牙买加的“想象口述史”——评马龙·詹姆斯的犯罪小说《七次谋杀简史》

“Imagined Oral History” of Jamaica——Review of Marlon James's Crime Fiction A Brief History of Seven Killings

牙买加作家马龙·詹姆斯凭新作《七次谋杀简史》成功问鼎2015年布克奖。该小说以1976年雷鬼音乐鼻祖鲍勃·马利遇袭事件为线索,借助形形色色的人物对当年这一扑朔迷离案件的口述,巧妙地串联起发生在这些人物身上的事件。小说故事情节横跨三十余年,通过对政治、种族、暴力和犯罪的书写,再现了牙买加混乱不堪的帮派和政治世界,折射出詹姆斯对牙买加人民生存困境的反思。该小说可谓气势磅礴,是一部反映当代牙买加社会的"史诗"。

Marlon James,a Jamaican novelist,won The Man Booker Prize by his new works,A Brief History of Seven Killings,in 2015. Based on the event in which Bob Marley,the originator of reggae,was attacked,the novel tactfully connects lives of all sorts of people through their oral account of that event. The story spans over thirty years,vividly showing Jamaica ＇s disordered gangdom and politics, and revealing James ＇s reflection on survival predicament of Jamaicans through the description of politics,race,violence and crime.The novel is of great momentum,and it can be seen as an ＂epic＂of Jamaica＇s society in contemporary times.