Why should you read “Midnight’s Children”? - Iseult Gillespie

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Carol Wang

It begins with a countdown.

開始就是倒計時場景：

On August 14th, 1947,

1947 年八月十四日，

a woman in Bombay goes into labor as the clock ticks towards midnight.

隨著時鐘指針漸漸走向午夜， 孟買的一名女子開始分娩。

Across India, people hold their breath for the declaration of independence

全印度的人都在摒息等待著

英國佔據和統治了近兩個世紀 之後終於要宣佈的獨立。

after nearly two centuries of British occupation and rule.

And at the stroke of midnight,

午夜鐘響時分，

a squirming infant and two new nations are born in perfect synchronicity.

一名蠕動的嬰兒和兩個新國家

同時誕生。

These events form the foundation of "Midnight’s Children,"

這些事件是《午夜之子》的基礎，

a dazzling novel by the British-Indian author Salman Rushdie.

《午夜之子》是英國／印度作家 薩爾曼魯西迪所寫的迷人小說。

The baby who is the exact same age as the nation is Saleem Sinai,

和國家完全同年齡的寶寶 叫做撒利姆撒奈伊，

the novel’s protagonist.

即該書的主角。

His narrative stretches over 30 years of his life,

故事講的是他三十多年的生活，

jumping backwards and forwards in time to speculate on family secrets

在不同時間點之間切換， 來推測家族的秘密，

and deep-seated mysteries.

以及深藏的神秘之謎，

These include the greatest enigma of all: Saleem has magic powers,

包括一個最大的謎：撒利姆的魔法。

and they’re somehow related to the time of his birth.

他的魔法和他的出生 似乎有某種關係，

And he’s not the only one.

他並非唯一的一位。

All children born in and around the stroke of midnight

所有在午夜前後出生的孩子

are imbued with extraordinary powers;

都擁有不凡的力量；

like Parvati the Witch, a spectacular conjurer;

比如女巫帕華蒂是個出色的巫師；

and Saleem’s nemesis Shiva, a gifted warrior.

撒利姆的死敵希瓦， 則是有天賦的戰士。

With his powers of telepathy,

運用心靈感應的能力，

Saleem forges connections with a vast network of the children of midnight—

撒利姆和一個大型的午夜之子 網路建立了連結 ——

including a figure who can step through time and mirrors,

成員包括一個能穿梭於 時間和鏡子當中的人、

a child who changes their gender when immersed in water,

浸入水中就能改變性別的孩子，

and multilingual conjoined twins.

及會說多國語言且連體的雙胞胎。

Saleem acts as a delightful guide to magical happenings

撒利姆就像是個愉快的嚮導， 帶大家看魔法事件

and historical context alike.

以及歷史情境等。

Although his birthday is a day of celebration,

雖然他的生日是慶祝的日子，

it also marks a turbulent period in Indian history.

卻也是印度歷史上的動亂時期。

In 1948, the leader of the Indian independence movement,

1948 年，印度獨立運動的領導人

Mahatma Gandhi, was assassinated.

莫罕達斯甘地被刺身亡。

Independence also coincided with Partition,

獨立和印巴分治同時發生，

which divided British-controlled India

印巴分治將英國控制的印度分割為

into the two nations of India and Pakistan.

印度和巴基斯坦兩個國家。

This contributed to the outbreak of the Indo-Pakistani Wars in 1965 and 1971.

造成 1965 年及 1979 年

爆發的印巴戰爭。

Saleem touches on all this and more,

撒利姆會講到所有這些 以及更多其他內容，

tracing the establishment of Bangladesh in 1971

追溯到 1971 年 孟加拉共和國的建立，

and the emergency rule of Indira Gandhi.

以及英迪拉甘地的 非常時期統治方式。

This vast historical frame is one reason why "Midnight’s Children"

廣大的歷史框架，

是《午夜之子》被視為 史上最有啟蒙性的

is considered one of the most illuminating works of postcolonial literature

後殖民主義文學作品之一。

ever written.

This genre typically addresses the experience of people living in colonized

這類文學通常會把焦點放在描述 被殖民或曾經被殖民國家中的

and formerly colonized countries,

人民生活經歷，

and explores the fallout through themes like revolution, migration, and identity.

並探究後續的相關餘波，

題材包括革命、移民、身份。

Rushdie, who like Saleem was born in 1947, was educated in India and Britain,

魯西迪和撒利姆一樣生於 1947 年，

在印度和英國受教育，

and is renowned for his cross-continental histories, political commentary,

他的知名特色是跨洲的歷史、

政治評論以及魔法寫實主義。

and magical realism.

He enriches "Midnight’s Children" with a plethora of Indian

他在《午夜之子》中提及 大量印度和巴基斯坦文化，

and Pakistani cultural references,

讓作品更豐富，

from family traditions to food, religion and folktales.

內容從家庭傳統到食物、 宗教，及民間傳說都有。

Scribbling by night under the watchful eyes of his lover Padma,

晚上，在他的愛人派瑪的 密切留意之下潦草創作，

Saleem’s frame narrative echoes that of "1001 Nights,"

撒利姆的框架故事反映出 《一千零一夜》的框架故事，

where a woman named Scheherazade tells her king a series of stories

該作中，有名女子 叫做舍赫拉查達，

告訴她的國王一系列故事， 以保住自己的性命。

to keep herself alive.

And as Saleem sees it,

撒利姆的看法是，

1001 is “the number of night, of magic, of alternative realities.”

一千零一是

「夜晚、魔法，

和平行現實的數目。」

Over the course of the novel,

在小說的過程中，

Rushdie dazzles us with multiple versions of reality.

魯西迪的多種版本現實 讓讀者讚歎不已。

Sometimes, this is like reading a rollercoaster.

有時，就像是在閱讀雲霄飛車。

Saleem narrates:

撒利姆如此描述：

“Who what am I? My answer:

「我是誰？是什麼？

我的答案：

I am everyone everything whose being-in- the-world affected was affected by mine.

我是那些

存在於世受我影響的萬事萬物。

I am anything that happens after I’ve gone

我是那些在我死後

若沒有我就不會發生的每一事物。

which would not have happened if I had not come.

Nor am I particularly exceptional in this matter;

在這方面，我並沒有特別不同；

each 'I,' every one of the now-six- hundred-million-plus of us,

每個『我』，現在我們 六億人當中的每一個人，

contains a similar multitude.

都是如此眾多。

I repeat for the last time:

我再重覆最後一次：

to understand me, you’ll have to swallow a world.”

若要了解我，你就 得要吞下整個世界。」

Saleem’s narrative often has a breathless quality—

撒利姆的描述總是有 一種扣人心弦的特質——

and even as Rushdie depicts the cosmological consequences of a life,

即使魯西迪在描繪 生命的宇宙論後果時，

he questions the idea that we can ever condense history into a single narrative.

他也會質疑我們是否能夠 將歷史壓縮到單一故事當中。

His mind-bending plot and shapeshifting characters

他的燒腦情節和會變化無窮的角色

讓讀者持續著迷和稱讚。

have garnered continuing fascination and praise.

Not only did "Midnight’s Children" win the prestigious Man Booker Prize

《午夜之子》不僅在出版的那一年

贏得了很有名望的布克獎，

in its year of publication,

but in a 2008 competition that pitted all 39 winners against each other,

在 2008 年讓三十九位贏家 互相對抗的一項競賽中，

it was named the best of all the winners.

它還被選為贏家中的贏家。

In a masterpiece of epic proportions,

在這史詩級的傑作中，

Rushdie reveals that there are no singular truths—

魯西迪揭示出， 沒有單一的真相——

rather, it’s wiser to believe in several versions of reality at once,

比較明智的做法是同時 相信數個版本的真實，

hold many lives in the palms of our hands,

牢牢掌握住許多生命，

and experience multiple moments in a single stroke of the clock.

並在單一聲鐘響當中 體驗多重時刻。