Today Will Be a Quiet Day

艾米·亨佩爾（Amy Hempel） 1951年出生于美國芝加哥，高中隨家人搬到加州的舊金山。亨佩爾先后就讀于惠提爾學院和舊金山州立大學，1982年參加哥倫比亞大學的寫作講習班，1985年出版了第一部小說集《活著的理由》（Reasons to Live），迅速引起出版界的關注。亨佩爾不是一位高產作家，自處女作發表后，僅出版了《在動物王國的門口》（At the Gates of the Animal Kingdom）、《舷側內傾》（Tumble Home）、《婚姻與狗》（The Dog of the Marriage）等三部小說集。亨佩爾是當代美國文學“極簡主義”的重要代表人物。她的寫作以短篇小說為主，對話多，篇幅短，看似簡單，實際上篇篇字斟句酌。她是一位文體感很強的作家。《今天將是安靜的一天》（Today Will Be a Quiet Day）是亨佩爾的一篇短篇小說，主要描寫了父親帶孩子出游的一天，充分體現了亨佩爾的寫作特色。

Excerpts1）

“I think it’s the other way around，” the boy said. “I think if the quake hit now the bridge would collapse and the ramps2） would be left.”

He looked at his sister with satisfaction.

“You are just trying to scare your sister，” the father said. “You know that is not true.”

“No， really，” the boy insisted， “and I heard birds in the middle of the night. Isn’t that a warning？”

The girl gave her brother a toxic look and ate a handful of Raisinets3）. The three of them were stalled in traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge.

That morning， before waking his children， the father had canceled their music lessons and decided to make a day of it. He wanted to know how they were， is all. Just—how were they. He thought his kids were as self-contained4） as one of those dogs you sometimes see carrying home its own leash. But you could read things wrong.

Could you ever.

The boy had a friend who jumped from a floor of Langley Porter5）. The friend had been there for two weeks， mostly playing Ping-Pong. All the friend said the day the boy visited and lost every game was never play Ping-Pong with a mental patient because it’s all we do and we’ll kill you. That night the friend had cut the red belt he wore in two and left the other half on his bed. That was this time last year when the boy was twelve years old.

You think you’re safe， the father thought， but it’s thinking you’re invisible because you closed your eyes.

* * *

This day they were headed for Petaluma6）—the chicken， egg， and arm-wrestling capital7） of the nation—for lunch. The father had offered to take them to the men’s arm-wrestling semifinals. But it was said that arm-wrestling wasn’t so interesting since the new safety precautions， that hardly anyone broke an arm or a wrist any more. The best anyone could hope to see would be dislocation8）， so they said they would rather go to Pete’s. Pete’s was a gas station turned into a place to eat. The hamburgers there were named after cars， and the gas pumps in front still pumped gas.

“Can I have one？” the boy asked， meaning the Raisinets.

“No，” his sister said.

“Can I have two？”

“Neither of you should be eating candy before lunch，” the father said. He said it with the good sport of a father who enjoys his kids and gets a kick out of saying Dad things.

“You mean dinner，” said the girl. “It will be dinner before we get to Pete’s.”

* * *

Only the northbound lanes were stopped. Southbound traffic flashed past at the normal speed.

“Check it out，” the boy said from the backseat. “Did you see the bumper sticker9） on that Porsche10）？ ‘If you don’t like the way I drive， stay off the sidewalk.’”

He spoke directly to his sister. “I’ve just solved my Christmas shopping.”

“I got the highest score in my class in Driver’s Ed11），” she said.

“I thought I would let your sister drive home today，” the father said.

From the backseat came sirens， screams for help， and then a dirge12）.

The girl spoke to her father in a voice rich with complicity13）. “Don’t people make you want to give up？”

“Don’t the two of you know any jokes？ I haven’t laughed all day，” the father said.

“Did I tell you the guillotine14） joke？” the girl said.

“He hasn’t laughed all day， so you must’ve，” her brother said.

The girl gave her brother a look you could iron clothes with. Then her gaze dropped down. “Oh-oh，” she said， “Johnny’s out of jail.”

Her brother zipped his pants back up. He said， “Tell the joke.”

* * *

“Two Frenchmen and a Belgian were about to be beheaded，” the girl began. “The first Frenchman was led to the block and blindfolded. The executioner let the blade go. But it stopped a quarter inch above the Frenchman’s neck. So he was allowed to go free， and ran off shouting， ‘C’est un miracle！ C’est un miracle！’”

“What does that mean？” her brother asked.

“It’s a miracle，” the father said.

“Then the second Frenchman was led to the block， and same thing—the blade stopped just before cutting off his head. So he got to go free， and ran off shouting， ‘C’est un miracle！’

“Finally the Belgian was led to the block. But before they could blindfold him， he looked up， pointed to the top of the guillotine， and cried， ‘Voilà la difficulté！15）’”

She doubled over.

“Maybe I would be wetting my pants if I knew what that meant，” the boy said.

“You can’t explain after the punchline16），” the girl said， “and have it still be funny.”

“There’s the problem，” said the father.

作品賞析

在短篇小說《今天將是安靜的一天》中，作者艾米·亨佩爾用平鋪直敘的筆法記錄了一家三口出游的一天。父親一大早開著車，帶著兒子和女兒離開舊金山，來到佩塔盧馬，一家人在由加油站改造的特色餐廳吃了頓午飯。午飯過后，由16歲的女兒開車，返程回家。到家后，父親和孩子們準備睡覺，一天到此結束。小說的標題“今天將是安靜的一天”來自于小說中父親說的一句話：“我們今天要安安靜靜過一天。”小說的標題突出了“安靜”這一字眼，但我們在閱讀中卻不難發現，嘈雜多，安靜少。13歲的兒子和16歲的女兒一路上不停地斗嘴：姐姐講笑話，弟弟抱怨笑話悶;弟弟講話，姐姐嫌吵。這是兩個十分聒噪的小孩，父親也時不時參與到他們的閑聊中。通篇讀下來，你會發現小說三分之二以上的篇幅由對話占據。

然而，在嘈雜之外，這部小說最令人著迷的地方是它內蘊的安靜。這是一種奇異的安靜，近乎空白，近乎傷感，近乎沒有意義，卻又含蘊深沉。首先，開篇不久，父親就開宗明義地表示今天要“安安靜靜過一天”。這句話預示著這一天會有大量的留白，日程不緊，心情不急。果然，小說描寫了一家人一系列無所事事的狀態。兒子和女兒一路上都在斗嘴，你一言我一語，說的都是雞毛蒜皮的小事。堵車就堵車，一家人沒有趕著上班或上學的焦躁。目的地是否如心中所想那么有趣，也沒有多大關系。回到家里，臨睡前一家三口各自鉆進自己的睡袋，有一搭沒一搭地聊天。一天就這樣過去了，沒有歇斯底里的情緒發作，沒有奇峰突起的情節安排。

但是如果細想這份安靜，卻能夠品出傷感，這是一份欲說還休的沉默與空白。小說中三人你一言我一語，話雖多，卻也非常有默契地在刻意回避某個重大的話題，那就是母親的缺席。在這個故事中，母親的缺席因其他的家庭成員都在場而顯得異常醒目。全家一起出游，偏偏少了重要的一員。父親身兼母職，想盡可能照顧好兩個孩子，但從小說中我們不難看出，他是新手上路。他并不知道孩子們在想什么。他們講的笑話，他笑不出來。他想表達關懷，又無從說起。他想了解他們，卻很難和他們打成一片。這種陌生感并不是父親面對快速成長的孩子所感到的隔膜，而是因為交流確實有限。他笨手笨腳地想要接近他們，卻又缺乏自信，猶猶豫豫。父親的出場應該是源于母親的突然缺席。孩子們只字未提他們的母親，丈夫也沒有談及妻子。空白留下了謎團：這是一個因為母親剛剛離世而受到創傷的家庭，還是一個因為父母離異而受到創傷的家庭？

沉默著不去談及，也許是害怕受到傷害。孩子們憑直覺選擇了用無關痛癢的斗嘴避開了對人生變故的詢問。顯而易見，母親離開后，這個家庭正在經歷著變化和轉折。出游體現出父親在竭力爭取與孩子們更多地相處，更多地交流。然而，出游也可能是為可怕的未來作補償和鋪墊。吃午餐時，父親和孩子開玩笑：“你們的吃相這么差，哪有人愿意領養你們。”這句話在小說中找不到上下文，顯得十分突兀。這里可能是父親在說反話，開玩笑，他實際想表達的是自己會不離不棄，守著孩子。但也可能是他在勸誡他們，告訴兒子和女兒：你們即將被他人收養，最好快快懂事，不能這么孩子氣。

小說中，需要保持沉默的還有死亡的話題。死亡是最長久的分離。小說一開篇，兒子就在說地震。當車堵在金門大橋上時，他會聯想到大橋的垮塌。父親從這個灰暗的意象想到了兒子從來沒有跟他談過的話題：13歲的兒子一年前失去了好友。兒子的這位好友前一天還跟他打乒乓球和開玩笑，第二天就從所住的精神病院的樓上一躍而下，自殺身亡。父親覺得這件事情必定會對兒子的心理造成傷害，然而兒子始終保持緘默，父親也避而不談，因為不知道自己能夠給兒子什么樣的慰藉和指導。

在這篇小說中，安靜是復意的。它被偽裝成嘈雜，掩蓋著傷口，而它最深的復意卻訴說著愛。小說隱藏著許多并未明言的放棄。這放棄是死者對生者的放棄，是母親對孩子的放棄（可能是因為死亡，也可能是離異），是妻子對丈夫的放棄，也可能還包括父親在未來對孩子的放棄。然而，至少在這一刻，這一家人沒有放棄彼此，選擇家庭旅行，選擇借助親情帶來的安寧抵抗創傷帶來的不安。父親與孩子相處的方式中有陌生感，但是讀者處處能夠感到真情的流露。比如父親是真心想融入孩子們的世界，也為孩子們的刻意緘默而默默擔心。姐姐和弟弟相互抱怨，但話語中卻顯露出兩人親密無間。一家人盡管交流不算順暢，但卻有自然流露的溫暖。晚上臨睡前，女兒會自然而然要求父親幫她梳辮子。互道晚安后，大家各自鉆進睡袋。黑暗中，父親知道孩子們會選擇將頭朝向他所在的方向。

艾米·亨佩爾在美國當代小說家中屬于“極簡主義”派。極簡主義的特點是惜墨如金，崇尚最簡約的風格。然而極簡主義的簡約總是表象。如果你不仔細琢磨，只會讀到滿篇淡而無味的流水賬;如果細讀進去，則體會到無限深意，欲言又止，欲說還休。在小說《今天將是安靜的一天》中，言說恰是無言的回避，無言的回避則是另外一重言說。大家言說著生活的瑣碎，回避著對人生重大命題的探討。本能的行動則在言說與沉默之上構成了最有力的言說。父親與孩子們一起用默契的行動以及自然流露的親情表達著面對人生轉折的態度。這是一個剛剛經歷過變故的家庭，也是一個正在尋求創傷愈合的家庭。安靜的時刻是沉在谷底屏息的時刻，也是即將恢復的時刻，一口氣緩過來，愛還在，活下去。