托马斯·麦甘恩朗读詹姆斯·索尔特的作品

这里是《纽约客》杂志的纽约客小说播客。我是黛博拉·特雷斯曼，《纽约客》的小说编辑。每个月，我们会邀请一位作家从杂志档案中挑选一篇故事来朗读和讨论。本月，我们将听到詹姆斯·索尔特的作品《最后一夜》。

This is the New Yorker fiction podcast from the New Yorker magazine. I'm Deborah Treisman, fiction editor at the New Yorker. Each month, we invite a writer to choose a story from the magazine's archives to read and discuss. This month, we're going to hear Last Night by James Salter.

他认识她时，她还是个二十多岁的姑娘，双腿修长，天真无邪。如今时光如海流般将她悄然淹没，如同海底的葬礼。

He had known her when she was in her twenties, long legged and innocent. Now he had slipped her as in a burial of sea beneath the flow of time.

《最后一夜》发表于2002年2月的《纽约客》。这篇小说由托马斯·麦圭恩挑选，他本人有七篇作品曾刊登在本刊。麦圭恩的多部小说包括《被灌木丛击中的钢琴》、《92度阴凉处》和《草的韵律》。他还创作过电影剧本和数本非虚构作品。此刻他正通过蒙大拿州波兹曼市顶峰录音棚的演播室与我连线。

Last Night was published in The New Yorker in 02/2002. It was chosen by Thomas Mcguane, seven of whose stories have been published in the magazine. Mcguane's many novels include The Bushwacked Piano, 92 in the Shade, and The Cadence of Grass. He's also written screenplays and several books of nonfiction. He joins me from the studios of Peak Recording and Sound in Bozeman, Montana.

嗨，汤姆。

Hi, Tom.

早上好，黛博拉。

Good morning, Deborah.

詹姆斯·索尔特曾在杂志上发表过几篇非虚构作品。但《最后一夜》是他迄今为止唯一在《纽约客》刊登的小说。你选择它时，是单纯想找索尔特的作品，还是这篇故事对你而言格外难忘？

So James Salter has published a couple of nonfiction pieces in the magazine. But last night is the only story of his that's that's been in The New Yorker so far. Were you when you chose it, were you just looking for a story by Salter, or was this story in particular very memorable for you?

我选择这个故事某种程度上是因为——我想弄明白它为何如此打动我。我想确认自己的感动是否合理。

Well, I picked the story because, in some ways, because, I wanted to find out why I'd been so moved by it. I wanted to find out if I had been reasonably moved.

嗯。

Mhmm.

所以我更想剖析这个故事，而非单纯被它震撼，毕竟我认为这是个极具力量的作品。

And so it was one I kind of wanted to pick apart rather than just being kind of crushed by it because it's a very powerful story, I think.

在成为作家之前，索尔特是美国空军的战斗机飞行员，曾在朝鲜战争中执行过百余次战斗任务。他的处女作《猎手》就取材于这段经历。但此后他小说中最常见的主题并非飞行，而是性及其余波。这篇故事亦是如此。你会如何描述索尔特的性政治观？

Now before he became a writer, Salter was a fighter pilot in the US Air Force who flew more than a 100 combat missions in the Korean War. And his first novel, The Hunters, was about that experience. But since then, in his fiction, his most frequent subject is not flying, it's sex and it's aftermath. And that's that's true in this story as well. What how would you describe Salter's sexual politics?

首先，他似乎对女性看待性的方式非常感兴趣。我的感觉是他认为性在总体上对女性有些不公平。我认为这某种程度上就是这个故事的主题。从他的角度来看——这很难表达我的想法——因为他以一种高度性化的方式看待女性。

Well, he seems to first of all, he seems to be very interested in the way women look at sex. And my feeling is that he thinks sex is generally sort of unfair to women. I think that's a bit of what this story is. And I think in terms of his it's hard to say what I think because he sees women in a highly sexualized way.

嗯。

Mhmm.

而他的小说在某些方面几乎可以说是色情的。呃，

And his novels have have have been nearly pornographic in some Well,

他最著名的作品是小说《消遣运动》，这本书很大程度上是关于性的

he's best best known for the novel A Sport in a Pastime, which is It very much about a a sexual

是的。正是如此，而且在那类题材上走得非常非常边缘。我觉得这篇小说也是。在某些方面，我甚至觉得这个故事更令人震惊。

was. It was that, and it was very very much on on the edge about that sort of thing. Yeah. I think this is too. I mean, in some in some ways, I find this story a bit more shocking.

我是说，这是一种近乎完美的恐怖，在这种暮色般的氛围中精心写就。

I mean, this is some kind of impeccable horror, very carefully written in this kind of crepuscular atmosphere.

你比索尔特年轻不少。你刚开始写作时读过他的作品吗？

You're you're quite a bit younger than Salter. Did you read him when you were starting to write?

呃，我在努力回忆。你知道，吸引我的是他写的题材在文学小说中非常另类——战斗机飞行员、登山者这类运动型人物。这肯定很对我胃口。嗯。

Well, I I'm trying to think. You know, I've I'm I was drawn to the fact that he wrote about very, unusual subjects, for literary fiction. I mean, writing about fighter pilots and, mountain climbers and sort of sporting types. Must have appealed to me. Mhmm.

而且他的文笔极其精炼优美，有点像我成长时期那种文学小说的风格——理查德·耶茨、契弗笔下那些充斥着酒精的暮色氛围，那种郊区堕落等等，这些标志性元素在我初入小说创作时正是优秀作品的典型特征。

And he writes, he writes such a marvelous clean prose that's a little bit reminiscent of the era of literary fiction that I kind of grew up in. It's, you know, Richard Yates and Cheever and lots of booze, a lot of lots of these twilight atmospheres, this kind of suburban corruption, and so on and so forth, that kind of marked some of the better fiction writing when I was coming up as a fiction writer.

你觉得那种极其简洁的散文风格在那个年代更常见吗？

That that very sort of terse prose style, you feel that that was more common in those days?

我也这么认为。而且这个故事带有一种怀旧的特质，如果说现在我们的创作更自由、更凭直觉，对意外喜剧之类的元素也不再那么畏惧。

I think so. And this one has a kind of a nostalgic quality, if that I could be think nowadays we're a little bit looser, a little bit more intuitive, less afraid of, surprise comedy and so on.

说到意外，昨晚的故事有几个我们不想剧透的情节转折。但你在阅读时，是否觉得有什么特别值得注意的地方？

Well, speaking of surprises, last night has a few plot twists that we don't wanna give away. But do you feel that there's anything we should be paying special attention to as you're reading it?

我认为当故事像这样充满力量时，某种程度上会缺乏策略性的工整——至少当你重读时，必须回溯寻找那些为意外埋下的伏笔。嗯...还要判断这些铺垫是否真正合理。现阶段不想透露太多，但很早就有设定好的情节，这些安排或许有失公允，但绝对效果显著。

I think that anytime a story is as power as powerful as this, it's it in in in some ways, lacking a kind of strategic tidiness, at least when you look at it again, you have to go back and find out how you were positioned for the surprises. Mhmm. And whether or not that positioning was really legitimate. Don't wanna give away too much at this stage, but they're very quite early on, were set up for, something that may or may not be fair, but is very definitely effective.

我们会在故事结束后继续讨论。现在请听汤姆·麦奎恩朗读詹姆斯·索特的《昨夜》。

We'll talk more after the story. Now here's Tom McGuane reading last night by James Salter.

沃尔特·萨赫是个翻译家。他喜欢用绿色钢笔写作，习惯每写完一句就微微抬起笔，仿佛他的手是台精密仪器。他能背诵大段俄语原文，再用德语朗诵里尔克的译文，并指出其精妙之处。他是个善交际却也偶尔带刺的人，初时说话略带结巴，与妻子过着他们钟爱的生活。但玛莉特——他的妻子病了。

Walter Such was a translator. He liked to write with a green fountain pen that he had a habit of raising in the air slightly after each sentence, almost as if his hand were a mechanical device. He could recite lines of block and Russian and then give Rilke's translation of them in German pointing out their beauty. He was a sociable but also sometimes prickly man who stuttered a little at first and who lived with his wife in a manner they liked. But Marit, his wife, was ill.

他正与家庭友人苏珊娜同坐。终于他们听见玛莉特下楼的脚步声，她走进房间。穿着那件总能衬出她魅力的红丝绸连衣裙，松垂的胸脯与乌亮秀发相映成趣。衣柜的白色金属篮里堆叠着叠好的衣物：内衣、运动装、睡袍，地板上散落着鞋子。这些她再也用不上了。

He was sitting with Susanna, a family friend. Finally they heard Marit on the stairs, and she came into the room. She was wearing a red silk dress in which she had always been seductive, with her loose breasts and sleek dark hair. In the white wire baskets in her closet were stacks of folded clothes, underwear, sport things, nightgowns, shoes jumbled beneath on the floor. Things she would never again need.

还有珠宝、手镯、项链，以及装满戒指的漆盒。她仔细翻检漆盒，挑了几枚戴上。如今她不愿让骨节凸起的手指空着。“你真美。”丈夫说。“感觉像是初次约会呢。”她答道。

Also jewelry, bracelets, and necklaces, and a lacquer box with all her rings. She had looked through the lacquer box at length and picked several. She didn't want her fingers bony now to be naked. You look really nice, her husband said. I feel it's as if my first date or something, she said.

“要喝一杯吗？”“好啊，加很多冰。”她说着坐下来。

Are you having a drink? Yes. I think I'll have one. Lots of ice, she said. She sat down.

“我一点力气都没有了，”她说，“这是最可怕的。元气消失了，回不来了。现在连起身走动都不愿意。”

I have no energy, she said. That's the most terrible part. It's gone. It doesn't come back. I don't even like to get up and walk around.

“肯定很难熬。”苏珊娜说。“你无法想象。”她回答。沃尔特端着酒回来递给妻子。“好吧，敬好日子。”她说。接着像是突然想起什么，朝他们露出微笑。

It must be very difficult, Susanna said. You have no idea, she said. Walter came back with the drink and handed it to his wife. Well, happy days, she said. Then as if suddenly remembering, she smiled at them.

一个骇人的微笑似乎恰恰意味着相反的事。那晚他们已决定将是行动之夜。注射器躺在冰箱里的碟子上。她的医生提供了药物，但如果她还有力气，先来场告别晚餐。梅里特凭直觉说，不该只有他们两人在场。

A frightening smile seemed to mean just the opposite. It was the night they had decided would be the one. On a saucer in the refrigerator, the syringe lay. Her doctor had supplied the contents, but a farewell dinner first, if she were able. It should not be just the two of them, Merit had said, her instinct.

他们邀请了苏珊娜而非更亲近且沉浸在悲痛中的人——比如与梅里特关系不佳的姐姐，或是年长的朋友。苏珊娜更年轻。她有着宽脸庞和高洁的额头，看起来像教授或银行家的女儿，略带叛逆的邋遢女孩，朋友们谈论她时总带着几分欣赏。穿着短裙坐着的苏珊娜已经有些紧张了。

They had asked Susanna rather than someone closer and grief filled, Merit's sister, for example, with whom she was not on good terms anyway, or older friends. Susannah was younger. She had a wide face and high, pure forehead. She looked like the daughter of a professor or banker, slightly errant, dirty girl, one of their friends who commented about her with a degree of admiration. Susannah, sitting in a short skirt, was already a little nervous.

很难假装这只是顿普通晚餐。她自己也难以表现得漫不经心。她趁着暮色到来。这栋每间房都亮着灯的房子，在所有住宅中格外醒目，仿佛正在举行庆典。玛拉特凝视着房间里的一切：银相框的照片、灯具、那些她一直想静心阅读的关于超现实主义、景观设计或乡村别墅的大部头书籍、椅子，甚至那块色彩褪淡却美丽的地毯。

It was hard to pretend it would be just an ordinary dinner. It would be hard to be offhanded in herself. She had come as dusk was falling. The house with its lighted windows, every room seemed to be lit, had stood out from all the others like a place in which something festive was happening. Marat gazed at things in the room, the photographs with their silver frames, the lamps, the large books on surrealism, landscape design or country houses that she had always meant to sit down with and read, the chairs, even the rug with its beautiful faded color.

她审视这一切仿佛在记录什么，实则毫无意义。苏珊娜的长发与青春气息倒意味着什么，尽管她不确定具体是什么。有些记忆是你渴望带走的，她想，那些早于沃尔特、她还是少女时的记忆。故乡的家，不是眼前这个，而是有童年小床的原生家庭，在楼梯平台窗户前看过的古老冬日暴风雪，父亲俯身道晚安时，母亲在灯光下伸手扣手镯的场景。那个家。

She looked at it all as if she were somehow noting it, when in fact it all meant nothing. Susanna's long hair and freshness meant something, though she was not sure what. Certain memories are what you long to take with you, she thought, memories from even before Walter, from when she was a girl. Home, not this one, but the original one with her childhood bed, the window on the landing out of which she had watched the swirling storms of long ago winters, her father bending over her to say good night, the lamplight in which her mother was holding out a wrist trying to fasten a bracelet. That home.

其余部分稀薄如雾。其余是部漫长小说，像极了你的人生，不经思索地经历着，然后在某个清晨戛然而止。有血迹。我经历过太多这些了，梅里特沉思道。酒来了，苏珊娜说。

The rest was less dense. The rest was a long novel, so like your life, you were going through it without thinking, and then one morning it ended. There were bloodstains. I've had a lot of these, Merit reflected. The drink, Susanna said.

是的。你是说这些年来。是的。这些年来。现在几点了？

Yes. Over the years, you mean. Yes. Over the years. What time is it getting to be?

七点四十五，她丈夫说。我们出发吗？随你心意，他说。不必匆忙。我不想赶时间。

Quarter to eight, her husband said. Shall we go? Whenever you like, he said. No need to hurry. I don't want to hurry.

事实上她毫无离去之意。那意味着更近一步。预订了几点？她问。随时可以。

She had, in fact, little desire to go. It was one step closer. What time is the reservation? She asked. Anytime we like.

那就走吧。癌细胞始于子宫，继而转移到肺部。最终她接受了现实。连衣裙方领上方的肌肤仿佛散发着幽暗。她已不复从前模样。

Let's go then. It was in the uterus and traveled from there to the lungs. In the end, she had accepted it. Above the square neckline of her dress, the skin palette seemed to emanate a darkness. She no longer resembled herself.

曾经的她已然消逝。那部分被夺走了。变化令人恐惧，尤其体现在脸上。她现在的面容属于来世与将遇之人。沃尔特已很难记起她曾经的样子。

What she had been was gone. It had been taken from her. The change was fearful, especially in her face. She had a face now that was for the afterlife and those she would meet there. It was hard for Walter to remember how she had once been.

她几乎变成了另一个女人，与他曾郑重承诺在关键时刻相助的那个判若两人。苏珊娜坐在车后排，街道空荡。他们经过的房屋楼下透出变幻的蓝光。梅里特沉默不语。

She was almost a different woman from the one to whom he had made a solemn promise to help when the time came. Susannah sat in the back as they drove. The roads were empty. They passed houses showing a shifting bluish light downstairs. Merritt sat silent.

她感到悲伤，却又夹杂着困惑。她试图想象明天没有自己见证的世界，却无法勾勒。难以相信世界仍会继续运转。在酒店里，他们站在嘈杂的吧台附近等候。

She felt sadness, but also a kind of confusion. She was trying to imagine all of it tomorrow without her being here to see it. She could not imagine it. It was difficult to think the world would still be there. At the hotel, they waited near the bar, which was noisy.

脱了外套的男人们，高声谈笑的女孩们，那些懵懂无知的姑娘。墙上挂着大幅法国海报、古老石版画和褪色的画框。"我谁都不认识"，梅里特评论道。"幸好"，她补充说。沃尔特瞥见了他们认识的健谈夫妇——阿普索尔一家。

Men without jackets, girls talking or laughing loudly, girls who knew nothing. On the walls were large French posters, old lithographs, and darkened frames. I don't recognize anyone, Merritt commented. Luckily, she added. Walter had seen a talkative couple they knew, the Apthals.

"别看"，他说，"他们没发现我们。我去隔壁厅找座位"。"他们看见我们了吗？"入座时梅里特问道，"我不想和任何人交谈"。

Don't look, he said. They haven't seen us. I'll get a table in the other room. Did they see us, Merritt asked, as they were seated. I don't feel like talking to anyone.

"没事"，他回答。系着白围裙黑领结的侍者递来菜单和酒单："需要先来点喝的吗？""好的"。

We're alright, he said. The waiter was wearing a white apron and a black bow tie. He handed them the menu and a wine list. Can I get you something to drink? Yes.

"当然"，沃尔特说。他扫视着按价格升序排列的酒单，发现标价579美元的白马酒庄。"这款白马，你们有货吗？""1989年份的？"侍者确认。

Definitely, Walter said. He was looking at the list on which the prices were in roughly ascending order. There was a Cheval Blanc for $579. This Cheval Blanc, do you have this? The $19.89, the waiter asked.

"来一瓶。白马是什么？白葡萄酒吗？"待侍者离开后苏珊娜问道。"不是"。

Bring us a bottle of that. What is Cheval Blanc? Is it white? Susanna asked when the waiter had gone. No.

"是红葡萄酒"，沃尔特说。"你能来共进晚餐真是太好了"，梅里特对苏珊娜说，"今晚很特别"。"是啊"，她解释道，"我们平时可不舍得点这么好的酒"。

It's red, Walter said. You know, it was very nice of you to join us tonight, Merritt said to Susanna. It's quite a special evening. Yes. We don't usually order wine this good, she explained.

两人常来这里用餐，通常坐在酒瓶闪烁的吧台附近。他们从未点过超过35美元的酒。"她感觉怎样？"等候时沃尔特询问，"还好吗？"

The two of them had often eaten here, usually near the bar with its gleaming rows of bottles. They had never ordered wine that cost more than $35. How was she feeling? Walter asked while they waited. Was she feeling okay?

"我说不清自己的感受"，梅里特告诉苏珊娜，"我在用吗啡止痛。虽然有效，但..."她停顿片刻，"太多事情本不该发生在你身上"。晚餐在静默中进行。

I don't know how to express how I'm feeling. I'm taking morphine, Merritt told Susanna. It's doing the job, but She stopped. There are a lot of things that shouldn't happen to you, she said. Dinner was quiet.

随意交谈变得困难。不过他们喝了两瓶那种酒。沃尔特不禁想到，他再也喝不到这么好的酒了。他把第二瓶的最后一点倒进苏珊娜的杯子。不。

It was difficult to talk casually. They had two bottles of the wine, however. He would never drink this well again, Walter could not help thinking. He poured the last of the second bottle into Susanna's glass. No.

你该喝掉它，她说。这本来就是为你准备的。梅里特说他已经喝够了。不过确实很棒，对吧？好得不可思议。

You should drink it, she said. It's really for you. He's had enough, Merit said. It was good, though, wasn't it? Fabulously good.

让你意识到一些事情，哦，我也说不清，她说道，各种各样的事。要是能一直喝这种酒就好了。她说这话时显得格外动人。大家都感觉好些了。他们坐了一会儿，最终起身离开。

Makes you realize things, oh, I don't know, she said, various things. It would be nice to have always drunk it. She said it in a way that was enormously touching. They were all feeling better. They sat for a while and finally made their way out.

酒吧依然喧闹。驱车时梅里特凝视着窗外。她累了。他们现在要回家了。风在幽暗的树梢间流动。

The bar was still noisy. Merritt stared out the window as they drove. She was tired. They were going home now. The wind was moving in the tops of the shadowy trees.

夜空中闪耀着蔚蓝的云朵，恍如白昼。今晚很美不是吗，梅里特说。我被这景象震撼了。是我看错了吗？不，沃尔特清了清嗓子。

In the night sky, there were brilliant blue clouds shining as if in daylight. It's very beautiful tonight, isn't it, Merritt said. I'm struck by that. Am I mistaken? No, Walter cleared his throat.

很美。你注意到了吗？她问苏珊娜。我相信你肯定注意到了。你多大了？

It's beautiful. Have you noticed it? She asked Susanna. I'm sure you have. How old are you?

我忘了。29岁。29啊，梅里特说。她沉默了片刻。我们一直没有孩子，她说。

I forget. 29. 29, Merritt said. She was silent for a few moments. We never had children, she said.

你希望有孩子吗？哦，有时候吧，我想。我没太考虑过这事。这是必须结婚才能真正思考的事情之一。你会结婚的，玛丽特说。

Do you wish you had children? Oh, sometimes, I suppose. I haven't thought about it too much. It's one of those things you have to be married to really think about. You'll be married, Marit said.

是啊。也许吧。你随时都可以结婚，玛丽特说。到家时她已经累了。他们像刚参加完盛大派对般坐在客厅里，却还没准备好就寝。

Yes. Perhaps. You could be married in a minute, Marit said. She was tired when they reached the house. They sat together in the living room as if they had come from a big party, but were not quite ready for bed.

沃尔特想着即将要做的事——打开冰箱时会亮起的灯。注射器的针头很锋利，不锈钢尖端斜切如剃刀。他得把它扎进她的静脉。他尽量不去多想。总会有办法的。

Walter was thinking what lay ahead, the light that would come on in the refrigerator when the door was opened. The needle of the syringe was sharp, the stainless steel point cut at an angle and like a razor. He was going to have to insert it into her vein. He tried not to dwell on it. He would manage somehow.

他变得越来越紧张。我记得我母亲，梅里特说。她临终前想告诉我一些事，关于我小时候发生的事。雷·马汉曾和泰迪·赫德纳上过床。安妮·赫林也是。

He was becoming more and more nervous. I remember my mother, Merritt said. She wanted to tell me things at the end, things that had happened when I was young. Ray Mahan had gone to bed with Teddy Hudner. Anne Herring had too.

她们都是已婚妇女。泰迪·赫德纳未婚。他在广告业工作，总打高尔夫。我母亲就这样继续说着，谁和谁睡过。这就是她最终想告诉我的。

They were married women. Teddy Hudner wasn't married. He worked in advertising and was always playing golf. My mother went on like that, who slept with whom. That's what she wanted to tell me finally.

当然，那时候雷·马汉确实很特别。然后梅里特说，我想我要上楼了。她站起来。我没事，她告诉丈夫。先别上来。

Of course, at the time, Ray Mahan was really something. Then Merritt said, I think I'll go upstairs. She stood up. I'm alright, she told her husband. Don't come up just yet.

晚安，苏珊娜。当只剩她们两人时，苏珊娜说，我得走了。不。别走。请不要走。

Good night, Susanna. When there were just the two of them, Susanna said, I have to go. No. Don't. Please don't go.

留在这儿。她摇摇头。我不能，她说。求你了。你必须留下。

Stay here. She shook her head. I can't, she said. Please. You have to.

我一会儿就上楼。但等我下来时，不能一个人待着。求你了。一阵沉默。苏珊娜。

I'm going to go upstairs in a little while. But when I come down, I can't be alone. Please. There was silence. Susanna.

他们沉默地坐着。我知道你考虑过这一切，她说。是的。当然。几分钟后，沃尔特看了看手表。

They sat without speaking. I know you thought all this out, she said. Yes. Absolutely. After a few minutes, Walter looked at his watch.

他开始说什么却又止住。稍后，他又看了看表，然后离开了房间。厨房呈L形，老式且布局随意，有个白瓷水槽和多次刷漆的木柜。夏天时，他们在城里火车站台阶旁买一箱草莓，在这儿做果酱——那些令人难忘的草莓，香气如香水般浓郁。现在还留着几罐。

He began to say something but then did not. A little later, he looked at it again, then left the room. The kitchen was in the shape of an L, old fashioned and unplanned, with a white enamel sink and wooden cabinets painted many times. In the summers, they had made preserves here when box of strawberries were sold at the stairway going down to the train platform in the city, unforgettable strawberries, their fragrance like perfume. There were still some jars.

他走到冰箱前打开门。在那儿，侧面有细小的刻痕。还剩10毫升。他试图想个办法不继续下去。要是把注射器摔了，弄坏它，然后说自己手抖了。

He went to the refrigerator and opened the door. There it was, the small etched lines on the side. There were 10 cc's. He tried to think of a way not to go on. If he dropped the syringe, broke it somehow, and said his hand had been shaking.

他拿起茶碟用洗碗巾盖住。这样更糟。他放下碟子，拿起注射器换了几种握法，最后几乎贴着腿藏住。他感觉自己轻如薄纸，毫无力气。梅里特已经准备好了。

He took the saucer and covered it with a dish towel. It was worse that way. He put it down and picked up the syringe holding it in various ways, finally almost concealed against his leg. He felt light as a sheet of paper devoid of strength. Merritt had prepared herself.

她已画好眼妆，穿上一件低胸露背的象牙色缎面睡袍。那是她预备在来世穿着的衣裳。她曾努力让自己相信有来世。古人确信渡船是通往彼岸的方式。她的锁骨上垂着几缕银项链。

She had made up her eyes and put on an ivory satin nightgown low and back. It was the gown she would be wearing in the next world. She had made an effort to believe in an afterworld. The crossing was by boat something the ancients knew with certainty. Over her collarbones lay strands of a silver necklace.

她疲惫不堪。那阵呜咽虽有效果，却未能使她平静。沃尔特站在门口，仿佛在等待许可。她沉默地望着他。她看见那东西就在他手中。

She was weary. The whine had had an effect, but she was not calm. In the doorway, Walter stood as if waiting for permission. She looked at him without speaking. He had it in his hand, she saw.

她的心脏紧张地抽动着，但她决意不显露出来。“好吧，亲爱的。”她说。他试图回应。她涂了新口红，他注意到。她的双唇显得暗沉。

Her heart skidded nervously, but she was determined not to show it. Well, darling, she said. He tried to reply. She had on fresh lipstick he saw. Her mouth looked dark.

床铺四周散落着她摆放的几张照片。“进来吧。”“不，我待会儿再来。”他终于挤出这句话，匆匆下楼去了。

There were some photographs she had arranged around her on the bed. Come in. No. I'll be back, he managed to say. He hurried downstairs.

他即将失败。必须喝上一杯。客厅空无一人。苏珊娜已离开。他从未感到如此彻底的孤独。

He was going to fail. He had to have a drink. The living room was empty. Susannah had gone. He had never felt more completely alone.

他走进厨房，将无色透明的伏特加倒入杯中一饮而尽。缓步回到楼上，坐在妻子身旁。酒劲开始上头，他感到陌生又恍惚。“沃尔特。”她唤道。

He went into the kitchen and poured some vodka odorless and clear into a glass and quickly drank it. He went slowly upstairs again and sat on the bed near his wife. The vodka was making him drunk. He felt unlike himself. Walter, she said.

“是的，这是正确的选择。”她伸手握住他的手。这莫名让他恐惧，仿佛意味着邀她同往。“知道吗，”她平静地说，“我曾爱你胜过世上任何人。”

Yes. This is the right thing. She reached to take his hand. Somehow it frightened him as if it might mean an appeal to come with her. You know, she said evenly, I've loved you as much as I've ever loved anyone in the world.

“我听起来很伤感，我知道。啊，玛莉特。”他哭喊道，“你爱过我吗？”绝望搅动着他的胃。“爱过。”

I'm sounding maudlin, I know. Ah, Marit, he cried. Did you love me? His stomach was churning in despair. Yes.

他说：“爱过。”“照顾好自己。”她说。“好。”事实上他身体康健，只是比理想体重略丰腴——那学者般的圆润腹部覆盖着柔软黑毛，双手与指甲都保养得当。她倾身拥抱了他。

He said, yes. Take care of yourself, she said. Yes. He was in good health as it happened, a little heavier than he might have been, but nevertheless His roundish, scholarly stomach was covered with a layer of soft dark hair, his hands and nails well cared for. She leaned forward and embraced him.

她亲吻他。刹那间恐惧消散。她将重获新生，再度年轻如往昔。她伸出手臂，内侧两条铜锈色的静脉清晰可见。

She kissed him. For a moment she was not afraid. She would live again, be young again as she once had been. She held out her arm. On the inside, two veins the color of verdigris were visible.

他开始用力按压让它们隆起。她的头转向一边。你还记得吗，她曾对在贝茨公司工作的他说，我们初次相遇时？我立刻就知道了。针头在他试图定位时不停晃动。

He began to press to make them rise. Her head was turned away. Do you remember she said to him when I was working at Bates and we met that first time? I knew right away. The needle was wavering as he tried to position it.

我很幸运，她说。我真的很幸运。他的呼吸几乎停滞。他等待着，但她没再说话。几乎不敢相信自己的举动，他推入针头，毫不费力地缓慢注射了药液。

I was lucky, she said. I was very lucky. He was barely breathing. He waited but she did not say anything more. Hardly believing what he was doing, he pushed the needle in, was effortless, and slowly injected the contents.

他听见她的叹息。她躺下时闭着眼睛，面容安详。她已启程。天啊，他想。

He heard her sigh. Her eyes were closed as she lay back. Her face was peaceful. She had embarked. My god, he thought.

天啊。他认识二十多岁的她时，她还是个双腿修长的天真姑娘。如今他像海葬般将她送入时间洪流。她的手仍有余温。他握住它贴向自己的嘴唇。

My god. He had known her when she was in her twenties, long legged and innocent. Now he had slipped her as in a burial of sea beneath the flow of time. Her hand was still warm. He took it and held it to his lips.

他将床单拉上来盖住她的双腿。房子静得可怕，陷入致命行为特有的沉寂。听不见风声。他缓缓走下楼。

He pulled the bedspread up to cover her legs. The house was incredibly quiet. It had fallen into silence, the silence of a fatal act. He could not hear the wind. He went slowly downstairs.

一种解脱感笼罩着他，巨大的解脱与悲伤。窗外，巍峨的蓝云布满夜空。他站了几分钟，突然看见苏珊娜一动不动地坐在车里。当他走近时，她摇下车窗。你没走，他说。

A sense of relief came over him, enormous relief and sadness. Outside, the monumental blue clouds filled the night. He stood for a few minutes and then saw, sitting in her car, motionless, Susanna. She rolled down the window as he approached. You didn't go, he said.

我无法待在里面。结束了，他说。进来吧。我要喝一杯。她双臂交叉站在厨房里，双手各握着手肘。

I couldn't stay in there. It's over, he said. Come in. I'm going to get a drink. She stood in the kitchen with him, her arms folded, a hand on each elbow.

并不糟糕，他说。只是我感觉...我不知道。他们站着喝酒。她真的希望我来吗？苏珊娜说。

It wasn't terrible, he said. It's just that I feel I don't know. They drank standing there. Does she really want me to come? Susanna said.

亲爱的，是她提议的。她什么都不知道。我怀疑。相信我，毫无察觉。她放下酒杯。

Darling, she suggested it. She didn't know a thing. I wonder. Believe me, nothing. She put down her drink.

不。喝完它，他说。会有帮助的。我感觉怪怪的，她说。怪怪的？

No. Drink it, he said. It'll help. I feel funny, she said. Funny?

你没觉得不舒服吧？我不知道。别生病。来，跟我走。

You're not feeling sick? I don't know. Don't be sick. Here. Come with me.

等等，我给你倒点水。她正专注于均匀呼吸。你最好躺一会儿，他说。不。

Wait. I'll get you some water. She was concentrating on breathing evenly. You'd better lie down for a bit, he said. No.

我没事。来。他领着她，穿着短裙和衬衫，来到前门旁的一个房间，让她坐在床上。她缓慢地呼吸着。苏珊娜，是的。

I'm alright. Come. He led her in her short skirt and blouse to a room to one side of the front door and made her sit on the bed. She was taking slow breaths. Susanna, yes.

我需要你。她或多或少听到了他的话。她的头向后仰着，像一个渴望上帝的女人。我不该喝这么多的，她喃喃道。他开始解开她的衬衫扣子。

I need you. She more or less heard him. Her head was thrown back like that of a woman longing for God. I shouldn't have drunk so much, she murmured. He began to unbutton her blouse.

不，她说着试图重新扣上。他正在解开她的胸罩。她美丽的胸部显露出来。他无法将目光从它们上移开。他热情地亲吻着它们。

No, she said trying to rebutton it. He was unfastening her brassiere. Her gorgeous breasts emerged. He could not take his eyes from them. He kissed them passionately.

当他拉下白色床单的被罩时，她感觉自己被移到一边。她试图再次说话，但他用手捂住她的嘴，把她推倒。他贪婪地占有她，结束时颤抖着，仿佛害怕，紧紧抱住她。他们陷入了深沉的睡眠。清晨，光线清澈而明亮。

She felt herself move to the side as he pulled down the cover of the white sheets. She tried to speak again, but he put his hand over her mouth and pushed her down. He devoured her, shuddering as if in fright at the end and holding her to him tightly. They fell into a profound sleep. In earliest morning, light was clear and intensely bright.

矗立在阳光下的房子变得更加洁白。它比邻居们更纯净、更宁静。旁边一棵高大榆树的影子被描绘在上面，精细得如同铅笔勾勒。苍白的窗帘静止不动。屋内没有任何动静。

The house standing in its path became even whiter. It stood out from its neighbors more pure and serene. The shadow of a tall elm beside it was traced on it as finely as if drawn by a pencil. The pale curtains hung unmoving. Nothing stirred within.

后面是宽阔的草坪，苏珊娜曾在那里漫无目的地散步，作为花园游览的一部分，那天他第一次看到她身材匀称高挑。这是他无法抹去的景象，尽管其余的一切始于后来，当她来重新设计花园时。他们坐在桌旁喝咖啡。他们心照不宣，刚起床不久，没有过于密切地注视对方。然而，沃尔特却在欣赏她。

In back was the wide lawn across which Susannah had been idly strolling as part of a garden tour in the day he had first seen her shapely and tall. It was a vision he had not been able to erase, though the rest had started later when she came to redo the garden with merit. They sat at the table drinking coffee. They were complicit, not long risen, and not regarding one another too closely. Walter was admiring her, however.

不化妆的她更加迷人。她的长发没有梳理。她看起来非常平易近人。有些电话必须打，但他没有在想这些。现在还太早。

Without makeup, she was even more appealing. Her long hair was not combed. She seemed very approachable. There were calls that would have to be made but he was not thinking of them. It was still too early.

他在想这一天之后的日子，未来的早晨。起初他几乎没有听到身后的声音。那是一阵脚步声，然后慢慢地又是一阵。苏珊娜脸色苍白，因为玛丽特摇摇晃晃地走下楼梯。她脸上的妆容已经褪色，深色口红显出裂纹。

He was thinking past this day, mornings to come. At first he hardly heard the sound behind him. It was a footstep and then slowly another. Susannah turned white as Marit came unsteadily down the stairs. The makeup on her face was stale and her dark lipstick showed fissures.

他难以置信地瞪大眼睛。她说，出问题了。你还好吗？他傻傻地问道。不，你肯定搞错了。

He stared in disbelief. Something went wrong, she said. Are you all right? He asked foolishly. No, you must have done it wrong.

天啊，沃尔特低声说。她虚弱地坐在最底层的台阶上，似乎没有注意到苏珊娜。我以为你会帮我，她说着哭了起来。他说道：我实在不明白。

Oh god, Walter murmured. She sat weakly on the bottom step. She did not seem to notice Susannah. I thought you were going to help me, she said and began to cry. I can't understand it, he said.

全乱套了，梅里特反复念叨着。然后转向苏珊娜：你还在这儿。我正要走，苏珊娜说。沃尔特再次说道：我不明白。梅里特抽泣着：我得全部重来。

It's all wrong, Merritt was repeating. Then to Susannah, you're still here. I was just leaving, Susannah said. I don't understand, Walter said again. I have to do it all over, Merritt sobbed.

对不起，他说。真的很抱歉。他再也想不出别的话。苏珊娜去拿她的衣服，从前门离开了。

I'm sorry, he said. I'm so sorry. He could think of nothing more to say. Susanna had gone to get her clothes. She left by the front door.

这就是她和沃尔特被妻子发现后分手的原因。后来在他的坚持下又见过两三次，但无济于事。维系两人的东西已经消失。她告诉他这由不得自己，事情就是这样。

That was how she and Walter came to part upon being discovered by his wife. They met two or three times afterward at his insistence but to no avail. Whatever holds people together was gone. She told him she could not help it. That was just the way it was.

刚才汤姆·麦奎恩朗读的是詹姆斯·索尔特的《昨夜》。这篇小说2002年发表于《纽约客》，也是索尔特最新平装版短篇小说集的同名主打篇，由Vintage出版社出版。

That was Tom McGuane reading Last Night by James Salter. The story appeared in The New Yorker in 2002 and is the title story of Salter's most recent book of short stories published in paperback by Vintage.

大家好，我是《纽约客》高级编辑塔玛拉·福格特，也是《政治现场》播客的主持人之一。现在很多人感到恐慌是可以理解的，而我认为《政治现场》的职责就是鼓励人们停下来思考当下真正至关重要的新闻事件。通过与撰稿人深入对话，我们真正剖析当前局势及其造成的破坏——这不是激进主义式的抵抗，但我觉得这是在抵抗被混乱吞噬的感觉。欢迎加入我和同事大卫·雷姆尼克、埃文·奥斯诺斯、简·梅耶尔、苏珊·格拉瑟的《政治现场》播客。

Hi. I'm Tamara Foggett, a senior editor at the New Yorker and one of the hosts of the political scene podcast. A lot of people are justifiably freaked out right now, and I think that it's our job at the political scene to encourage people to stop and think about the particular news stories that are actually incredibly significant in this moment. By having these really deep conversations with writers where we actually get into the weeds of what is going on right now and about the damage that is being done, it's not resistance in the activist sense, but I think it is resistance in the sense that we are resisting the feeling of being overwhelmed by chaos. Join me and my colleagues, David Remnick, Evan Osnos, Jane Mayer, and Susan Glasser on the political scene podcast from the New Yorker.

新剧集每周更新三次，各大播客平台均可收听。

New episodes drop three times a week. Available wherever you get your podcasts.

但是汤姆，《昨夜》这个标题有双重含义。这既是梅里特生命的最后一夜，也暗示着次日回首者的视角：看，这就是昨晚发生的事。当然，这个双关在故事中至关重要。你认为这是他选择这个标题的原因吗？

But, Tom, the title last night has a double meaning. This is meant to be Merritt's last night alive, but it also implies this perspective of someone looking back from the next day and saying, you know, look. This is what happened last night. Of course, that double meaning comes very much into play in the story. Do you think that this is why he chose this title?

你觉得他是否在其中暗藏了某种讽刺？

Do you think he meant there to be a joke within it?

嗯，我怀疑他是否真的这么做了。我认为双重含义实际上在于，这不仅是濒死的玛瑞吉的最后一夜，也是沃尔特与他那位园丁女孩荒谬恋情的终结之夜。事实上，我觉得故事结尾点明了这一点——她说一切都结束了，这就是现实。

Well, I wonder if he did. I think the double meaning really is that it's not only the last night for Marriage who's dying, but it's the last night for Walter and his ill conceived romance with the, gardener girl. And, in fact, I think it makes that point at the end of the story. She says that it's over. That's the way it is.

那也是他们的最后一夜。而我认为故事的讽刺之处在于，索尔特最终采取的立场是：这段感情在沃尔特和苏珊娜之间失败了，这简直是在伤口上撒盐。

There last night as well. And I think the, you know, the irony of the story, in effect, is that Salter take has kind of taken the position that this is the at the end, this is how the romance failed between Walter and Susannah, which is really twisting the knife in my sense.

是啊。这个故事蕴含了太多东西，但整体基调让我觉得有些不稳定。我不太确定我们究竟该把它看作彻头彻尾的悲剧，还是某种程度上带着荒诞的幽默。

Yeah. There's so much going on in the story and it seems somehow to me tonally unstable. It's I'm not quite sure if we're supposed to think of it as as utterly tragic or even as as sort of funny on some level.

而且这故事透着股病态感，不是吗？

And it's sort of morbid, isn't it?

没错，完全同意。

Yeah. Absolutely.

我...我以一种古怪的视角看这个故事，它有点像...有点像恐怖小说。

I I saw it in an in an odd way. It's a bit of a bit of a horror story.

嗯。

Mhmm.

整个氛围充满了宿命感和酒精味，无情地笼罩在暮色之中。

The atmosphere is is sort of doom laden and alcohol laden and it's remorselessly twilight, you know.

清晨时分那个死去的女人跌跌撞撞下楼梯的画面，绝对是个恐怖意象。

That image of the dead woman kind of stumbling down the stairs in the morning is definitely a horror image.

太可怕了，确实。

It's awful. Yeah.

但你知道，当你回顾故事的情节安排，并开始提出诸如‘他们到底为什么一开始要让苏珊娜参加晚宴？’这样的问题时，嗯，我觉得这就有点令人不安了。不过那些真正打动你的故事似乎总是这样。我是说，早期总有些大胆的风险。

But, you know, when when you kind of go back to the arrangement of the story and and and you start asking questions like, why on earth did they have Susanna go to the dinner in the first place? Mhmm. Then then I I think it becomes a little bit kind of troubling. But that always seems to be the case with stories that really move you very much. I mean, there's some wild risk early on.

对我来说，那就是风险所在。

And to me, that's the risk.

那么，现在是梅里特坚持要苏珊娜来的。你觉得这是因为她知道这段婚外情，还是因为她不知道？

Well, now, Merritt is the one who insists on Susanna coming. And do you think do you think that's because she knows about the affair or because she doesn't?

嗯，我当时理解为她并不知道。嗯。实际上，索尔特费了些功夫让我们觉得这合情合理。他说他们邀请了苏珊娜而不是更亲近的人，比如她那位过于悲伤的姐姐。但那位姐姐，你知道的，出现了一下就再没出现过。

Well, I I took it that she did not know. Uh-huh. And in fact, Salter goes to some pains to make it plausible to us. They he says they'd asked Susanna rather than someone closer, like her sister, who's too grief filled. But the sister, you know, appears, that moment and never reappears.

我是说，她在那儿只是起到一个作用，是的，为了让苏珊娜的出现显得稍微合理些。我想我们得勉强接受这点，你不觉得吗？

I mean, she just serves a purpose there Yeah. To make, the presence of Susanna a bit more plausible. We we kind of have to swallow that, I think, don't you?

是啊。不过梅里特有句奇怪的话，她说‘你知道，你随时可以结婚’。我当时愣了一下，因为我在想她是不是在说‘你明天就可以嫁给沃尔特’，你知道吗？

Yeah. There's there's that one strange line of merits, though, where she says, you know, you could be married in a minute. And I I do a double take there because I wonder if she's saying you could be married to Walter, you know, by tomorrow. You know?

嗯，那句话确实很引人注意，我停下来琢磨了一下，但没完全明白它的意思。嗯。我觉得那像是上流社会常说的那种话，‘哦，你随时可以结婚’。

Well, that is a very catching line, and I paused over it without figuring out quite what it meant. Mhmm. I thought it was kind of one of those sort of upper class remarks. Oh, you could be married in a minute.

对。

Right.

你知道，就像说‘你明天就能成为网球冠军’一样。

You know, you could be a tennis champion tomorrow.

是啊。而且这话也很模棱两可。最后是谁笑到了最后？我是说，事情怎么会变得这么糟糕？你觉得是剂量还是注射出了问题？

Yeah. Well, it's all it's also ambiguous. And who who has the last laugh here? I mean, how how does everything go so wrong? What what do you think has happened with the the dosage or the the shot?

发生什么事了？

What's going on?

你知道，我想如果你不像我这么喜欢这个故事，你可能会说，嗯，剂量出错了，因为他们需要Merit从楼梯上下来。

You know, I suppose if you like the story less than I do, you might say, well, the the dosage went wrong because they need Merit to come back down the stairs.

对。

Right.

我不认为是那样。但发生的每一件事，我是说，从Walter一开始的口吃，似乎都是为了剥离这些弱点的层次。揭示他从一开始就有多软弱，以及那些令人印象深刻的优点、对他的信任和爱一直以来有多么错位，这对我来说，让它感觉像是一个如此强烈且有点悲剧的故事。

I don't think that's the case. But each one of these things that happens, I mean, from Walter's stuttering at the beginning, it seems to be designed to sort of peel away these layers of weakness. And to reveal how weak he's been from the very beginning and how misplaced the very impressive merits, faith in him, and love for him has been all along, which is what, to me, makes it feel like such a strong and and kind of tragic story.

嗯。

Mhmm.

最后我一点也不在乎Walter。我希望他消失。

I don't care anything about Walter at the end. I wish he would go away.

是啊。嗯，他从中也什么都没得到。你觉得他为什么不回应她的爱的告白？他为什么就不能忍一忍，你知道的，说他也爱她？

Yeah. Well, he gets he gets nothing out of this either. Why do you think he doesn't respond to her confession of love? Why can't he just suck it up and, you know, say he loves her too?

我是说，你知道，她看起来是个如此实在的人。而他到最后，你知道，这样说译者很糟糕。称他为译者，就好像说他与生活或现实隔了一层。而那个即使濒死也脚踏实地的人，与Walter形成了如此鲜明的对比，这对比如此刺眼。它也某种程度上刺痛了我们这些在故事大部分时间里喜欢Walter的人。

I mean, it's just you know, she seems to be such a substantial person. And he seems, in the end you know, it's a terrible thing to have said about translators. By calling him a translator, it's as if to say he's at one remove from life or from reality. And that the contrast between someone who, even dying, has her feet so thoroughly on the ground casts such a coruscating light on Walter. And it casts kind of a coruscating light on on those of us who kind of liked Walter through most of the story.

是啊。你知道，我是说，这就是为什么我觉得你第一次读的时候会感觉被这个东西钉住了。我是说，我第一次读的时候真的身体上畏缩了。是啊。我不知道为什么。

Yeah. You know, I mean, that's why I think I think you feel kind of nailed by this, this thing when you first read it. I mean, I I really physically cringed when I read it first. Yeah. I didn't know why.

我是说，我不知道我是感到内疚还是鄙视那个，或多或少更像主角的角色。我不知道是什么让我这么不舒服。

I mean, I I didn't know whether I felt guilty or or I despised the, so more or less more main character. I didn't know what what made me so uncomfortable.

是的。索尔特经常像这里一样，从场景的中间开始他的故事。他以如此精心计算的方式一点点透露信息。你知道，他掌握了这些微小的细节

Yeah. Salter often starts his stories kind of in the middle of a scene, as as he does here. And he doles out the information in such a calculated way. You know, he got these tiny facts

没错。

Yes.

这些细节直到故事很晚的时候才告诉我们很多。当然，他把最大的惊喜留到了最后几段。这种保留手法。是这让故事成功的原因吗？

That that don't tell us very much until very late in the story. And, of course, he has you know, saves the biggest surprise for the last few paragraphs. It's so withholding. Is is that what makes the story work?

其实他从一开始就开始了。相当系统化。是的。我是说，故事的第二段就写道，他和家庭朋友苏珊娜坐在一起，紧接着的词是‘终于’。仿佛我们一直在等待即将发生的事情。

Well, he he starts he starts right in the beginning. It's quite systematic. Yeah. I mean, the very second paragraph of the story, says, he was sitting with Susanna, a family friend, and the next word is finally. You know, as though we've been waiting for what what's about to happen.

所以正如你所说，我们被直接抛入事件的中心。然后从那时起，他构建这种宿命氛围的方式让我印象深刻。那些房子如此诡异，你知道，只有奇怪的阴影，夜晚的云又大又笨重，泛着蓝色，一开始就营造出幽灵般的氛围。

So exactly as you say, we're kind of thrust into the middle of this thing. Yeah. And then from then on, it's quite impressive to me the way he builds this kind of doomed atmosphere. I mean, the the houses are so sepical, you know. They're just weird shadows and the clouds at night are big and bulky and blue and it it it's a ghostly kind of atmosphere to start with.

然后一个幽灵走了进来。

And then a ghost walks into it.

但这个幽灵以为她会在另一个世界见到老朋友之类的，还为此盛装打扮。某种程度上你怀疑她摆脱沃尔特是件好事，即使她不得不以这种方式离开。

But a ghost who thinks that she's gonna meet her old friends in the next world or something, and she's dressing for that. And part of it is you suspect she's well rid of Walter even if she has to get out this way.

你觉得沃尔特这样做是出于正当理由还是非常错误的理由？

And do you think Walter is doing this for the right reasons or or very wrong ones?

记得吗，在他给米拉注射了所谓致命药剂后，他下楼来，索尔特对他的第一句描述就是‘他如释重负’。然后才像是补充说明般提到‘他也很悲伤’。明白吗？

Well, do you remember after he he gives Mera the purportedly fatal injection, he comes down, he's first thing that Salter says about him is he's vastly relieved. Yeah. And and he kind of adds a bit of an afterthought, well, he was also very sad. You know?

是啊。确实。

Yeah. Yeah.

那时候，你知道，你确实会对沃尔特斯产生疑问。谁在为什么感到悲伤？是他生命的那一部分已经逝去，还是梅里特即将离世。

And at that point, you know, you're really wondering about Walters. Who's sad about what? That that part of his life is gone or that Merit is dying.

是啊。而且他再也没有回去确认过。对，你之前提到耶茨和契弗，但这种简洁的散文风格，以及男人酗酒、行为不端的主题，让我强烈联想到海明威。我是说，确实如此。

Yeah. And he never goes back up to check. Yeah. You mentioned Yates and Cheever earlier, but the the terse ness of the prose style and also this sort of concept of men drinking too much, misbehaving, it's very reminded me very much of Hemingway. I mean, I Yep.

我也是。

Me too.

迪诺·索尔特声称他的创作更多受托马斯·曼和纪德等人的影响。但你依然能感受到海明威那种力量在他作品背后的存在。

Dino Salter sort of claims that his influences were more Thomas Mann and the Gideon, so on. But you just feel this force of Hemingway behind behind what he does as well.

没错。而且文风确实非常简练。这种风格效果极佳，因为他往往能精准把握细节。让我记忆犹新的是玛拉特回忆她童年故居时，想起母亲在灯光下伸手调整手镯的那个画面。嗯。

Yeah. And it's very it it is generally very clipped, you know. And and he it it works so well because often he's he's so apposite, you know, and the things he selects on. One of the ones that really stays in my mind is when Marat is remembering her first home, the one she grew up in, and remembers her mother stretching out an arm in the in the lamplight to adjust a bracelet. Mhmm.

索尔特擅长用这类精准的小细节，将读者深深吸引进他的故事里。

Little things like that Salter does a lot of that are so spot on that kind of draw you into his story.

嗯。但正如我们所说，这既是个悲剧故事，也带着些阴差阳错的喜剧色彩。某些荒诞情节让我偶尔会联想到你的作品风格——那种情节层层推进又自我反转的疯狂感。你觉得你们是否互相影响过？

Mhmm. But there's something you know, the it this is a tragic story, as we said, and it is also a bit of a comedy of errors. And I in some of the kind of antic behavior here, I get a little bit of a flash of what you do sometimes, this kind of the the craziness of the plot kind of building up and turning in on itself. Do you do you think that you two have had some influence on each other?

这个嘛，我其实从不确定这类事情。我只知道会回顾那些让我惊叹的作家，他们肯定以某种方式渗入了我的创作。我仰慕索尔特很久了——说来有趣，前阵子在蒙大拿波兹曼的暴雨中，我站在门廊下，看见穿蓝色运动夹克的男人跑过，心想：天啊，那好像是詹姆斯·索尔特。不可能吧。

Well, you I never really know about such things except that I kind of look back on writers who struck me as being just wonderful writers. And I know that, they got under my skin in some way that surely is coming out comes out in my own work. And I've admired Salter for a long time. It's funny, not long ago I was in a rainstorm in Bozeman, Montana, standing in a doorway and some fella in a blue blazer jogged by the doorway and I said, God, that looks like James Salter. Can't be.

结果真是詹姆斯·索尔特。他儿子住那儿。

Well, was James Salter. His son lives here.

真有意思。好的，谢谢你，汤姆。

Very funny. Yeah. Thank you, Tom.

谢谢。新年快乐。愿你感觉好些。

Thank you. Happy New Year. Feel better.

你也是。好的。你可以在我们的网站newyorker.com上阅读汤姆·麦奎恩的几篇短篇小说。他的最新合集《加拉廷峡谷》由Vintage出版社出版了平装本。你可以在newyorker.com或iTunes商店找到许多往期的小说播客。

You too. Okay. You can read several short stories by Tom McGuane on our website, newyorker.com. His latest collection is Gallatin Canyon, published in paperback by Vintage. You can find many previous fiction podcasts at newyorker.com or in the iTunes store.

你也可以通过iTunes或audible.com下载杂志的每周音频版。《纽约客》小说播客由newyorker.com和Curtis Fox Productions制作。我是黛博拉·特雷斯曼。感谢收听。

You can also download the weekly audio edition of the magazine through iTunes or audible.com. The New Yorker fiction podcast is produced by newyorker.com and Curtis Fox Productions. I'm Deborah Treisman. Thanks for listening.

嗨。我是黛博拉·特雷斯曼，《纽约客》的小说编辑。每周在作家之声播客中，《纽约客》的小说作家会朗读他们最新发表在杂志上的故事。你可以听到科尔森·怀特黑德等作家的作品。

Hi. I'm Deborah Treisman, fiction editor of The New Yorker. Each week on the writer's voice podcast, New Yorker fiction writers read their newly published stories from the magazine. You can hear from authors like Colson Whitehead.

特纳用肘轻推埃尔伍德，后者脸上露出惊恐的表情。他们看到了。格里夫不打算放弃。不管之后发生什么，他都要去尝试。

Turner nudged Elwood, who had a look of horror on his face. They saw it. Griff wasn't going down. He was gonna go for it, no matter what happened after.

或者乔伊·威廉姆斯。

Or Joy Williams.

她的父亲沉默不语。他慢慢用手捋过头发。这通常意味着他正前往一个不受她存在影响的地方，一个实际上与她存在相矛盾的地方。她不如去吃午饭算了。

Her father was silent. Slowly, he passed his hand over his hair. This usually meant that he was traveling to a place immune to her presence, a place that indeed contradicted her presence. She might as well go to lunch.

收听新故事或深入探索我们的小说档案库。你可以找到你最喜欢的小说作家的作品，并发现新的作家。无论你在哪里获取播客，都可以收听并关注《作家之声》。

Listen to new stories or dive into our archive of great fiction. You can find the work of your favorite fiction writers and discover new ones. Listen and follow The Writer's Voice wherever you get your podcasts.

来自PRX。

From PRX.