A Thousand Splendid Suns

第一眼看到這本書時,就被書名”A Thousand Splendid Suns”吸引住了,再仔細看到這本書時,哦~原來是”The Kite Runner”作者Khaled Hosseini的另一本大作;再深入閱讀時,It’s fascinated. 我不禁這麼想.

雖然,這是一本很令人著迷的書;但是,這也是一本讓我看了快一年沒看完的書.

神奇的是,就算是事隔多月,當我再拿起來閱讀時,不需要偶像劇的”前集提要”,也不需往前倒帶,很自然地往下閱讀時,以前看過的片片段段,浮現腦中,啊~這就是文字的力量吧~

這是本什麼樣的書?我想這是一本以男性角度,用女性主義的框架,看待阿富汗戰亂動盪不安的背景,2個成長環境,跨時間不同的女性,卻又被命運緊緊綁在一起的故事.

此書共分4部份,去年,看完Mariam的悲慘人生,目前進度在第二部份,Laila的快樂時光,她的悲慘人生,待續中…

ps. 一天,在看書評時,才知道美麗的書名是來自一首伊朗詩人Saib-e-Tabrizi所寫,讚嘆喀布爾(KABUL)古城,原文是波斯文,感謝Dr. Josephine Davis的翻譯,給了作者這麼美麗的靈感 🙂

KABUL （17th Century）Saib-e-Tabrizi
Translated by Dr. Josephine Davis

Ah! How beautiful is Kabul encircled by her arid mountains
美麗的喀布爾啊！群山繞四旁
And Rose, of the trails of thorns she envies
她那叢生的荊棘，玫瑰也忌妒若狂
Her gusts of powdered soil, slightly sting my eyes
大風吹起她的微塵，刺痛我的雙眼
But I love her, for knowing and loving are born of this same dust
但我熱愛她，因這微塵誕生過阿舒翰與阿熱凡

My song exhalts her dazzling tulips
我稱頌她那明豔的鬱金香
And at the beauty of her trees, I blush
我為她葱郁的林木而歌唱
How sparkling the water flows from Pul-I-Bastaan!
從巴基斯坦橋流下的河水多麼清冽!
May Allah protect such beauty from the evil eye of man!
但願阿拉保佑這美景免受俗眼的汙染!

Khizr chose the path to Kabul in order to reach Paradise
基爾茲選擇了經過喀布爾走向天堂
For her mountains brought him close to the delights of heaven
讓他更接近上蒼的，是她的峰巒
From the fort with sprawling walls, A Dragon of protection
一條護城的神龍，在她巍峨的城牆上
Each stone is there more precious than the treasure of Shayagan
每一塊城磚的貴重，勝過價值連城的寶藏

Every street of Kabul is enthralling to the eye
喀布爾每條街道都令人目不轉睛
Through the bazaars, caravans of Egypt pass
埃及來的商旅穿行過座座市集
One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs
人們數不清她的屋頂上有多少輪皎潔的明月
And the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls
也數不清她的牆壁上之後那一千個燦爛的太陽

Her laughter of mornings has the gaiety of flowers
清晨，她的笑聲如同花兒一般歡快
Her nights of darkness, the reflections of lustrous hair
夜晚，她的漆黑好比秀髮似的烏亮
Her melodious nightingales, with passion sing their songs
她那些動人的夜鶯唱著美妙的曲調
Ardent tunes, as leaves enflamed, cascading from their throats
如焚燒的樹葉，它們唱的熱烈而悠揚

And I, I sing in the gardens of Jahanara, of Sharbara
而我，我在賈哈娜和沙爾芭拉的花園詠嘆
And even the trumpets of heaven envy their green pastures
連天堂的杜巴樹也忌妒它們的鬱鬱蒼蒼