凱瑟琳•剋萊斯曼•泰勒(Kathrine Kressmann Taylor, 1903—1996)
被譽為“撼動美國文壇的女作傢”。泰勒是美國賓夕法尼亞州蓋茨堡大學第一位獲得終身教職的女性。她一生完成瞭三部小說和十餘篇短篇小說。
Address Unknown (1938)
(The title is actually a mistranslation of the term "Adressat unbekannt," which is marked on the last envelope. The correct translation of "Adressat" is "addressee," not "address"; which is much more in keeping with the plot of the story.) It is the story of two German friends and business partners, art dealers in San Francisco. Martin, a gentile, returns with his family to Germany, exhilarated by the advances in the old country since the humiliation of the Great War. The Jewish partner, Max, remains in the States to keep the business going. The story is told entirely in letters between them, from 1932 to 1934, the technique used in 84 Charing Cross Road.
Martin writes about the wonderful Third Reich and this fellow Hitler. At first Max is covetous: "How I envy you! ... You go to a democratic Germany, a land with a deep culture and the beginnings of a fine political freedom."
But Max soon doubts his friend’s enthusiasm, having heard from eyewitnesses who got out of Berlin that Jews were being beaten and their businesses boycotted. Martin responds, telling Max that, while they may be good friends, everybody knows that Jews have been the universal scapegoats, and "a few must suffer for the millions to be saved."
"This Jew trouble is only an incident," Martin says. "Something bigger is happening." Nonetheless, he asks Max to stop writing to him. If a letter were intercepted, he (Martin) would lose his official position and he and his family would be endangered.
Max writes anyhow when his own sister, an actress in Berlin, goes missing. He becomes frantic to learn her fate. Martin responds on bank stationery (less likely to be inspected) and tells Max his sister is dead. He admits that he turned Griselle away when she came to him, her brother’s dearest friend, for sanctuary.
There is a gap of about a month. After that, Max starts writing letters to Martin at home, carrying only what looks like business and remarks about the weather, but written as though they have a hidden encoded meaning, with strange references to exact dimensions of pictures and so on. The letters refer to "our grandmother" and imply that Martin is also Jewish. The letters from Munich to San Francisco get shorter and more panicky, begging Max to stop: "My God, Max, do you know what you do? ... These letters you have sent ... are not delivered, but they bring me in and ... demand I give them the code ... I beg you, Max, no more, no more! Stop while I can be saved."
But Max continues: "Prepare these for distribution by March 24th: Rubens 12 by 77, blue; Giotto 1 by 317, green and white; Poussin 20 by 90, red and white."
At last a letter is returned to Max, stamped: Adressat unbekannt. Addressee Unknown.
The book’s "Afterword," lovingly written by Mrs. Taylor’s son, says that the idea for her story came from a small news article: American students in Germany wrote home with the truth about the Nazi atrocities, a truth most Americans, including Charles Lindbergh, would not accept. Fraternity brothers thought it would be funny to send them letters making fun of Hitler, and they wrote back, "Stop it. We’re in danger. These people don’t fool around. You could murder [someone] by writing letters to him." Thus emerged the idea of "letter as weapon" or "murder by mail."
Address Unknown was performed as a stage play in France, 2001, in Israel from 2002 (still running) and at the Promenade Theater, New York, 2004. It has also been performed in Germany, Italy, Turkey,Argentina, South Africa and in various cities of the USA.
Address Unknown (Cimzett Ismeretlen) premieres on the stage of Spinoza Haz in Budapest, Hungary on September 6, 2008.
發表於2024-11-22
Address Unknown 2024 pdf epub mobi 電子書 下載
搬傢的時候清理舊物,翻齣瞭小學到初中的信件與賀卡。信封微黃,賀卡褪色,寫信人已杳無音訊,收件人已物是人非。隻是重讀的時候便在感慨,曾經單純而真摯的你我何時纔能重現? 寄過信件的我們知曉,當收件人錯誤或者無法聯係時,便會退迴然後寫上“查無此人”之類的 話語。時...
評分 評分看完書的第一感受是“我看完瞭?竟然查無此人瞭”,然後突然恍然大悟,果然,馬丁已經被害死瞭吧……親如兄弟的兩人,在嚴峻的政治背景下開始齣現分歧,尤其是馬丁在短短的時間內真的像變瞭一個人一樣,從一個善良的人變成瞭一個狂熱的愛國主義者,是否真的狂熱不知道,但是真...
評分 評分搬傢的時候清理舊物,翻齣瞭小學到初中的信件與賀卡。信封微黃,賀卡褪色,寫信人已杳無音訊,收件人已物是人非。隻是重讀的時候便在感慨,曾經單純而真摯的你我何時纔能重現? 寄過信件的我們知曉,當收件人錯誤或者無法聯係時,便會退迴然後寫上“查無此人”之類的 話語。時...
圖書標籤: English 小說 fiction 史 英文原版 文藝 KatherineKressmannTaylor Fiction
《查無此人》。我覺得這並不是體現什麼人性的善惡,全都是被曆史的洪流裹挾的渺小的個體。對今天的意義是,生在和平年代應該珍惜自己的幸福;為保留住和平做點什麼;look beyond what you see and protect your family from harm。
評分《查無此人》。我覺得這並不是體現什麼人性的善惡,全都是被曆史的洪流裹挾的渺小的個體。對今天的意義是,生在和平年代應該珍惜自己的幸福;為保留住和平做點什麼;look beyond what you see and protect your family from harm。
評分《查無此人》。我覺得這並不是體現什麼人性的善惡,全都是被曆史的洪流裹挾的渺小的個體。對今天的意義是,生在和平年代應該珍惜自己的幸福;為保留住和平做點什麼;look beyond what you see and protect your family from harm。
評分的確很短,也很精彩。馬丁為什麼在間接害死老友妹妹(曾經的戀人)後,還奢求老友能放過他?答案隻能是,他相信自己沒做錯,相信曾經的戀人該死。對比看路西法實驗,人本質上大概真的是從眾也愛權威的。
評分《查無此人》。我覺得這並不是體現什麼人性的善惡,全都是被曆史的洪流裹挾的渺小的個體。對今天的意義是,生在和平年代應該珍惜自己的幸福;為保留住和平做點什麼;look beyond what you see and protect your family from harm。
Address Unknown 2024 pdf epub mobi 電子書 下載