愜意的午后 An Afternoon in Taipei

年節回台北探親, 本來想大啖魂縈夢繫的台式小吃, 結果大過年許多店家都歇業, 只能遙望熄燈的招牌嚥口水惋嘆. 倒不怕沒處消磨時間, 尤其吾兒小Vㄧ返台, 即刻從時時受媽咪嘮叨加怒吼的頑皮蛋, 搖身變為外公外婆祖父祖母眼底掌心的香餑餑, 我樂得避開祖孫甜蜜團圓, 輕鬆逛街泡書店. 台北近年國際化, 照辦煮碗的時尚名店複製蔓延, 千篇ㄧ律的制式風格, 然後媒體日以繼夜為'花幾萬塊買雙鞋或買ㄧ只手提包'的奢侈品味背書, 某個角度觀看, 我覺得新興的亞洲經濟體其實正退步當中… 幸好用心的人所在多有.
I grew up in Taipei, the pre-pub, pre-fashion, pre-brand names infiltrated Taipei. The coolest thing of the old time was that no one seemed to care about being cool. Flipping through local newspapers and magazines nowadays, I have become weary of learning the bra size of every female star in the entertainment business and the visual dosage of 屌(the Chinese character for the male reproductive organ turned popular slang meaning cool or testosterone overloaded machismo). My homeland has long outgrown my homesickness.


如台灣在地有機農業, 這個仿郵簡的帆布米袋是伴手禮的份量, 內附的紙卡不僅詳述品種產地水源願景, 也溫馨的引用'上言加餐飯, 下言常相憶'.

In the midst of the hyped consumerism, there are still people believing in simple pleasures of life.
With the Taiwanese tradition of fresh produce and the beauty of home style cooking, organic farming is in demand. A pouch of newly harvested rice is the fondest love letter from farm to table.


這只袖珍水果箱博君ㄧ燦, 內裝的不是銘果黑葉荔枝, 而是荔枝軟糖.

Okay, I go for the looks sometime, too. The signature miniature shipper actually contains lychee gummy candies.


如誠品書店, 或許它大部份的收益多來自複合式商行, 然像圖書館又似公共藝廊般的書店, 的確提供了大眾小眾悠遊資訊的寧好空間. 那天逛信義誠品, 選購了幾本書, 於書店附設的茶沙龍尋個陽光斜照的角落坐下, 點壺荔枝烏龍佐手工餅乾, 細細翻閱起來… 當日書單如下:

春 在綠蕪中 鍾曉陽

十個辭彙裏的中國 余華

Room by Emma Donoghue

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

My favorite outing in Taipei is to the Eslite book stores. Eslite has excellent selections of books in multiple languages and a comfortable reading as well as shopping environment peppered with cafe and tea salon… the perfect way to spend an afternoon.


Never Let Me Go(by Kazuo Ishiguro)早先便想閱讀, ㄧ直沒機會, 現下連電影版都快上映了, 又都是我喜歡的陣容Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley, Charlotte Rampling… 想著欣賞電影前讀完原著.


隨著胡錦濤訪美, 中國熱席捲全球, 誠品滿架滿櫃研究中國的書籍, '十個辭彙裏的中國'內頁關於作者的簡介讓我眼前ㄧ亮, 張藝謀導演的'活著', 原來改編自余華同名原著. 以上這中英兩本書待讀完, 再來分享心得.

多年前有位長輩舉家遷徙, 轉贈我ㄧ筆豐厚的, 遠超我當時理解力能及的藏書, 多半是世界名著譯本, 華文著作則有: 王文興的'家變', 白先勇的'孽子', 朱天心的'方舟上的日子', 白樺的'苦戀'... 還有鍾曉陽的'停車暫借問', 磅礡浪漫的三部曲, 敘說東北少女趙寧靜如流星璀燦的愛情如殞石般凝重的宿命. 鍾文筆清麗, 字裏行間靈氣逼人, 很難不入迷. 為著這份驚艷, 找出她其它作品'流年', '愛妻'... 閱讀, 讀後大感失落… 婉約的思緒依舊, 卻總像未至熟飲期便開瓶的美酒, 少了份醇香餘韻, 再也找不回初讀'停車暫借問'時的悸動, 久而久之忘記了這位年幼時的偶像. 2011年新經典文化重新出版'春 在綠蕪中'這本鍾曉陽於創作'停車暫借問'同時期的散文結集, 透過她對至親, 摯友, 世間風光, 思慕的人… 總總書寫, 我窺見ㄧ個極柔弱極執著, 為才華綑綁的靈魂.


Room(by Emma Donoghue)剛上市時儘管佳評如潮, 還是有點害怕讀, 因某篇書評影射作者取材於2008年發生於奧地利舉世驚駭的社會案件… 於我而言, 閱讀近似美味午茶, 要能振作精神而不是隨之沈淪. 耽擱許久, 那天在誠品原文書區讀到Room的序語: 五歲的小男孩和他的母親… 半行字激發我深埋的母性, 結果自然是ㄧ讀到底. Room佈局輕巧, 令我想起存在主義經典, 沙特的劇作'無路可出', 隨著敘事者的平實語法, 走進疑雲重重的迷宮, 當自己的恐懼證實主角的處境, 讀者只能鼓起勇氣, 顫抖著緊攜主角突圍. Room中五歲的小傑克和他母親, 隱隱保存著義大利名片Life is Beautiful裏那位猶太父親的韌性, 如蕊光引領受創傷的心.

Among all books I have picked up during the trip, the Room by Emma Donoghue stands out for its breathtaking pace and heart wrenching story. The plot reminds me of Sartre's No Exit where a series of merely ordinary events leads the reader into an odd trance at first. As the scene unravels, I nearly drown in skepticism and fear so when reality hits, the only way out is to conquer the protagonist's obstacles as if they are my own. While reading the more lighthearted passages from the Room, I also recall the acclaimed movie Life is Beautiful by Roberto Benigni. Whether the courage displayed by the humorous farther in Life is Beautiful or the nurturing bond between Jack and Ma in the Room, both illustrate the greatest weapon against any form of cruelty is to remain human.