The secret formula to Agatha Christie's murder mysteries - Jamie Bernthal

翻译人员: C Cheng 校对人员: Yip Yan Yeung

Agatha Christie is the best-selling novelist of all time.

阿加莎·克里斯蒂是史上 最成功的畅销小说作家。

But in 1916, she wasn’t even the most promising writer in her family.

然而在 1916 年的时候，她甚至不是 家中最有前景的作家。

Her older sister Madge had already written several short stories,

她的姐姐马奇 (Madge) 已经创作了数篇短篇小说，

while Agatha hadn’t published any.

而阿加莎还没有发表过任何作品。

So when Agatha shared her desire to write a mystery novel,

因此当阿加莎表示 她想要写一部悬疑小说时，

Madge scoffed.

马奇对此嗤之以鼻。

She bet that Agatha wouldn’t be able to create a compelling mystery—

她打赌，阿加莎写不出 引人入胜的悬疑小说，

and certainly not something she couldn't solve.

而且没有什么谜团是她马奇解不开的。

Today, the novel that came of that bet

如今，除了这部因打赌 而创作的小说外，

stands alongside almost 100 other mysteries written by Christie,

克里斯蒂完成了 将近 100 多部悬疑小说。

each one a cleverly constructed puzzle box

每一部都是一个构造精巧的迷盒，

of clues, misdirection, and human drama.

里面充满了各种线索、误导， 和发生在人们当中的戏剧性事件。

So let's investigate how she crafted these perfect crimes.

让咱们来研究一下，她是如何 打造出这些完美的犯罪小说的。

Christie designed her stories in many ways,

克里斯蒂设计 故事情节的方法有很多种，

but one of the most important decisions was the setting.

但是确定故事发生的场景是重中之重。

From a remote island to a snow-stalled train car,

不论是一座地处偏远的岛屿， 还是一节困在积雪中的火车车厢，

she favored locations isolated from society.

克里斯蒂青睐于那些与世隔绝的地点。

By restricting the scope of her stories,

通过限制故事场景的规模，

Christie limited possible suspects and built tension

克里斯蒂将嫌疑人 控制在了有限的范围之内。

由于凶手及其他小说人物 都不得不留在原地，

by forcing characters to stay put—

even with a killer among them.

克里斯蒂借此制造了故事的紧张局面。

Sometimes she further heightened the drama

有时为了进一步加强故事的戏剧效果，

by making the characters strangers,

她会将角色设定为陌生人，

unsure who they can trust.

没人能够确定 谁才是自己可以信赖的人。

But while her settings are eerie and extraordinary,

然而，她笔下的场景虽然诡异离奇，

her characters are just the opposite.

但是故事人物却截然相反。

One of the biggest criticisms of Christie’s novels

围绕克里斯蒂的小说， 有几条十分重要的批评意见，

is that they’re full of two-dimensional people.

其中一条是人物形象扁平。

But Christie avoided complex characters for a reason.

但是克里斯蒂避免刻画 复杂的人物形象是有原因的。

By reducing people to a handful of simple traits,

用几条简单特征来概括人物形象，

she provided readers with predictable suspects.

为的是便于读者预测嫌疑犯。

Well, usually predictable.

嗯，一般而言，是有预知性的。

Christie also used the audience's expectations against them.

克里斯蒂还会利用读者的预期 来制造反预期效果。

However, this typecasting sometimes relied on

然而，人物形象类型化

通常是由当代读者熟知的 “负面刻板印象”导致的。

what contemporary readers know to be harmful stereotypes.

She frequently caricatured particular occupations and ethnic groups

她常常将某些从事特定职业， 或者来自特定种族的人物漫画化，

for comic effect,

以此来制造喜剧效果，

reinforcing the prejudices of her time.

从而加深了那个时代的社会偏见。

This is certainly not an element of Christie’s work worth emulating,

这当然不是克里斯蒂作品中 值得效仿之处，

and fortunately, many modern mystery writers

然而，幸运的是， 许多现代悬疑小说作家

have found less problematic ways to use this technique.

已经找到了既可借鉴这一技巧， 又不至于产生太多问题的方法。

Even when she got it wrong,

即便克里斯蒂有偏颇之处，

Christie worked to make her characters feel authentic.

但是经她雕琢之后， 人物仍然显得真实可信。

She closely observed the people around her,

她仔细观察周围的人，

and constantly scribbled down details from overheard conversations.

不断记下从别人的谈话中 偷听到的细节。

She would then rearrange these details to piece her mysteries together,

然后，她会重新组织这些细节， 将其拼凑成一个个谜团，

often switching who the murderer was as she worked.

写作进程中， 凶手的身份也会时常发生改变。

This approach kept information murky and disoriented even the sharpest readers.

这一手法让信息变得复杂难辨，

即使是思维异常敏锐的读者 也会觉得晕头转向。

However, there’s an important balance to strike

然而，在巧妙构思与制造困惑之间 需要保持一定的平衡。

between being clever and being confusing.

Nobody wants to read a predictable mystery,

没人想要读一则 可预知结果的悬疑故事，

but if things get too convoluted you can lose your reader altogether.

但是，如果故事太复杂了， 你可能会完全失去读者。

Christie handled this in part by keeping her language simple and accessible.

克里斯蒂使用简单易懂的语言， 部分解决了这个问题。

She used short sentences and clear, snappy dialogue

她用简短的句子，言简意赅的对话，

to help readers follow information.

来帮助读者了解掌握信息。

This kind of clarity is essential,

这种清晰明朗的文风是必不可少的，

because the best mysteries string their audience along

因为最出色的悬疑故事 会用精心布置的线索

with a carefully laid trail of clues.

来迷惑读者。

With Christie, a good clue is one the reader will remember,

在克里斯蒂的作品中，出色的线索是 那种令读者念念不忘，

but usually, fail to completely understand.

却常常不甚理解的线索。

For example, when a character cries that “Everything tastes foul today,”

比如，故事中有人大声抱怨道： “今天的酒水尝起来都很糟糕”，

just minutes before he dies,

然后，没过几分钟，此人就死了，

the reader races to determine who poisoned his beverage.

这时读者便会竞相推测 是谁在他的酒水里下了毒。

But they’re likely failing to truly consider this clue.

但是，他们可能并不会 充分思考这条线索。

If everything tasted foul that day,

如果那天的酒水尝起来都很糟糕的话，

then he’d been poisoned long before that drink.

那么他在饮用酒水之前就已经中了毒。

Christie also used clues to intentionally mislead her audience.

克里斯蒂还会特意设计一些 用来误导读者的线索。

For example, readers might recognize a clue associated with one suspect,

比如，读者可能会识别出 某条线索与嫌疑人相关，

only to learn that it was being used to frame them.

但是，没想到这条线索 是用来编造伪证的。

Other times, she built misdirection directly into the story’s structure—

有时，她会把误导信息 直接融入到故事结构中，

like when a narrator reporting the murder is revealed to be the killer.

比如，破案后发现，那个举报谋杀， 陈述案情的人正是幕后元凶。

Outside crime and clues,

除了犯罪事件和破案线索外，

there’s one more ingredient in Christie’s formula:

克里斯蒂的配方中还有另一种成分——

the detective.

侦探。

Christie created many sleuths,

克里斯蒂塑造了许多侦探形象，

but her most enduring are Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple.

但影响最持久的还要算 赫尔克里·波洛和简·马普尔小姐。

Neither this petit Belgian refugee nor this elderly amateur detective

一位是不起眼的比利时难民， 另一位则是上了年纪的业余侦探，

are traditional heroes.

二者都不是传统观念中的英雄人物。

But their outsider status is exactly what helps them slip past security

然而正是其局外人的身份， 帮助他们绕过了人们的安全警戒，

and make suspects let their guard down.

让嫌疑人放松了戒心。

As you might have guessed, Agatha won her sister’s bet.

你们大概已经猜到了， 阿加莎赌赢了姐姐。

Her eccentric detectives, clever clues, and simplified suspects

在她笔下，那些性格古怪的侦探， 设计巧妙的线索，形象简单的嫌疑犯

form a blueprint that has stumped countless readers.

构成了一张难倒无数读者的蓝图。

And now that you've uncovered her strategies,

你已经探明了克里斯蒂的创作策略，

the only mystery left is what stories you can tell with these secrets.

现在就只剩下一个有待破解的谜团： 你会用这些秘密方法讲述怎样的故事？