And then there were none 无人生还,阿加莎克里斯蒂之二
Description
One little boy left all alone; he went and hanged himself And then there were None. 最畅销经典的密室杀人小说,来考验你的智商。看阿加莎如何密密织就连环杀人案,个个揭破人性的黑暗与不堪。我的最爱,吐血推荐。
The plot itself is very interesting. Ten strangers are invited to Soldier Island, an isolated island (孤岛), under different reasons. One by one, they are murdered. It soon becomes clear that one of these ten strangers are the murderer, adhering(秉承) to the nursery poem of ten little soldiers.
大家记得我们刚刚开始学英文的时候,有首英文歌教英文数数,1 到 10 怎么说,one little two little three little Indians,记得吧?这首儿歌有很多不同版本,广为流传,这首儿歌就是这篇小说的灵感来源,全篇小说里一再回放。我们请LIndsay 来读一下。
Ten little soldier boys went out to dine; one choked his little self and then there were Nine.
nine little soldier boys sat up very late; one overslept himself and then there were Eight.
Eight little soldier boys travelling in Devon; One said he’d stay there and then there were Seven.
Seven little soldier boys chopping up sticks; One chopped himself in halves and then there were Six.
Six little soldier boys playing with a hive(蜂窝); a bumble bee stung one and then there were Five.
Five little soldier boys going in for law; one got into Chancery and then there were Four.
Four little soldier boys going out to sea; a red herring (一种鱼)swallowed one and then there were Three.
Three little soldier boys walking in the Zoo; A big bear hugged one and then there were Two.
Two little soldier boys sitting in the sun; one got frizzled up (烤干了)and then there was One.
One little soldier boy left all alone; he went and hanged himself.. And then there were None .
And then there were none, 正如这首儿童诗里说的,十个人一个接一个的死掉了,无人生还。
The first death seems like suicide (自杀), the second is also seems like a suicide. But two deaths is too much of a coincidence(巧合), so the rest begin to investigate(调查). They desperately(绝望地) want to resolve who the murderer is. But in the meantime, they seem realize that they would all face their own fate. Each person begins to lose hope. Gradually, each person is murdered in similar ways like the poem states, until there are only two people left. One gets shot and the last person, driven by guilt, conscience, and other feelings of almost insanity, hangs themself. In the epilogue, the true murderer is revealed.
故事的展开背景是一个孤岛,封闭的环境,very typical setting for Agatha story。One by one, 一个接一个,悬疑神秘,欲罢不能,阿加莎能够制造出这么一种身边人死得不明不白的恐怖。谁都不想认命,既互相猜疑谁是凶手又互相依靠探寻罪犯,同时,又不得不宿命地等待他们的结局。
These strangers are all have normal jobs in their daily lives. However, they all have something in the past that they try to hide and suffer from. The mysterious murderer knows their past, their dark secret, which is revealed later that they all have murdered somebody. Each murder is not directed by their own hand, is not made by sticking swords into a person or shooting somebody. It is the way they act, the things they do, that kill another.
所有被害人身上都沾着别人的血,这是他们最深的秘密,他们逃出了法网,却没有逃出死于非命的命运。克里斯蒂的小说好得绝不仅仅是小说逻辑上的丝丝入扣,描写生动,最重要的是她对人性的洞察与拿捏,每个人都背负着罪孽,但每个人都似乎不得不如此选择,每个人都似乎是身边的普通人,但是每个人又都是暗藏的凶手和被害人,这种为命运挟裹不由自主,在这本小说里,可说是到了巅峰,极为精彩。
The plot itself is indeed quick and interesting as all of agatha Christie’s novels are. Each murder victims on the island were killed in order of guilt (负罪)and type of crime. The reason why i love this novel so much is because of how hidden the murderer is, of how simple and obvious the clues are and yet you can never notice it. This book is a perfect example of Agatha Christie’s storytelling method: subtle yet direct, playing on the nature of human conscience(良心). Words can’t bring this masterpiece to justice.