman， meaning that A. J. could be counted on to finish in the upper middle of any pack. Now that he hasnt run for a while， he has to concede3） that it had been a talent. In his current condition， he cant make it more than two miles without stopping. He rarely runs more than five miles total， and his back， legs， and basically every part of him hurt. The pain turns out to be a good thing. He used to pass his runs by ruminating4）， and the pain distracts him from such a fruitless activity.

Toward the end of his run， snow begins to fall. Not wanting to track mud indoors， A. J. stops on the porch to take off his running shoes. He braces himself on the front door， and it swings open. He knows that he didnt lock it， but he is reasonably sure that he didnt leave it open. He flips on the light. Nothing seems out of place. The cash register doesnt look molested5）. Probably， the wind had blown the door open. He flips off the light and is almost to the stairs when he hears a cry， sharp like a birds. The cry repeats， more insistent this time.

A. J. turns the lights back on. He walks back to the entrance and then makes his way up and down each aisle of the bookstore. He comes to the last row， the poorly stocked Childrens and Young Adult section. On the floor sits a baby with the stores lone copy of Where the Wild Things Are （one of the few picture books Island6）even deigns7） to carry） in its lap and opened to the middle. It is a large baby， A. J. thinks. Not a newborn. A. J. cant clock the age because， aside from himself， he has never really known any babies personally. He was the youngest child， and obviously， he and Nic8） never had any of their own. The baby is wearing a pink ski jacket. She has a full head of light brown， very curly hair， cornflower blue9） eyes， and tan-colored skin a shade or two lighter than A. J.s own. Its rather a pretty thing.

“Who the hell are you？” A. J. asks the baby.

For no apparent reason， she stops crying and smiles at him. “Maya，” she answers.

That was easy， A. J. thinks. “How old are you？” he asks.

Maya holds up two fingers.

“Youre two？”

Maya smiles again and holds up her arms to him.

“Where is your mommy？”

Maya begins to cry. She continues to hold out her arms to A. J. Because he cant see his way to any other options， A. J. picks her up. She weighs at least as much as a twenty-four carton10） of hardcovers， heavy enough to strain his back. The baby puts her arms around his neck， and A. J. notes that she smells rather nice， like powder and baby oil. Clearly， this is not some neglected or abused infant. She is friendly， well dressed， and expects—nay， demands—affection. Surely the owner of this bundle11） will return at any moment with an explanation that makes perfect sense. A broken-down car， say？ Or perhaps the mother was struck with a sudden case of food poisoning. In the future， he will rethink his unlocked-door policy. Though it had occurred to him that something might be stolen， he had never considered the possibility that something might be left.

She hugs him tighter. Over her shoulder， A. J. notices an Elmo12） doll sitting on the floor with a note attached to his matted red chest by a safety pin. He sets the baby down and picks up Elmo， a character A. J. has always despised13） because he seems too needy.

“Elmo！” Maya says.

“Yes，” A. J. says. “Elmo.” He unpins the note and hands the baby the doll. The note reads：

To the Owner of This Bookstore：

This is Maya. She is twenty-five months old. She is VERY SMART， exceptionally verbal for her age， and a sweet， good girl. I want her to grow up to be a reader. I want her to grow up in a place with books and among people who care about those kinds of things. I love her very much， but I can no longer take care of her. The father cannot be in her life， and I do not have a family that can help. I am desperate.

小說英文版封面

Yours，

Mayas Mother

Fuck， A. J. thinks.

1. 節(jié)選部分主要講述的是書店老板A. J.跑步歸來，發(fā)現有人把孩子留在了他的書店，希望他能收養(yǎng)這個孩子。

2. cross-country：越野賽跑

3. concede [k?n?si?d] vt. （不情愿地）承認;承認……為真（或正確）

4. ruminate [?ru?m?ne?t] vi. 沉思;反復思考

5. molest [m??lest] vt. 妨礙;打擾;騷擾

6. Island：指小島書店。

7. deign [de?n] vi. 降低身份，屈尊，俯就

8. Nic：妮可，A. J.已故的妻子

9. cornflower blue：矢車菊藍，中藏藍

10. carton [?kɑ?（r）t（?）n] n. 紙（板）盒，紙（板）箱

11. bundle [?b?nd（?）l] n. 包裹，包袱

12. Elmo：美國兒童電視節(jié)目《芝麻街》（Sesame Street）中的玩偶主人公

13. despise [d??spa?z] vt. 鄙視，藐視，看不起

作品賞析

在與世隔絕的艾麗絲島上，性情古怪的書店老板A. J. 費克里經營著島上唯一一家書店。中年喪妻的悲慘境遇將他推入人生谷底：他變得憤世嫉俗，也不與人為善，書店陷入危機，連唯一值錢的珍本書也遭竊。A. J.的內心因一連串不幸徹底淪為荒島。而就在此時，一個神秘的包裹出現在書店中，一個名叫“瑪雅”的女嬰由此闖入A. J.的生活。對這個棄嬰的收養(yǎng)意外拯救了陷于孤獨絕境中的A. J.，瑪雅成了連接他和周遭人的紐帶。他先是修復了與出版社銷售代表阿米莉婭之間的緊張關系，擯棄相互抱有的偏見后，兩人因為對閱讀的熱愛而逐漸從敵人變成戀人，最后成為人生伴侶。為了給瑪雅更好的照顧，A. J.與前妻的姐姐伊斯梅從原本冷淡的關系漸漸轉向真正的親人關系。A. J.原本輕視的警長蘭比亞斯也在與他日復一日的相處中成為A. J.人生中不可或缺的朋友。當A. J.終于揮別過去的陰霾，擁抱他與瑪雅和阿米莉婭共建的幸福家庭時，殘酷的命運之神卻并未減少對A. J.的興趣，一場突如其來的大病奪去了他的生命，讓他不得不告別來之不易的幸福。雖然故事的結局并不圓滿，但在這個過程中，A. J.從一開始的孤寂、冷漠，到一步步敞開心扉與周遭的人建立聯結，獲得了更加豐富的生命體驗。小島上的幾個生命彼此相依，走出了各自人生的困境。

在本書中，書店是改變一切的重要象征。書店的存在首先讓A. J.迎來了愛情的第二春。他與出版社銷售代表阿米莉婭從初次相見的不歡而散，到四年后因閱讀而產生火花，一步步相互了解，走近彼此，成為人生伴侶。小島書店不僅改變了A. J.與阿米莉婭這對冤家的人生，同樣也改變了島上其他人的人生。可愛的瑪雅是被丟棄在小島書店的棄嬰，“書店”對她而言就等同于“家”。即便隨著她年歲漸長，書店不復是童年時她眼中那個大而神奇的所在，但她對書店和書依舊懷有深深的依戀之情。在A. J.的教育下，瑪雅從小看的書就比同齡人多，書店不僅是其身體休憩之所，更是她心靈成長最重要的陪伴。閱讀帶來的思考讓瑪雅自然能將所思所想變成文字創(chuàng)作，得天獨厚的才華離不開從小到大日復一日的閱讀積累。閱讀與寫作對瑪雅而言是生活樂趣的來源，更是未來人生方向的指引，讓她心有所依，不再孤單。

對A. J.前妻的姐姐伊斯梅而言，書店是個令她又愛又恨的地方。一方面，她深愛的作家老公與去世的妹妹皆與書店息息相關。另一方面，書店對她而言又等同于“背叛”——不斷出軌的老公與再也不會回來的妹妹帶給她的都是至深的傷害?，斞懦霈F后，她不斷去幫助A. J.照顧瑪雅，被迫扮演“母親”一角，明明一心想遠離書店，卻無奈始終徘徊其中。在這個令她糾結痛苦的過程中，伊斯梅從對人生充滿怨念，到意外遇見另一段感情，從渴望逃離書店，到最終成為書店的守護者，這戲劇性的轉變也給了伊斯梅的人生另一種更好的可能，讓原本打定主意孤獨終老的她有了不孤單的選擇。

對警長蘭比亞斯而言，書店是“陪伴”。警察的職業(yè)與書店看似毫無關聯，然而看不太懂深奧文學書籍的他也有自己喜歡的閱讀類型。A. J.眼里不入流的懸疑偵探小說給蘭比亞斯乏味的生活帶來不少樂趣，更讓原本對一切都沒有太多看法的蘭比亞斯開始用獨到的眼光發(fā)現生活中的光亮之處，慢慢建立起自信，敢于表達他對伊斯梅的仰慕之情。最終，這個與書店看似毫無關聯的人通過書店和閱讀找到了人生的樂趣，找到了摯愛的伴侶，并與伊斯梅一起成為書店最后的守護者。

在這個網絡購書十分方便且電子閱讀器日漸普及的時代，小島書店的存在讓人感觸良多。A. J.過世的妻子妮可曾說：“一個地方如果沒有一家書店，就算不上個地方了?！睍甑拇嬖诓粌H是為了賣書，對許多人而言，書店更是內心動蕩時得以休憩安寧之所。想起念大學時，總喜歡在24小時開放的誠品書店待上一晚，同樣晚睡或難以入睡的人們各自占據書店一角安靜閱讀，這種感覺與獨自在家挑燈夜讀的感覺完全不同，仿佛有一群頻率相近的同伴，互不打擾，只是互相陪伴。餐廳養(yǎng)胃，書店養(yǎng)心，實體書店的存在怎么會不重要呢？

臺灣作家林育涵曾說：“每個人都是孤島，但在很深很深的海底，我們偷偷牽手。”在加布瑞埃拉·澤文的筆下，A. J.這個飽覽群書、對自己的閱讀品味充滿優(yōu)越感的書店老板宛如一座孤島，而因為養(yǎng)女瑪雅，孤島開始在海底觸碰其他的孤島。為了讓瑪雅閱讀，A. J.開始在書店引進一些他此前并不感興趣的繪本;為了給瑪雅更好的照顧，一向獨來獨往的他也開始與島上的媽媽們攀談，進她們愛看的書，吸取大家養(yǎng)兒育女的經驗;他還辦起各式各樣的讀書會，讓不同的讀者各取所需。透過與人的聯結，A. J.原本如孤島般冰冷的書店漸漸有了溫度，最后成為小島居民們情感交流的好地方。A. J.本人也從自私自利、自暴自棄的孤僻中年大叔成長為溫暖體貼、懂得愛與被愛的好男人。沒有人是一座孤島。每一座孤島都有不孤單的可能。當A. J.不再封閉自己，為了愛的人而付出，孤島的書店便不再孤單，不完美的人生也因為滿載的愛而有了更溫暖的結局。