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Still in Books and Arts; Book Review;Short stories; Of moose and men
文藝；書評；短篇故事；駝鹿和人；
Light Lifting. By Alexander MacLeod.
《輕量級舉重》亞歷山大·麥克勞德。
A good novel woos its readers, tantalizes them with glimpses of flesh and gradually lures them into a world from which they later emerge changed. Short stories, by contrast, rely on instant attraction and immediate gratification. If they are good they leave one hungry for the next encounter. More often, though, they leave the reader slightly jarred, looking for greater fulfilment.
上乘小說總是招致讀者追捧，運用肉體吸引讀者，使讀者沉浸在完全迥異的世界。對比而言，短篇小說依靠即時吸引力和直接的滿足感。小說如是能吸引讀者，讀者渴望遭遇下一次火花碰撞。短篇小說時常使讀者動搖，以獲得更大的滿足。
Alexander MacLeod does not. His brilliant debut collection, “Light Lifting”, is engrossing, thrilling and ultimately satisfying; each story has the weight of a novel. The young Canadian writer is already winning plaudits in his own country. He can expect acclaim far beyond.
而亞歷山大·麥克勞德卻不。 他的新詩集《輕量級舉重》，引人入勝，驚心動魄，讀者能從中獲得滿足。每一篇故事都是重量級的小說。這位年輕的加拿大作家已在他的家鄉贏得滿堂喝彩。他有望在千里之外贏得掌聲。
These seven stories grip partly because they are long enough to immerse the reader totally. A good storyteller knows far more about his characters and settings than he shares with his audience. Mr MacLeod passes this test: though he plunges the reader into fully formed worlds, he leaves out just the right amount.
七個故事扣人心弦，部分原因是他們足以使讀者沉浸其中而無法自拔。一個擅長講故事的人不只是分享他的故事，而是對人物和背景也運籌帷幄。麥克勞德經得起考驗；使讀者沉浸在完全刻畫的世界，而他卻實時的抽身離開。
But it is the beautiful writing that really carries this book. The choice of words is spare, simple and unaffected, and the rhythm is perfect: despite the sadness that overlays many pieces, they flow with the comforting lull of a bedtime story.
正是這些優美措辭成就了這本小說。小說用詞犀利簡煉，純樸而不矯揉造作。還有那完美的旋律;除了字里行間流露出的傷感，小說洋溢著鼓舞人心的動聽故事。
The first story, “Miracle Mile”, is the best. It mesmerizes from its opening: “This was the day after Mike Tyson bit off Evander Holyfield’s ear.” Narrated by a competitive runner, it captures the minutiae of pre-race nerves—the “hiss” of a coach’s hydraulic door ; the temperature “just inching its way over toward cool”—as well as the “miraculous desperation” that is winning.
第一個故事，“長跑奇跡”是最成功的故事。開場就吸引讀者：“邁克爾·泰森咬掉霍利菲爾德耳朵那一天”。故事以競跑著的口吻敘述，捕捉賽前種種細節：液壓門的嘶嘶聲。酷爽天氣中掠過一絲絲熱浪，不可思議的絕望也隨之而來。
These are unflinching tales not of heroism, so much, but of survival. The most experimental piece, “Wonder about Parents”, snatches scenes from different homes. One family launches a crusade against headlice the “size of a poppy seed”, raking out hair night after night, “kids scratched raw”. Another drives cross-country through a snowstorm with their sick four-month-old daughter; the Christmas tree in the hospital bears a sign: “These gifts are empty boxes. Please refrain from opening.”
小說也不乏堅定的非英雄主義人物，得以幸存。最具挑戰性的章節“父母的迷惘”從不同家庭中捕捉場景。一個家庭展開對罌粟種子大的頭虱的圍剿行動，夜以繼日的梳理頭發，“孩子們刮傷了頭皮”。另一家在暴風雪中驅車穿過田野，車上是四歲的生病的女兒。醫院的圣誕樹象征：“這些禮物只是空盒子，請抑制打開的欲望。”
Other stories capture the consequences of a single moment when the ordinary tips into the extraordinary: in the title story a secondary schooler gets embroiled in a bar brawl on the last day of a summer job; in “Adult Beginner I”, after a woman nearly drowns in the ocean, fear becomes “a biological fact” in her life.
另一個故事通過記錄某個時刻，從尋常中挖掘不尋常。在暑期工作的最后一天中等學校學者卷入酒吧斗毆 ；在”成年人的初學者1”中，一和女人即將在海中溺水身亡，恐懼成為她人生中”生理現象”。
Much fiction is narrated by outsiders, but in Mr MacLeod’s imagination being an outlier depends on the context. In “The Loop”, for example, a cycle courier stands out as an able-bodied, right-minded youth among the fat, elderly and invalid people to whom he delivers medication.
眾多小說是局外人敘述，但在麥克勞德的小說是靠上下文來決定敘述的。例如在“環“這個故事中描寫身體強壯，剛直不阿的年輕人和一群體型肥胖的殘疾老人，而后者引發讀者思索。
Not every story in “Light Lifting” is perfect. A couple could be tighter; the male characters are better formed than the female ones. But these are small niggles in a stunning work. Mr MacLeod’s next contribution will be eagerly anticipated.
《輕量級舉重》中并不是每個故事都那么完美無缺。男性人物形象比女性更容易塑造。在繁瑣細節中展現宏偉主題。讀者急切盼望麥克勞德下一個創作。
