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Ring Lardner

理發

通過講述惡作劇者吉姆被他經常做弄的對象——傻瓜保爾打死的故事,小說《理發》不僅僅向讀者闡明善惡終有報的道理,更引起讀者對自己、對自己身邊的人與事、對現實社會的深深思考。拉德納的聲音是與眾不同的,它摒去你周圍的喧囂,讓你聽到他那有個性的話語,他講述著我們最熟悉的故事,而他的說話方式又是如此坦誠與直接。尤為突出的是拉德納的克制:他創造的人物如此平易近人,接近生活,在顯得可笑時,也不會忘了提醒我們在笑他們時也是在笑我們自己。

林?拉德納(Ring Lardner，1885-1933年)，美國體育新聞記者，幽默作家。為拉德納贏得文學聲譽的主要是他的短篇小說，他總共創作了130篇左右，刻畫了眾 多逼真的美國生活場景及人物肖像。他的這些短篇小說獲得了英美文學界中如F.S.費茨杰拉德、H.L.門肯、埃德蒙?威爾遜、弗吉尼亞?伍爾夫、V.S. 普里切特等人的激賞，被稱為是喬納森?斯威夫特以來下筆最一針見血的諷刺作家，也被認為是美國文學史上馬克?吐溫之后最優秀的幽默作家。

I got another barber that comes over from Carterville and helps me out Saturdays, but the rest of the time I can get along all right alone. You can see for yourself that this ain’t no New York: City and besides that, the most of the boys works all day and don’t have no leisure to drop in here and get themselves prettied up.

You’re a newcomer, ain’t you? I thought I hadn’t seen you round before. I hope you like it good enough to stay. As I say, we ain’t no New York City or Chicago, but we have pretty good times. Not as good, though, since Jim Kendall got killed. When he was alive, him and Hod Meyers used to keep this town in an uproar. I bet they was more laughin’ done here than any town its size in America.

Jim was comical, and Hod was pretty near a match for him. Since Jim’s gone, Hod tries to hold his end up just the same as ever, but it’s tough goin’ when you ain’t got nobody to kind of work with.

They used to be plenty fun in here Saturdays. This place is jampacked Saturdays, from four o’clock on. Jim and Hod would show up right after their supper round six o’clock. Jim would set himself down in that big chair, nearest the blue spittoon. Whoever had been settin’ in that chair, why they’d get up when Jim come in and at" it to him.

You’d of thought it was a reserved seat like they have sometimes in a theaytre. Hod would generally always stand or walk up and down or some Saturdays, of course, he’d be settin’ in this chair part of the time, gettin’ a haircut.

Well, Jim would set there a w’ile without opening his mouth only to spit, and then finally he’d say to me, "Whitey,"--my right name, that is, my right first name, is Dick, but everybody round here calls me Whitey--Jim would say, "Whitey, your nose looks like a rosebud tonight. You must of been drinkin’ some of your aw de cologne."

So I’d say, "No, Jim, but you look like you’d been drinkin’ something of that kind or somethin’ worse."

Jim would have to laugh at that, but then he’d speak up and say, "No, I ain’t had nothin’ to drink, but that ain’t sayin’ I wouldn’t like somethin’. I wouldn’t even mind if it was wood alcohol."