在多样的历史叙事中思考——评田中禾的长篇小说《父亲和她们》

Reflections on the Diversified Historical Narrative in Tian Zhonghe's My Father and His Women

《父亲和她们》是当代作家田中禾近年来的一部力作,它讲述了"我"的父亲马文昌与"我"的娘肖芝兰、母亲林春如等"她们"之间的爱情史和婚姻史。文本的结构独具匠心,多人叙事分别构成相对封闭的空间,形成多种声音;文本的逻辑线索缜密清晰,"她们"的叙事旨在追求记忆的真实,而"我"的叙事则重在剪裁,即以主持人的身份,统摄父辈们的历史讲述;于是,读者便很自然地被触发出亲临其境的历史感,并生发出由此所连带的关于主体建构、历史形成等问题的思考。

My Father and His Women is the latest masterpiece by Chinese contemporary writer Tian Zhonghe. It nar- rates the romance between the host＇s father Ma Wenchang and three women. The writer is ingenious in the design of the textu- al structure. The story is told by several narrators, which forms a relatively enclosed space where the harmony of several voices reverberates. Events in the narrative are arranged logically. The narration by Father＇s women aims to restore the truth in his- tory while the host＇s narration functions as a tailoring force that governs the elder generation＇s narrative on that part of histo- ry. Thus, the text makes the reader immersed in the real historical events, and prompts him to ponder on relating questions such as subject construction and history formation.