Why should you read Tolstoy's "War and Peace"? - Brendan Pelsue

譯者: Crystal Yip

"War and Peace,"

《戰爭與和平》

a tome,

一部巨著

a slog,

一部苦心經營之作

the sort of book you shouldn't read in bed because if you fall asleep,

這類書你不應作睡前讀物 因為如果你睡著了

it could give you a concussion, right?

它可能會重重打在你的腦袋，對嗎？

Only partly.

只答對了一點

"War and Peace" is a long book, sure,

當然，《戰爭與和平》篇幅長

but it's also a thrilling examination of history,

但它同時是扣人心弦的史鑑

populated with some of the deepest, most realistic characters you'll find anywhere.

隨處可見一些最深刻、最寫實的角色

And if its length intimidates you, just image how poor Tolstoy felt.

如果它的長度嚇怕了你 試想像可憐的托爾斯泰會怎樣想

In 1863, he set out to write a short novel about a political dissident

1863 年 他著手寫一部短篇小說

描述一位從西伯利亞 流放回來的政治異見者

returning from exile in Siberia.

Five years later, he had produced a 1,200 page epic

五年後，他寫完了 長達 1,200 頁的史詩式巨著

featuring love stories,

涵蓋愛情故事

battlefields,

bankruptcies,

戰場

破產

firing squads,

行刑隊

religious visions,

宗教理念

the burning of Moscow,

莫斯科大火

and a semi-domesticated bear,

和一隻半馴養的熊

but no exile and no political dissidents.

書中並沒提到流放和政治異見者

Here's how it happened.

寫書的過程如下

Tolstoy, a volcanic soul,

托爾斯泰脾氣暴躁

was born to a famously eccentric aristocratic family in 1828.

1828 年出生於 極有名望的貴族家庭

By the time he was 30, he had already dropped out of Kazan University,

30 歲前，他已從喀山大學退學

gambled away the family fortune,

因賭博輸掉家財

joined the army,

曾參軍

written memoirs,

寫了回憶錄

and rejected the literary establishment to travel Europe.

排斥文學界，到歐洲旅行

He then settled into Yasnaya Polyana, his ancestral mansion,

及後他住在家族大宅 亞斯納亞—博利爾納莊園

to write about the return of the Decembrists,

書寫有關「十二月黨人」的歸來

a band of well-born revolutionaries pardoned in 1856 after 30 years in exile.

這些出身良好的革命者

經 30 年的流放 於 1856 年受到赦免

But, Tolstoy thought,

但托爾斯泰覺得

how could he tell the story of the Decembrists return from exile

他怎能只說「十二月黨人」 從流放歸來

without telling the story of 1825,

而不提及 1825 年

when they revolted against the conservative Tsar Nicholas I?

他們起義反抗 保守的尼古拉一世的故事？

And how could he do that without telling the story of 1812,

若是如此 他又怎能不說 1812 年

when Napoleon's disastrous invasion of Russia

拿破崙大舉入侵俄羅斯

helped trigger the authoritarianism the Decembrists were rebelling against?

催生專制主義 成為「十二月黨人」反抗的對象

And how could he tell the story of 1812 without talking about 1805,

而若記述 1812 年的故事 又怎可不提 1805 年

when the Russians first learned of the threat Napoleon posed

俄羅斯人敗於奧斯特里茨戰役 初嚐拿破崙帶來的威脅

after their defeat at the Battle of Austerlitz?

So Tolstoy began writing,

所以托爾斯泰開始書寫

both about the big events of history

歷史重大事件

and the small lives that inhabit those events.

和經歷那些事件的人物生活

He focused on aristocrats, the class he knew best.

他專寫他最了解的貴族階級

The book only occasionally touches

此書只偶而提及

on the lives of the vast majority of the Russian population,

俄羅斯普羅大眾的生活

who were peasants, or even serfs,

他們有些是農民 有些甚至是農奴

farmers bound to serve the owners of the land on which they lived.

農奴受制而服務當地地主

"War and Peace" opens on the eve of war between France and Russia.

《戰爭與和平》開始於 俄法戰爭的前夕

Aristocrats at a cocktail party fret about the looming violence,

貴族在雞尾酒會 為迫在眉睫的戰事而煩惱

but then change the topic to those things aristocrats always seem to care about:

但後來轉談他們經常關心的話題：

money,

金錢

sex,

性

and death.

和死亡

This first scene is indicative

這第一幕顯示了

of the way the book bounces between the political and personal

書中來回轉換於政治和個人之間

over an ever-widening canvas.

打開漸漸寬廣的畫布

There are no main characters in "War and Peace."

《戰爭與和平》沒有主角

Instead, readers enter a vast interlocking web

反而，讀者進入一個龐雜交錯的

of relationships and questions.

關係和問題網絡

Will the hapless and illegitimate son of a count

貴族的倒楣私生子會和 美麗但放蕩的公爵女兒結婚嗎？

marry a beautiful but conniving princess?

Will his only friend survive the battlefields of Austria?

他唯一的朋友能於 奧地利戰場上倖存嗎？

And what about that nice young girl falling in love with both men at once?

那位同時愛上兩位男士的 可愛少女又會如何呢？

Real historical figures mix and mingle with all these fictional folk,

真實的歷史人物 與虛構人物交錯出現

Napoleon appears several times,

拿破崙出現了好幾次

and even one of Tolstoy's ancestors plays a background part.

甚至托爾斯泰的一位祖先 也擔當了背景角色

But while the characters and their psychologies are gripping,

但當角色和他們的心理 正抓緊讀者的心

Tolstoy is not afraid to interrupt the narrative

托爾斯泰不怕會中斷他的故事

to pose insightful questions about history.

而對歷史提出深刻問題

Why do wars start?

戰爭為何開始？

What are good battlefield tactics?

甚麼是好戰術？

Do nations rise and fall on the actions of so-called great men like Napoleon,

國家興衰是否繫於偉人──如拿破崙

或是有更大的文化和經濟力量驅動？

or are there larger cultural and economic forces at play?

These extended digressions are part of what make "War and Peace"

這些延伸討論是《戰爭與和平》 如此包羅萬象的原因之一

so panoramic in scope.

But for some 19th century critics,

但一些 19 世紀的評論家

this meant "War and Peace" barely felt like a novel at all.

則認為這些討論使 《戰爭與和平》不似小說

It was a "large, loose, baggy monster," in the words of Henry James.

亨利·詹姆斯說它是 「大型、散亂、鬆垮的怪物」

Tolstoy, in fact, agreed.

事實上，托爾斯泰同意他的說詞

To him, novels were a western European form.

對他來說，小說是一種西歐文體

Russian writers had to write differently because Russian people lived differently.

俄國作家需別種書寫 因俄國人有不同的生活方式

"What is 'War and Peace'?" he asked.

他問「《戰爭與和平》是甚麼？」

"It is not a novel.

「這不是小說

Still less an epic poem.

談不上是史詩

Still less a historical chronicle.

也談不上是歷史記錄

'War and Peace' is what the author wanted and was able to express

《戰爭與和平》是作者表達所想所能

in the form in which it was expressed."

並如如地表達出來」

It is, in other words, the sum total of Tolstoy's imaginative powers,

換言之，這書是 托爾斯泰想像力的總合

and nothing less.

別無其他

By the time "War and Peace" ends,

在《戰爭與和平》的結尾

Tolstoy has brought his characters to the year 1820,

托爾斯泰只將他的角色寫到 1820 年

36 years before the events he originally hoped to write about.

那是他原本想寫的事件的 36 年前

In trying to understand his own times,

為了嘗試理解他的時代

he had become immersed in the years piled up behind him.

他沉浸於背後多年的歷史

The result is a grand interrogation into history,

結果成就一場偉大的詰問

culture,

涉及歷史

文化

philosophy,

哲學

psychology,

心理

and the human response to war.

和人對於戰爭的反應