吃饭、算账与“一条向上的斜行线”——论王安忆长篇小说《一把刀,千个字》

On Wang Anyi’s Novel A Knife, a Thousand Words

王安忆新近出版的长篇小说《一把刀,千个字》,可与其晚近以来的小说创作、文学讲座构成逻辑层面的参照关系。《一把刀,千个字》中,人物的“做菜”“吃饭”“算账”等行为描述,揭示出普通个体在日常生活与精神结构方面的某种一以贯之的特质,这也在一定程度上体现了王安忆本人有关生活的“强者”的文学想象。王安忆几十年的文学创作生涯呈现出“一条向上的斜行线”轨迹,这不仅指涉王安忆具有标示性的写作理念,也需要联系到其创作相应时期小说的人物、主题、情节之间的呼应或是背反,这同样也是讨论《一把刀,千个字》的不应忽视的考察点。

Wang Anyi’s latest novel A Knife, a Thousand Words can form a logical reference relationship with his novel creation and literature lectures in recent years. The description of the characters’ behaviour in the novel, such as cooking, eating and setting accounts, reveals some consistent traits of ordinary individuals in their daily life and spiritual structure, which also reflects, to some extent, Wang Anyi’s literary imagination of the “tough guy” in life. Wang Anyi’s several decade-long literary creation career has presented “an upward oblique line” track, which not only refers to his iconic writing concept, but also needs to be related to the echoes or reversals among the characters, themes and plots of his novels in the corresponding period of creation. This is also the study point that should not be ignored in the discussion of A Knife, a Thousand Words.