Last Updated on 2023-08-24 by vegesloth
石黑一雄作品《別讓我走》、《長日將盡》、《浮世畫家》講人類互相殘殺，從複製人講到戰爭，紛紛改編為電影或電視劇，2000年著作《我輩孤雛》(When We Were Orphans) 也將改編為影集！VS精選10句英語，看萬里尋親必學7句英語！
俄烏戰事未平，東亞局勢箭在弦上，第三次世界大戰究竟會不會開打？樂觀派說，都什麼年代了，人類大屠殺不會再上演；悲觀派笑說，不是已經在打了嗎？
自古以來，戰爭總是一波未平，一波又起；弱肉強食，適者生存，用武器當作霸凌的工具，從箭矢到核武，與時俱進。死傷慘重，無辜百姓被迫出征、戰死沙場，換來一行慰靈碑，或終生身心受創，過著格格不入的人生。一邊永續發展，一邊摧毀世界，相生相滅。
[看小說學英文]
戰爭必看書單
VS分享過幾部戰爭相關文學作品，想看英文名家如何寫人性與戰火無情，請點閱：
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy｜托爾斯泰《戰爭與和平》(1865)
All Quiet on the Western Front｜雷馬克《西線無戰事》(1928)
An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro｜石黑一雄《浮世畫家》(1986)
日裔英籍作家、諾貝爾文學獎得主石黑一雄，在《浮世畫家》(1986) 寫日本二戰留下的創傷：愛國主義盛行，浮世繪畫家改繪製愛國畫，鼓勵年輕人投筆從戎，隨著日本戰敗，面對接踵而至的指摘，要如何面對曾歌頌戰爭的自己？
When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro｜石黑一雄《我輩孤雛》(2000)
石黑一雄《我輩孤雛》12大看點
VS上回分享了故事提要，錯過的請點上文連結。
上半場不可錯過5大看點
下半場不可錯過7大看點
亂世裡 我們都是孤兒
莎拉｜眾人狂笑 就妳一人哭
[看小說學英文]
At first the scene appeared much as it had before: there was Sarah, laughing helplessly amidst her companions...I was rather surprised that after barely a year, she was already so intimate with Shanghai society to the extent that these obscure jokes could reduce her to such a state… And it was then, as I was gazing at her, pondering this point, that I suddenly realised she was not laughing at all…Amidst all the gaiety, Sarah was crying uncontrollably.
起初，眼前畫面一如以往：莎拉與同伴笑得不能自己... 來上海不到一年，已變得流裡流氣，不知所云的笑話，笑得她花枝亂顫… 正當我狐疑不已，定睛一瞧，赫然發現，她不是在笑… 一片歡樂氣息中，莎拉哭得無法自抑。
//上海晚宴上的莎拉
我和莎拉都是孤兒。她曾嚮往當人上人，男人不能庸庸碌碌、要胸懷大志，入眼的只有聲望如日中天、該退休的塞西爾（Cecil）。婚後，塞西爾彷彿又年輕了一回，要去上海揪出世界亂源；幻滅後，整日流連賭場，債務酒臭纏身，說莎拉跟上跟下，老少配，活像妓女。關心她，卻替塞西爾說話，他不是壞人，去賭場也沒什麼，年紀大了，擔心他心臟。
再見面，是一場晚宴，台上表演惹得全場哄堂大笑，有意無意搜尋莎拉的身影，驚見她變得流裡流氣，笑得人仰馬翻；不對，仔細一瞧，是哭得無法自拔，以手拭淚。
[看劇學英文] 夏天沒變，變的是我們｜18句話重溫初戀的心動瞬間｜戀夏純愛劇《我變美的那夏天》The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han (2022)
莎拉｜一別就是一生
[看小說學英文]
“…You always felt you had a mission to complete, and I dare say you would never have been able to give your heart to anyone or anything until you had done so. I can only hope that by now your tasks are behind you…”
…I somehow doubt it… Perhaps there are those who are able to go about their lives unfettered by such concerns. But for those like us, our fate is to face the world as orphans, chasing through long years the shadows of vanished parents.
「…總覺得你有要務在身，我敢說，任務達成前，不論是碰到什麼人事物，你都無法全心全意投入。只願現在的你，已徹底放下那些追求了…」
…我不禁心生懷疑… 有些人也許無牽無掛，一生順遂。對我們孤兒來說，活在世上，宿命難逃，父母不知去向，只能歲歲年年苦尋他們的影子。
//莎拉的信 ＆ 主角
當年我希望你放下過去，和我一起離開上海，去闖蕩未知，但你畢竟跟我不同，你仍有凌雲壯志，要救出父母，要對抗世界；多年過去，但願你已經放下了，也像我一樣找到人生伴侶跟幸福。
她說得輕鬆：放下過去，人總要往前看。但身為孤兒，一輩子都在尋找父母、尋找失散根源，豈能說放下就放下。她是自欺欺人，故作堅強，當初找我一起逃去澳門，爽約的是我，她總要拾回點顏面。
當年被你爽約，當然失望，但你若遂了我的意，心裡卻記掛著上海，想必也無心面對我。總之，你當初決定沒錯，我早已不怨你了。
她說找到了人生伴侶與幸福，命運是善待她的，認識了全心全意愛她的法國人，名利皆無。從友人口中得知，莎拉戰時被日軍拘留，身體從此崩壞，死時，法國老公難過不已。
難道只有我看出她未說的心事：孤兒的命運，一生尋找歸屬，四處飄盪，隨處為家。
[書單] 外文小說百大書單II (2011~2014)｜看小說學英文｜附亞馬遜評分、VS推薦指數｜蔬懶女子慢讀運動
父母被綁架到貧民窟？
孤兒的宿命，身為英國人，住在上海租界，不中不西，曾以為父母為反抗鴉片進口，得罪了人，被綁架在貧民窟，事實卻迥然不同。找到了答案，母親不認得我了，卻仍惦記失散多年的兒子。
父親先消失無蹤｜你會引我為傲
[看小說學英文]
“… Your mother, though, she’s different. She never lets herself down. And you know, Puffin, that’s why she’s finally succeeded. She’s made your father a better man… Today, thanks to your mother, I’m someone much much stronger. Someone, I dare say, Puffin, you’ll one day be proud of.”
「…你媽，很不一樣。絕不低頭。你知道的，小鸚，所以她成功了。她讓你爸成為更好的人… 今天啊，多虧你媽，我變得堅強多了。我敢說，小鸚，有一天你會以我為傲。」
//失蹤前的父親
[看Netflix學英文] 關於婚姻，你要知道的4個真相｜外遇是本能或婚姻所迫？婚姻裡，我們卻好孤獨｜The Crown: Season 2｜《王冠》第二季 (2017)
被拋棄在南京路｜跑回家，母親也不見了
[看小說學英文]
“Ah. So you know exactly where we are.” He gave an odd laugh. “You know your way around here very well.”…
“I didn’t want you hurt. You understand that? I didn’t want you hurt.”…
With that he spun round and vanished into the crowd…
For the next few moments I remained standing there in the crowd, trying not to pursue the logic of what had just occurred. Then suddenly I began to move, back in the direction we had just come, to the street in which we had left the carriage.
「啊，看來你知道這裡是哪。」他沒來由笑了一聲。「你對這一帶應該很熟。」…
「我不希望你受傷害。你明白嗎？我不希望你受到傷害。」
說完，猛一轉身，消失在人群…
接下來的片刻，我兀自站在人潮中，試著不去追索究竟發生了什麼事。接著，我火速移動，朝來時的方向，下馬車的那條街走去。
//菲利普叔叔 & 主角
父親跟情婦跑了
[看小說學英文]
“… Your father ran off one day with his mistress…”
“…He might have just said: ‘Look here, I can only do so much and that’s it, I’m who I am.’ But he adored her. Wanted desperately to make himself good enough for her, and when he found he didn’t have it in him, well, he went off….”
「…有一天，你父親跟情婦跑了…」
「…其實他大可說：『聽我說，我已經仁至義盡了，我也是有底線的。」只怪他太愛你媽，無所不用其極想讓自己夠格，配得上你媽，結果發現自己沒那能耐，乾脆跑人…」
//菲利普叔叔 & 主角
[看小說學英文] 關於戰爭，你要知道的9大真相｜Netflix電影開拍｜All Quiet on the Western Front 雷馬克《西線無戰事》(1928)
母親被擄為妾｜「白種女人」欠調教
[看小說學英文]
“… He regularly whipped her in front of his dinner guests. Taming the white woman, he called it…”
“… Your mother, she wanted you to live in your enchanted world for ever. But it’s impossible. In the end it has to shatter….”
「…他經常當著晚宴客人的面鞭打她。說白種女人欠調教…」
「…你母親啊，希望你一輩子過著魔法般的完美生活。這怎麼可能，終究會支離破碎…」
//菲利普叔叔 & 主角
一輩子想彌補缺憾，想找到綁架父母的人，結果父親是跟情婦跑了，母親被軍閥擄走當妾，當眾鞭打說是要調教「白種女人」。對母親來說，是多大的屈辱，要不是為了我，早就自我了斷，住進瘋人院，輾轉到修女院，焦慮才漸漸轉好。
「媽，是我。」「你哪位？」
“Mother,” I said slowly, “it’s me. I’ve come from England. I’m really very sorry it’s taken so long…”
“Mother,” I said, “it’s Puffin. Puffin.”…
“Puffin,” she repeated quietly to herself, and for a moment seemed lost in happiness. Then she shook her head and said: “That boy. He’s such a worry to me.”
“… Supposing this boy of yours, this Puffin. Supposing you discovered he’d tried his best, tried with everything he had to find you, even if in the end he couldn’t. If you knew that, do you suppose . . . do you suppose you’d be able to forgive him?”…
“Forgive Puffin? Did you say forgive Puffin? Whatever for?” Then she beamed again happily. “That boy. They say he’s doing well. But you can never be sure with that one. Oh, he’s such a worry to me. You’ve no idea.”
「媽，」我緩緩說，「是我。我從英國過來。我來遲了，真的非常抱歉…」
「媽，」我說，「是小鸚，小鸚啊。」…
「小鸚，」她反覆唸了幾遍，欣喜之色忽然溢於言表，搖頭說道：「那孩子啊。我多擔心他呀。」
「… 如果說這孩子，妳兒子小鸚，如果發現他已傾盡全力，想方設法找妳，最後失敗了。如果知道是這樣，妳覺得… 妳覺得妳有辦法原諒他嗎？」…
「原諒小鸚？你說原諒小鸚？原諒他什麼？」臉上又洋溢笑容。「那孩子啊。他們說他過得很好。但誰說得準呢。唉，我好擔心他呀。你不懂的。」
//主角 & 母親
[看小說學英文]
母親忘了我是誰，卻記得兒子小名叫「小鸚」（Puffin），說這孩子惹人憂心，不知過得好不好。
傾盡一生拯救世界，母親卻只在意我過得好不好。
愛很簡單，我們一生追尋愛，追尋愛的歸屬，尋找恆常不滅的愛，父母的愛，尤其為保住兒子受盡屈辱的母親，其實一直有人愛著我們，有人帶有目的，有人不求任何回報，也有一種是祝福，即使她身邊有了別人，依然掛記著曾可能一起私奔的人。貧民窟女孩失去了全家人，家犬被砲擊性命垂危，成了她唯一的牽繫，別人眼裡只是一隻狗、一隻畜牲，戰事裡誰管一隻狗，但對她來說，是僅存的家人。
愛有很多種，直到我們不再執著愛只有一種，我們才能放下執念，去想想身邊仍在乎我們的人，街頭偶見打打招呼的朋友、偶而晚餐敘敘舊聊聊過去豐功偉業的熟人，或只剩一紙泛黃信箋可追憶的舊情人。那都是愛，一種情，掛念著你，北漂也好，南漂也好，四處漂泊也罷，我們都是孤兒，也都不是孤兒。
[看小說學英文] 戰爭是愛國主義的極致，還是摧毀人性的藉口？揭開日本二戰的傷疤｜An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro｜石黑一雄《浮世畫家》(1986)
[看小說學英文]
When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro
石黑一雄《我輩孤雛》
喜歡石黑一雄，可別錯過以下作品：
Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall by Kazuo Ishigurob
