評論
打印
Edmund Crispin: "shortly before Richard Cadigan
埃德蒙·克里斯平說:"就在理查·德卡迪甘
pushed his way into the toy shop"
進入玩具店之前"
he's been hitchhiking, he gets so flurry.
他在搭車旅行，所以他有點急躁
"Through a rift in the trees he caught his first real glimpse of Oxford,
"他從樹間縫隙中初次瞥了一眼牛津
in that ineffectual moonlight, an underwater city,
在那樣昏暗的月光下，一座水下城市
its towers and spires standing ghostly,
高塔和塔尖幽幽的豎立著
like the memorials of lost Atlantis, fathoms deep."
就像亞特蘭蒂斯的墓地，深不可測"
So if this is romantic Oxford, other worldly Oxford, timeless Oxford,
那么這樣一個浪漫的，世俗的，永恒的牛津
where does that locate the detective story?
偵探小說從何而來呢
Surely, it derives its impact precisely by shattering tranquility
當然是源自于驚天動地的安寧
and beauty by violence and evil.
以及暴力與邪惡之美
Peter Kemp mentioned Auden's essay The guilty vicarage.
彼得·坎普提到了奧登的文章，罪惡的牧師之家
And in that essay he says
在那篇文章中他說
murder should take place "in the great good place.
謀殺應該發生"在偉大的地方
The corpse must shock not only because it is a corpse,
尸體讓人震驚不僅是因為它是一具尸體
but also because, even for a corpse, it is shockingly out of place."
并且還要讓人震驚于它的發現地點"
And Auden in fact anticipated a great deal of more recent literary
事實上，奧登在他寫的時候期待
theorizing about detective novels when he wrote.
最近文學中有更多關于偵探小說的理論
I'm quoting "the detective story society (cast of characters)
原句是"偵探小說的社會(角色表)
is a society consisting of apparently innocent individuals.
是一個明顯有很多無辜個體的社會
The murder is the act of disruption by which innocence is lost.
謀殺就是謀害無辜個體的行為
The fantasy, then, which the detective story addict indulges in
偵探小說所讓人上癮沉迷的
is the fantasy of being restored to the garden of Eden
就是讓人恢復到伊甸園的那種幻想
to a state of innocence."
回到一種無罪的狀態"
Val McDermid makes a similar point.
瓦爾·麥克德米德提出過相似的觀點
"Oxford," she says, "is a beautiful city,
她說:"牛津是個美麗的城市
murder, the ugliest of crimes.
謀殺是最丑陋的犯罪
The university is a place of intellect, of pure reason
大學是個純粹智慧的地方
Murder is a reminder of how corporally mortal we all are."
謀殺提醒了我們都是凡人"
Crime fiction flourishes in Oxford on this reading
犯罪小說在牛津閱讀文學中快速發展
because the city in real life is a relative haven,
因為在現實生活中這個城市是個相對的天堂
with a level of violent crime well below the national average.
它的暴力犯罪率遠低于國家平均水平
When fictional detectives solve fictional crimes in fictional Oxford,
當虛構的偵探小說解決了虛構的牛津中發生的虛構罪行
their success is important to us to the reader,
他們的成功對于我們對于讀者是十分重要的
because that restores order,it sets wrongs right,
因為它恢復秩序，撥亂反正
and it makes possible for us to continue to believe
并且它可以讓我們繼續相信
in an Oxford of golden stone, green lawns,
牛津有著金色的石頭，綠色的草坪
and high minded intellectuals.
和高智商的知識分子
In this sense, all Oxford detective fiction is nostalgic,
從這個意義上來說，所有牛津偵探小說都是懷舊的
is an exercise of restoration and reassurance.
是一種修復和安慰
