《末世之城》:大屠杀的历史记忆

In the Country of Last Things: A Historical Memory of the Holocaust

保罗·奥斯特是美国当代最著名的犹太作家之一,继其成名作《纽约三部曲》之后,他发表了小说《末世之城》。在这部作品里,奥斯特以"二战"时的犹太人隔离区为原型,塑造了一座被排斥、封锁的城市,构成一种禁闭空间。在这一空间里,"二战"大屠杀的历史史实与虚构的景观相融合,虚实相间,意蕴层叠。奥斯特借末世之城的禁闭空间再现了"二战"时期犹太人的苦难经历,而造成这一切的根本原因是反犹势力的暴行。正是在反犹暴君的统治下,犹太人想要通过空间建立秩序的希望变成了一种虚妄。在小说中,奥斯特通过对大屠杀文学主题的探讨,表达了对历史和民族身份的记忆。

Paul Auster（1947-） is regarded as one of the best American Jewish writers of the age. He gained renown for The New York Trilogy,and after that he published In the Country of Last Things（1987）. In In the Country of Last Things,Auster makes up an enclosed and segmented city,constituting a space of the great confinement. World War Ⅱghettos provide the prototype of ＂the country of last things＂. In the space of confinement,Auster combines the made-up geographical landscape with the historical facts of the Holocaust,constructing a city of fact and fiction,which reflects the sad plight of Jews in World War II ghettos. And the fundamental cause of Jews＇ sufferings is the atrocity committed by anti-Semites. With the despotic power exercised over Jews by anti-Semites,Jews＇ hope to restore order by space image can only fail to illusion. Auster＇s examination of the Holocaust in his literary writing manifests his memory to Jewish history and identity.