《殺死一只知更鳥》的作者將出第二本小說

Harper Lee, Author of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’ Is to Publish a Second Novel

《殺死一只知更鳥》的作者將出第二本小說

Harper Lee, the reclusive author of the beloved best-selling novel “To Kill a Mockingbird,” will publish a second novel in July, her publisher announced Tuesday.

周二，隱退作家哈珀·李(Harper Lee)的出版人宣布，她的第二本小說將于7月出版。哈珀·李是深受喜愛的暢銷小說《殺死一只知更鳥》(To Kill a Mockingbird)的作者。

The recently rediscovered book, “Go Set a Watchman,” was completed in the mid-1950s, in the midst of the civil rights movement. It takes place 20 years after “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Though it’s effectively a sequel, Ms. Lee actually wrote “Go Set a Watchman” first. The 304-page novel takes place in the same fictional town, Maycomb, Ala., and unfolds as Scout Finch, the feisty child heroine of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” returns to visit her father, Atticus.

最近重新發(fā)現(xiàn)的小說手稿《設(shè)立守望者》(Go Set a Watchman)是在20世紀(jì)50年代中期的民權(quán)運(yùn)動期間完成的。這個故事發(fā)生在《殺死一只知更鳥》的故事之后20年。雖然從故事角度講，《設(shè)立守望者》是續(xù)集，但實(shí)際上它是先寫完的。這本304頁的小說也發(fā)生在虛構(gòu)的阿拉巴馬州梅科姆鎮(zhèn)。開篇講的是《殺死一只知更鳥》中活躍的小女孩主人公斯庫特·芬奇(Scout Finch)回家鄉(xiāng)看望父親阿蒂克斯(Atticus)。

Ms. Lee said in a statement released by her publisher that her editor at the time was taken with Scout’s childhood flashbacks, and told her to write a different novel from Scout’s perspective.

在出版人發(fā)布的一項(xiàng)聲明中，李說，當(dāng)時她的編輯很喜歡斯庫特對童年的回憶，讓她從斯庫特的視角寫一本不同的小說。

“I was a first-time writer, so I did as I was told,” Ms. Lee, 88, a native of Monroeville, Ala., said in the statement.

“那是我第一次寫小說，所以我就照編輯說的去做，”88歲的李在聲明中說。她是阿拉巴馬州門羅維爾人。

That book became “To Kill a Mockingbird,” a classic that won the Pulitzer Prize, was adapted into a 1962 film and has sold more than 40 million copies globally since it was published in 1960. It continues to sell more than one million copies a year, and has been translated into more than 40 languages.

她后來寫成的小說就是《殺死一只知更鳥》，這部經(jīng)典之作獲得了普利策獎，1962年被改編成電影，從1960年出版起在全球銷售了4000多萬冊?，F(xiàn)在它每年仍銷售100多萬冊，被翻譯成40多種語言。

The novel, which is considered to be an American masterpiece and became a staple of school curriculums, is set in Alabama during the Depression, as the young Scout and her family get swept up in the trial of a black man who is accused of raping a white woman. Scout’s father, who was played by Gregory Peck in the film adaptation, represents the accused man at trial. The novel explores themes of racial prejudice and injustice as well as love and a young girl’s coming of age.

這本小說被認(rèn)為是美國經(jīng)典著作，是美國學(xué)校指定的必讀書目。它以經(jīng)濟(jì)大蕭條時期的阿拉巴馬州為背景，一名黑人被指控強(qiáng)奸了一位白人女性，年幼的斯庫特和家人被卷入了這場審判。斯庫特的父親是這名黑人的辯護(hù)律師。在改編電影中，斯庫特的父親由格里高利·派克(Gregory Peck)飾演。這本小說探討了種族偏見、社會不公以及愛、小女孩的成長等主題。

Ms. Lee never published another novel, despite pleas and prodding from readers and the literary establishment. She settled into a reclusive life and has rarely given interviews since the 1960s. She set the earlier book aside, and thought the draft had been lost or destroyed. Then last fall, her friend and lawyer, Tonja Carter, discovered the manuscript of “Go Set a Watchman” in what Ms. Lee said was “a secure location,” attached to an original typescript of “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

李后來再也沒出版過小說，盡管有很多讀者和文學(xué)名人懇求她、鼓勵她。她過上了隱居生活，從20世紀(jì)60年代起很少接受采訪。她把之前寫的那本書拋在腦后，以為草稿已丟失或被毀。去年秋天，她的朋友、律師托尼亞·卡特(Tonja Carter)在“一個安全的地方”(李在聲明中的原話)發(fā)現(xiàn)了《設(shè)立守望者》的草稿，附在《殺死一只知更鳥》的一份原始打字稿之后。

“After much thought and hesitation I shared it with a handful of people I trust and was pleased to hear that they considered it worthy of publication. I am humbled and amazed that this will now be published after all these years,” Ms. Lee said in a statement.

“經(jīng)過再三思考，我給少數(shù)幾個我信任的人看了這部手稿，他們認(rèn)為它值得出版，我聽了很高興。經(jīng)過這么多年，現(xiàn)在它將被出版，我為此感到慚愧和驚喜，”李在聲明中說。

Scholars have long been aware that Ms. Lee wrote an earlier manuscript, but many thought it was an early version of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” not a separate story that unfolds decades later. Everyone, including, apparently, Ms. Lee herself, believed it was lost.

學(xué)者們很早以前就知道，李之前寫過一個草稿，但是很多人以為它是《殺死一只知更鳥》的一個早期版本，不知道它是從幾十年后講起的一個不同的故事。所有人，顯然包括李本人，都以為手稿已丟失。

Charles J. Shields, who wrote a biography of Ms. Lee that was published by Henry Holt in 2006, said he came across references to “Go Set a Watchman” in Ms. Lee’s early correspondence with her literary agent. “’I figured it was an early draft of To Kill a Mockingbird’,” Mr. Shields said. He also saw references from Ms. Lee’s editor to repeated revisions of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” as she tried telling the story from three different perspectives.

查爾斯·J·希爾茲(Charles J. Shields)曾寫過一本關(guān)于哈珀·李的傳記，2006年由亨利霍爾特出版社(Henry Holt)出版。他說，他在李與文稿代理人的早期通信中無意中看到過提及《設(shè)立守望者》。“我以為它是《殺死一只知更鳥》的一個早期草稿，”希爾茲說。他還看到，李的編輯多次提到《殺死一只知更鳥》的反復(fù)修訂稿，因?yàn)槔钆ο霃娜齻€不同的角度講述這個故事。

Mr. Shields was skeptical that the new novel would hold up against Ms. Lee’s first book, which was an instant classic when she published it at age 34. The new book won’t be altered from the original manuscript. “We’re going to see what Harper Lee writes like without a strong editor’s hand, when she’s, quite honestly, an amateur,” Mr. Shields said.

希爾茲懷疑，這本新小說比不上李的第一本書，那本書在出版后立即成為經(jīng)典，當(dāng)時李才34歲。新書不會在原稿上進(jìn)行任何修改。“我們將看到哈珀·李的作品未經(jīng)編輯大力修改之前是什么樣子的，坦白地講，她當(dāng)時是個業(yè)余作家，”希爾茲說。

The book’s publisher, Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins, plans to print two million copies of the new book, which is set for a July 14 release. The deal for the book was negotiated by Michael Morrison, president and publisher of HarperCollins U.S. General Books Group and Canada, and Ms. Carter.

這本書由哈珀柯林斯出版集團(tuán)的哈珀出版社出版，計劃于7月14日面世，初印200萬冊。這本書的協(xié)議是由哈珀柯林斯美國大眾圖書出版集團(tuán)和加拿大出版公司的總裁、出版人邁克爾·莫里森(Michael Morrison)與卡特協(xié)商簽訂的。

“I, along with millions of others around the world, always wished that Harper Lee had written another book,” Mr. Morrison said in a statement. “And what a brilliant book this is. I love ‘Go Set a Watchman,’ and know that this masterpiece will be revered for generations to come.”

“我和世界各地的成百上千萬讀者一直希望哈珀·李再寫一本書，”莫里森在一項(xiàng)聲明中說，“這本書非常精彩。我非常喜歡《設(shè)立守望者》，我深信這本杰作將被世代景仰。”

Some critics and observers were skeptical of Ms. Lee’s role in approving the deal. All of Harper’s communication with Ms. Lee about the new book came through her lawyer, Ms. Carter, and her literary agent, Andrew Nurnberg, including the statement she gave expressing her delight that the novel would finally be published, according to Jonathan Burnham, senior vice president and publisher of Harper. “We talked to her through her lawyer and friend Tonja Carter,” Mr. Burnham said, adding that he was “completely confident” that Ms. Lee understood and approved of the deal and that speaking directly with Ms. Lee “wasn’t necessary.”

有些批評家和觀察者對李在贊成這項(xiàng)協(xié)議中扮演的角色表示懷疑。據(jù)哈珀出版社的高級副總裁、出版人喬納森·伯納姆(Jonathan Burnham)說，哈珀出版社與李關(guān)于這本新書的溝通都是通過她的律師卡特以及她的文學(xué)代理人安德魯·尼恩貝格(Andrew Nurnberg)進(jìn)行的，包括那份聲明——她在聲明中稱，為這本小說最終得以出版感到高興。“我們通過她的律師、朋友托尼亞·卡特與她交流，”伯納姆說。他補(bǔ)充說，他對李理解并贊成這項(xiàng)協(xié)議“充滿信心”，認(rèn)為“沒有必要”直接與李交談。