12歲的阿富汗富家少爺阿米爾與仆人哈桑情同手足。然而,在一場風(fēng)箏比賽后,發(fā)生了一件悲慘不堪的事,阿米爾為自己的懦弱感到自責(zé)和痛苦,逼走了哈桑,不久,自己也跟隨父親逃往美國。
成年后的阿米爾始終無法原諒自己當(dāng)年對哈桑的背叛。為了贖罪,阿米爾再度踏上暌違二十多年的故鄉(xiāng),希望能為不幸的好友盡最后一點(diǎn)心力,卻發(fā)現(xiàn)一個(gè)驚天謊言,兒時(shí)的噩夢再度重演,阿米爾該如何抉擇?
故事如此殘忍而又美麗,作者以溫暖細(xì)膩的筆法勾勒人性的本質(zhì)與救贖,讀來令人蕩氣回腸。
下面就跟小編一起來欣賞雙語名著·追風(fēng)箏的人 The Kite Runner(128)的精彩內(nèi)容吧!
“I want you to go to KabuL I want you to bring Sohrab here,” he said.I struggled to find the right words. I’d barely had time to deal with the fact that Hassan was dead.“Please hear me. I know an American pair here in Peshawar, a husband and wife named Thomas and Betty Caldwell. They are Christians and they run a small charity organization that they manage with private donations. Mostly they house and feed Afghan children who have lost their parents. I have seen the place. It’s clean and safe, the children are well cared for, and Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell are kind people. They have already told me that Sohrab would be welcome to their home and--”
“Rahim Khan, you can’t be serious.” “Children are fragile, Amir Jan. Kabul is already full of broken children and I don’t want Sohrab to become another.”“Rahim Khan, I don’t want to go to Kabul. I can’t!” I said.
“Sohrab is a gifted little boy. We can give him a new life here, new hope, with people who would love him. Thomas agha is agood man and Betty khanum is so kind, you should see how she treats those orphans.”“Why me? Why can’t you pay someone here to go? I’ll pay for it if it’s a matter of money.”“It isn’t about money, Amir!” Rahim Khan roared. “I’m a dying man and I will not be insulted! It has never been about money with me, you know that. And why you? I think we both know why it has to be you, don’t we?”I didn’t want to understand that comment, but I did. I understood it all too well. “I have a wife in America, a home, a career, and a family. Kabul is a dangerous place, you know that, and you’d have me risk everything for...“ I stopped.
“You know,” Rahim Khan said, “one time, when you weren’t around, your father and I were talking. And you know how he always worried about you in those days. I remember he said to me, ‘Rahim, a boy who won’t stand up for himself becomes a man who can’t stand up to anything.’ I wonder, is that what you’ve become?”I dropped my eyes.
“我要你到喀布爾去,我要你把索拉博帶到這里?!彼f。我搜腸刮肚,尋找恰當(dāng)?shù)脑~匯。我還來不及接受哈桑已然死去的事實(shí)。 “請聽我說。我認(rèn)識一對在白沙瓦的夫婦,丈夫叫約翰,妻子叫貝蒂?卡爾德威。他們是基督徒,利用私人募捐來的錢,開設(shè)了一個(gè)小小的慈善機(jī)構(gòu)。他們主要收容和撫養(yǎng)失去雙親的阿富汗兒童。那兒又干凈又安全,兒童得到很好的照料,卡爾德威先生和太太都是好人。他們已經(jīng)告訴我,歡迎索拉博到他們家去,而且……”
“拉辛汗,你不是說真的吧?”“兒童都很脆弱,親愛的阿米爾??Σ紶栆呀?jīng)有太多身心殘缺的孩子,我不希望索拉博也變成其中之一?!薄袄梁?,我不想去喀布爾,我不能去!”我說。
“索拉博是個(gè)有天分的小男孩。在這里我們可以給他新的生活、新的希望,這里的人們會愛護(hù)他。約翰老爺是個(gè)善良的人,貝蒂太太為人和善,你應(yīng)該去看看她如何照料那些孤兒?!薄盀槭裁词俏遥磕愀蓡岵换ㄥX請人去呢?如果是因?yàn)榻?jīng)濟(jì)問題,我愿意出錢?!薄澳呛湾X沒有關(guān)系,阿米爾!”拉辛汗大怒,“我是個(gè)快死的人了,我不想被侮辱!在我身上,從來沒有錢的問題,你知道的。至于為什么是你?我想我們都知道,為什么一定要你去,是嗎?”我不想明白他話中的機(jī)鋒,但是我清楚,我太清楚了。“我在美國有妻子、有房子、有事業(yè)、有家庭??Σ紶柺莻€(gè)危險(xiǎn)的地方,你知道的,你要我冒著失去一切的危險(xiǎn),就為了……”我停住不說。
“你知道嗎,”拉辛汗說,“有一次,你不在的時(shí)候,你爸爸和我在說話。而你知道他在那些日子里最擔(dān)心的是什么。我記得他對我說,‘拉辛,一個(gè)不能為自己挺身而出的孩子,長大之后只能是個(gè)懦夫?!以谙耄y道你變成這種人了嗎?”我垂下眼光。