Afterlife《读书笔记》

厄普代克1994年出版的一部短篇小说集，老年时的写作当然有老年的气象：成熟、大气，也不时能感受到疾病、衰老、死亡的气息，厄普代克是这样，罗斯的近几部作品也是。

喜欢的有几篇，如反映旧地重游的A Sandstone Farmhouse The Other Side of the Street 反映一个男人受到谣言困扰，反而有了同性恋欲望的Rumor。书中照例有老厄特色的一些反映男女婚恋生活的一些篇什。比较喜欢的是最后一篇 Grandparenting，介绍的是多年以后，已经离异而且各自成家的梅普尔夫妇的女儿生了一个儿子，一家人又聚到一起。这一篇写得温馨而又充满希望。重新写到笔下的人物，这是老厄的习惯，以前他就为梅普尔夫妇写过一本短篇集，名为Your Lover Just Called ，我写过读书笔记(http://lukesun.blogcn.com/diary14374382.shtml)。

摘抄的这些都是最后一篇的（Grandparenting，篇名好像很难译）

Richard had long ago grown used to Ruth's crisp way of seeing things; it was like living in a pop-up book with no dimension of ambiguity.

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这一句是Richard回忆自己的女儿刚出生时，Updike用笔之细腻可见一斑。

She was the first baby he had ever held; he had thought it would be a precarious experience shot through with fear of dropping something so precious and fragile but no in even the smallest infant there was an adhesive force a something that actively fit your arms and hands banishing the fear. The hot wobbly head the wandering eyes like opaque drops of celestial liquid the squinting little face choleric and muscular with the will to live. We're in this together Dad the baby's boddy had assured him and we'll both get throught it.

*******

Nobody belongs to us except in memory.

这句是结尾，我很喜欢。我还喜欢他的《冷战盛时的点点爱意》的结尾：“你可以去到月亮的阴暗面然后再回来，但没有什么比男男女女为了能待在一起而采取的做法更令人称奇，更不可思议。”