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)一個驚天謊言,兒時的噩夢再度重演,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(170)的精彩內(nèi)容吧!
“Good. I’ll tell you,” he said. “I spent some time in jail, at Poleh-Charkhi, just after Babrak Karmal took over in 1980. I ended up there one night, when a group of Parc hami soldiers marched into our house and ordered my father and me at gun point to follow them. The bastards didn’t give a reason, and they wouldn’t answer my mother’s questions. Not that it was a mys tery; everyone knew the communists had no class. They came from poor families with no name. The same dogs who weren’t fit to lick my shoes before the Shorawi came were now ordering me at gunpoint, Parchami flag on their lapels, making their little point about the fall of the bourgeoisie and acting like they were the ones with class. It was happening all over: Round up the rich, throw them in jail, make an example for the comrades.
“Anyway, we were crammed in groups of six in these tiny cells each the size of a refrigerator. Every night the commandant, a haif-Hazara, half-Uzbek thing who smelled like a rotting donkey, would have one of the prisoners dragged out of the cell and he’d beat him until sweat poured from his fat face. Then he’d light a cigarette, crack his joints, and leave. The next night, he’d pick someone else. One night, he picked me. It couldn’t have come at a worse time. I’d been peeing blood for three days. Kidney stones. And if you’ve never had one, believe me when I say it’s the worst imaginable pain. My mother used to get them too, and I remember she told me once she’d rather give birth than pass a kidney stone. Anyway, what could I do? They dragged me out and he started kick ing me. He had knee-high boots with steel toes that he wore every night for his little kicking game, and he used them on me. I was screaming and screaming and he kept kicking me and then, suddenly, he kicked me on the left kidney and the stone passed. Just like that! Oh, the relief!” Assef laughed. “And I yelled ‘Allah-u akbar’ and he kicked me even harder and I started laughing. He got mad and hit me harder, and the harder he kicked me, the harder I laughed. They threw me back in the cell laughing. I kept laughing and laughing because suddenly I knew that had been a message from God: He was on my side. He wanted me to live for a reason.
“You know, I ran into that commandant on the battlefield a few years later--funny how God works. I found him in a trench just outside Meymanah, bleeding from a piece of shrapnel in his chest. He was still wearing those same boots. I asked him if he remembered me. He said no. I told him the same thing I just told you, that I never forget a face. Then I shot him in the balls. I’ve been on a mission since.”
“What mission is that?” I heard myself say. “Stoning adulterers? Raping children? Flogging women for wearing high heels? Massacring Hazaras? All in the name of Islam?” The words spilled suddenly and unexpectedly, came out before I could yank the leash. I wished I could take them back. Swallow them. But they were out. I had crossed a line, and whatever little hope I had of getting out alive had vanished with those words.
A look of surprise passed across Assef’s face, briefly, and disappeared. “I see this may turn out to be enjoyable after all,” he said, snickering. “But there are things traitors like you don’t understand.”
“Like what?”
“很好,我來告訴你。 ”他說,“我在監(jiān)獄里面度過了一段時間,在波勒卡其區(qū), 1980年,就在巴布拉克 ?卡爾邁勒 [BabrakKarmal(1929~1996), 1979年至 1986年任阿富汗總統(tǒng)]掌權(quán)之后不久。我被逮捕那天晚上,一群士兵沖進(jìn)我家,用槍口指著父親和我,勒令我們跟他們走。那些混蛋連個理由都沒說,也不回答我母親的問題。那也不算什么秘密,誰都知道新政府仇恨有錢人。他們出身貧賤,就是這些狗,俄國佬打進(jìn)來之前連舔我的鞋子都不配,現(xiàn)在用槍口指著我,向我下令。他們手臂別著新政府的旗幟,胡言亂語說什么有錢人統(tǒng)統(tǒng)該死,仿佛他們翻身的日子到了一樣。到處都是這樣的事情,沖進(jìn)富人家里,將他們投入監(jiān)獄,給志同道合者樹立起榜樣?!?br />“不管怎么說,我們六人一組,被塞在冰箱大小的牢房里。每天晚上,有個軍官,一個半哈扎拉、半烏茲別克的東西,身上發(fā)出爛驢子的臭味,會將一個犯人拖出牢房,恣意毆打,直到那張肥臉滴著汗水方才罷休。然后他會點(diǎn)香煙,舒展筋骨,走出監(jiān)獄。進(jìn)去那夜,他選了別人。有一晚,他挑中我。真是糟糕透頂,我那時患了腎結(jié)石,尿了三天血。如果你沒得過腎結(jié)石,請相信我,那是你所能想像到的痛苦中最厲害的一種。我媽媽過去也患過,我記得有一次,她對我說,她寧愿生孩子,也好過得腎結(jié)石。但是,我能做什么呢?他們將我拖出去,他開始踢我。他穿有鐵鞋尖的及膝長靴,每天晚上都到這里來玩踢人游戲。他也用它們踢我。他不斷踢,我不斷慘叫,突然之間,他踢中我的左腎,結(jié)石被擠出來了。就是那樣!啊,解脫!”阿塞夫大笑,“我高喊‘真主偉大’,他踢得更加厲害了,我開始哈哈大笑。他氣得發(fā)瘋,使勁踢我;但他踢得越重,我笑得越響。他們將我扔回牢房的時候,我仍在發(fā)笑。我笑個不停,因為突然之間,我得到了真主的指示:他就在我身上。他要我為了某個目標(biāo)活下去?!?br />“你知道嗎,隔了幾年,我在戰(zhàn)場撞見那個軍官——真主的行為真是幽默。我在梅曼那[Meymanah,阿富汗西北部省份法里亞布( Faryab)首府 ]附近的戰(zhàn)壕找到他,胸口插著一塊彈片,流血不止。他還是穿著那雙靴子。我問記不記得我,他說不記得了。我把剛才告訴你的跟他說了,我從來不會忘記人們的臉。我開槍射他的睪丸。自那以后,我就有了使命。”
“什么使命?”我聽見自己說,“對偷情的人扔石頭?強(qiáng)奸兒童?鞭打穿高跟鞋的婦女?屠殺哈扎拉人?而這一切都以伊斯蘭的名義?”突然間,始料不及的是,我還沒來得及勒住韁繩,這些話就統(tǒng)統(tǒng)跑出來。我希望我能將它們抓回來,吞下肚。但它們跑出來了。我越線了,活著走出這間房子的希望隨著這些話溜走。
詫異的神情在阿塞夫臉上一閃而過?!拔矣X得這畢竟算是享受?!彼湫χf,“但是,有些事情,像你這樣的叛國之徒永遠(yuǎn)不會懂?!?br />“比如說? ”