喜欢引用吉卜龄的贼—The Burglar Who Liked to Quote Kipling (1979) 事件起源— 有个名叫Whelkin的人主动接洽我们的主人公，要他去某户人家偷一本Kipling的书，而且这 次有个特殊的要求—得在屋主在家的时候行窃。一开始，事情貌似进行得很顺利，但想当然 耳，幸福往往是短暂的…… 故事经过— Bernie的衰神体质再度发威；当你为了他发挥了小聪明、顺利在枪口下扞卫住他的战利品而 喝采的时候，转眼间他就果不其然又掉进了别人的陷阱里，总是如此一波三折，才是Bern的 职涯写照啊。就算得在三方人马之间斡旋，Bernie仍能再次凭借他的机智，功德圆满、功成 身退。 感想— 或许是卜老写了前两本之後发现，套路怎麽好像跟Tanner有点重复，一集换一个女人，好像 庞德女郎一样，所以决定从这本开始，加入一个纯友谊的搭档角色--Carolyn，也从此奠定 Bernie注孤生的命运 lol 从此以後就只能是个搞笑的活宝，再也没有翻身的机会啦～ 至於整个故事的脉络，总觉得有点像马尔他之鹰？好几方人马为了抢一个目标而互相争夺， 或许是为了展现Bernie的聪明才智吧，整体而言算是挺本格的古典推理。 有趣的桥段— 故事一开始，是Bernie在顾店，结果遇到小贼在鲁班门前弄大斧，非常有趣，内容如下： 小贼手里拿着一本特价书来柜台结帐，Bern便开始调戏他— "The bargain books are forty cents or three for a dollar, which is even more of a bargain. You just want the one?" 「特价书是一本40分钱，三本一元更划算喔。你只要这本吗？」 "That's right." He pushed the two quarters an inch or so closer to me. "Just the one." 「对。」他再度把那两枚铜板往我面前督了过来。 "Fine," I said. I looked at his face. All I could really see was his brow, and it looked untroubled, and I would have to do something about that. "Forty cents for the Cowper, and three cents for the Governor in Albany, mustn't forget him, and what does that come to?" I leaned over the counter and dazzled him with my pearly-whites. "I make it thirty-two dollars and seventy cents," I said. 「好吧，」我说。我打量起他的脸。整张脸就只看得见他的眉毛，而那道眉毛看起来毫不心 虚；我得想想办法才行。「一本考波四十分钱、还要缴三毛钱给住在阿尔巴尼的州长；可别 忘了他的份。这样加起来是多少？」我身子前倾靠在柜台上，亮出我一口晶莹剔透的白牙。 「一共是32块70分钱。」我说道。 (0.4+0.03=32.7一整个笑炸了我 XDDDDD) (中文版的翻译居然不晓得那三毛钱是营业税，还说什麽买『阿尔巴尼州长』那是什麽鬼？ 是把它当一本书了吗？但是用的引号也不是指书啊，更何况，阿尔巴尼是纽约州首府，又不 是有个州叫做阿尔巴尼...原文那种说法，就类似「重庆南路的xxx总统」。因为税收是交给 州政府，所以才这样说，喵的译者连这都不懂，还当什麽翻译啊 = =) "Huh?" 「蛤？」(心里一定想说：你这心算是怎麽回事？ XD) "That copy of Byron. Full morocco, marbled endpapers, and I believe it's marked fifteen dollars. The Wallace Stevens is a first edition and it's a bargain at twelve. The novel you took was only three dollars or so, and I suppose you just wanted to read it because you couldn't get anything much reselling it." 「那本拜伦，纯摩洛哥皮、大理石纹书封，标价应该是15元。那本华莱士．史蒂文斯是初版 ，特价12元。你另外拿的那本小说才三块左右；这本转卖没什麽利润，所以应该是你自己要 看的吧。」(大理石纹那个，应该是hardcover硬壳里面那层较厚的纸，用来胶合外层折进去 的羊皮。) "I don't know what you're talking about." 「我不懂你在说什麽。」 I moved out from behind the counter, positioning myself between him and the door He did't look as though he intended to sprint but he was wearing running shoes and you never can tell. Thieves are an unpredictable lot. 我步出柜台，挡在他跟大门中间。他看起来不像是要逃跑的样子，不过他脚上可是穿着跑鞋 ，而且这种事也说不准；小偷总是不按牌理出牌。 "In the flight bag," I said. "I assume you'll want to pay for what you took." 「包包里的那些，」我说。「你应该有要结帐吧。」 "This?" He looked down at the flight bag as if astonished to find it dangling from his fingers. "This is just my gym stuff. You know—sweat socks, a towel, like that." 「这个？」他惊讶地低头一看，好似现在才发现自己手上居然提着一个包包。「里头就是些 运动用品，像是运动袜、毛巾之类的。」 "Suppose you open it." 「要不你打开来瞧瞧。」 (suppose有提议的语气，所以不该如译者那样翻成强制的命令。) Perspiration was beading on his forehead but he was trying to tough it out. "You can't make me," he said. "You've got no authority." 他额头上已经渗出汗珠，但还在死鸭子嘴硬。「你不能强迫我，」他说。「你没有资格这麽 做。」 (Tough if out就是装逼、逞强，什麽「企图以强硬的方式脱困」？ = =) "I can call a policeman. He can't make you open it, either, but he can walk you over to the station house and book you, and *then* he can open it, and do you really want that to happen? Open the bag." 「我可以叫警察来；他也不能逼你打开，但是他可以把你抓进警局里调查，到时候他就可以 打开了。你真的想把事情搞成那样？快把袋子打开。」 He opened the bag. It contained sweat socks, a towel, a pair of lemon-yellow gym shorts, and the three books I had mentioned along with a nice clean first edi- tion of Steinbeck's *The Wayward Bus* complete with dust wrapper. It was marked $17.50, which seemed a teensy bit high. 於是他便把袋子打开。只见里面装了运动袜、一条毛巾、一件柠檬黄的运动短裤、我刚才说 的那三本书，还有一本史坦贝克的《不称心的公车》，是初版的，书况很好，还有一层书衣 ，标价十七块五，似乎贵了点。 (史坦贝克这本书，译者翻《不羁的巴士》还挺不错的，只 是没读过内容，不知道贴不贴切就是。又，Bernie是嫌那间店标价太贵了，认为那本书没那 个价值、酸对方黑的意思，译者翻得有点暧昧。) 题外话：以前读书时都会托澳门侨生同学带一些那种 一捆的自裁书衣回来，不然在台湾都不晓得要去哪买，诚品好像有在卖，但是卖很贵 = = 刚刚再查，才知道叫吉利布，不过还是没有澳门买便宜，当初请同学带一捆才50，PChome 要卖一两百 = = 而且款式一样很少，澳门卖的除了素的雾面之外，还有星星等花纹，材质 也很好很软，我看网路上分享的好像都比较硬，等收到货再来比较看看。) "I didn't get that here," he said. 「那本不是在这里拿的，」他说。 "You have a bill of sale for it?" 「你有收据吗？」 "No, but—" 「没有，可是—」 I scribbled briefly, then gave him another smile. "Let's call it fifty dollars even," I said, "and let's have it." 我用纸笔草草计算了一下，再度对他露出一个笑容。「就算你五十元整，」我说。「成交吧 。」 "You're charging me for the Steinbeck?" 「那本史坦贝克你也要算我钱？」 "Uh-huh." 「嗯哼。」 "But I had it with me when I came in." 「可是那本是我带进来的耶。」 "Fifty dollars," I said. 「一共五十元。」我说。 "Look, I don't want to *buy* these books." He rolled his eyes at the ceiling. " Oh God, why did I have to come in here in the first place? Look, I don't want any trouble." 「喂，我并不想要买这些书好吗。」他的白眼都翻到天边去了。「天哪，我一开始到底干嘛 要踏进这间店啊？跟你说，我不想要惹麻烦。」(翻白眼而已，译者却翻成「看着天花板」 ，好像头都不低下来了一样 = =") "Neither do I." 「我也不想。」 "And the last thing I want is to buy anything. Look, keep the books, keep the Steinbeck too, the hell with it. Just let me get out of here, huh? 「我更不想要买东西。这麽着，书我不要了，管他的，连那本史坦贝克也给你，只要你让我 离开这里就好，如何？」 (译者又在他妈的了......the hell with it明明就没那麽脏) "I think you should buy the books." 「我看你还是把书买下来比较好。」 (就是一种很黑道的语气啊 XDD 听起来好像很委婉，但其实一整个杀气腾腾，但是Bernie根 本是个小孬孬不是吗？好出戏啊 XDDD) "I don't have the money. I got fifty cents. Look, keep the fifty cents too, okay ? Keep the shorts and the towel, keep the sweat socks, okay? Just let me get the hell out of here, okay?" 「我身上没有那麽多钱，只有五十分钱。要不，这五十分钱也给你，可以吗？短裤、毛巾都 给你，袜子也给你可以吗？只要让我离开就好，可以吗？」 "You don't have any money?" 「你一点钱都没有？」 "No, nothing. Just the fifty cents. Look—" 「没有，就只有五十分钱。我说—」 "Let's see your wallet." 「把皮夹拿出来瞧瞧。」 "What are you—I don't have a wallet." 「你想干什—我没带皮夹。」 "Right hip pocket. Take it out and hand it to me." 「屁股右边口袋。把它拿出来给我。」 (正所谓强盗遇上贼爷爷 XDDD) "I don't believe this is happening." 「这什麽跟什麽啊……」 I snapped my fingers. "The wallet." 我弹了个响指。「皮夹。」 It was a nice enough black pinseal billfold, complete with the telltale outline of a rolled condom to recall my own lost adolescence. There was almost a hundred dollars in the currency compartment. I counted out fifty dollars in fives and tens, replaced the rest, and returned the wallet to its owner. 那是个很不错的黑色短夹；从外观能明显看出里面放了一枚未开封的保险套，唤起了我过往 的青春回忆。里头的纸钞有将近一百元；我从中数出了共五十元的小钞，把剩下的放回去， 再将皮夹物归原主。(pin seal是指小海豹的皮，要强调材质及价值，不是什麽按扣式的皮 夹 = = 而且保险套也没有「令人脸红」好吗......telltale是在讲一眼就看出来里面有保 险套，都几岁的人会脸红？又是男的，有啥好脸红 = =) "That's my money," he said. 「那是我的钱耶，」他说。 "You just bought books with it," I told him. "Want a receipt?" 「拿来买书了，」我跟他说。「要开收据吗？」 "I don't even want the books, dammit." His eyes were watering behind the thick glasses. "What am I going to do with them, anyway?" 「喵的，我根本连书都不想要好吗！」在那层厚厚的镜片底下，他眼眶都泛泪了。 "I suppose reading them is out. What did you plan to do with them originally?" 「看来你是不考虑去读这些书了。不然你本来打算拿它们怎麽办？」 译者是不是又没看懂out的用法？通常是在想计策、办法的时候，会盘算好几条路，out就是 出局，也就是死路、无法进行的意思。在这里就是说要这个偷书贼摸摸鼻子买回去看是不可 能的了，译者却翻成「我想不是应该要读他们吗？」 ~"~ He stared at his track shoes. "I was going to sell them." 他头低低地盯着脚上那双田径鞋。「拿去卖掉。」 (为什麽这里要低头看鞋？因为这个人做错事，现在心虚了，所以低头了。译者那样直翻就 没有带出因果关系。虽然原文也没有把低头的动作写出来，所以或许也会有人认为这样就是 过译了。) "To whom?" 「卖给谁？」 "I don't know. Some store." 「不晓得，随便哪间店吧。」 "How much were you going to get for them?" 「那你想卖多少？」 "I don't know. Fifteen, twenty dollars." 「不晓得，十五、二十块吧。」 "You'd wind up taking ten." 「最後你顶多拿到十块。」 "I suppose so. 「大概吧。」 "Fine," I said. I peeled off one of his tens and pressed it into his palm. "Sell them to me." 「那好，」我说，并且把一张十元抽出来塞在他手里。「卖给我吧。」 "Huh?" 「蛤？」 "Saves running from store to store. I can use good books, they're the very sort of item I stock, so why not take the ten dollars from me?" 「省得你一间一间跑。这些好书我用得上，我店里卖的就是这些东西，所以何不从我这 里赚这十块钱呢？」 (take the money from me的用法，是在强调：既然都一样是要卖人， 干嘛不乾脆卖给我？有种顺水推舟的意味在，强调的是卖的「对象」，但原译者的译文比较 是在强调「十块钱」。) "This is crazy," he said. 「这也太扯了吧，」他说。 "Do you want the books or the money? It's up to you." 「你是要书还是要钱？看你罗。」 "I don't want the books." 「我不想要书……」 搭配泪眼汪汪委屈小媳妇脸 XD) "Do you want the money?" 「那你想要钱吗？」 "I guess so." 「应该吧。」 (已经被整到不知道该说什麽好了 XD) I took the books from him and stacked them on the counter. "Then put it in your wallet," I said, "before you lose it." 我把他手上的书拿过来，放在柜台上。「那就快把钱收好，」我说。「免得被你搞丢了。」 原译文又是火星英式中文。这句为什麽要说"before YOU LOSE it"？因为原本这家伙好端端 地，却因为不学好(偷窃的技术 XD)，强盗遇上贼爷爷，无缘无故被噱了40元，正可谓偷鸡 不着蚀把米，所以说是他自己搞丢的。 "This is the craziest thing ever. You took fifty bucks from me for books I didn't want and now you're giving me ten back. I'm out forty dollars, for God's sake." 「我从来没遇过这麽离谱的事。你为了那些我压根不想要的书，向我收了五十块，现在又 还我十块。我居然一下子少了四十元！」 "Well, you bought high and sold low. Most people try to work it the other way around." 「呃，谁叫你买高卖低；大部分的人都是努力反其道而行。」 "*I* should call a cop. I'm the one getting robbed." 「我才该叫警察吧？我才是被抢的那个吧？」 译者在这里用「呢」，不会觉得很怪吗 = = I packed his gym gear into the Braniff bag, zipped it shut, handed it to him. Then I extended a forefinger and chucked him under his hairy chin. 我把他的运动用品装回那个班尼夫包，然後把拉链拉起来递给他，再搔搔他毛茸茸的下巴。 (就说是在调戏他 XD) "A tip," I said. 「给你个忠告，」我说。 "Huh?" 「蛤？」 "Get out of the business." 「别干这一行。」 He looked at me. 他直楞楞看着我。 "Find another line of work. Quit lifting things. You're not terribly good at it and I'm afraid you're temperamentally unsuited to the life that goes with it. Are you in college?" 「换个工作，别再顺手牵羊了，你实在不是很拿手，我看你恐怕也适应不了那样的生活。你 在念大学吗？」 "I dropped out." 「辍学了。」 "Why?" 「理由是？」 "It wasn't relevant." 「也没什麽。」 "Few things are, but why don't you see if you can't get back in? Pick up a diploma and find some sort of career that suits you. You're not cut out to be a professional thief." 「世上大部分的事情都没什麽。你要不要考虑回去念完学位，然後再找个适合自己的工作？ 你没有当职业窃贼的命。」 "A professional—" He rolled his eyes again. "Jesus, I ripped off a couple of books. Don't make a life's work out of it, huh?" 「职业窃—」他又翻了个白眼。「老天爷，我不过就是摸了几本书，不代表我要一辈子吃这 行饭吧？」 "Anybody who steals things for resale is a professional criminal," I told him. "You just weren't doing it in a very professional manner, that's all. But I'm serious about this. Get out of the business." I laid a hand lightly on his wrist "Don't take this the wrong way," I said, "but the thing is you're too dumb to steal." 「只要把偷到手的东西转手卖掉，就叫做职业罪犯，」我告诉他。「只不过你的手法不够专 业罢了。不过我说真的：快别干这一行。」我轻轻地按着他的手腕。「别误会我的意思，」 我说。「不过实情就是—要想做贼，你还嫌太笨了。」 完全就是：想当贼，你还未够班啊～～～ p.33 Carolyn首次登场（奇怪，为啥突然之间就出现了这号人物？我前前後後研究了好几次 ，想说是不是我漏看了，但是就真的是这样突然空降到了Bernie的生活之中啊。） 卜老形容她"she's built like a fire hydrant, which is dangerous in her line of work." 是说她长得像个消防栓，身为一个宠物美容师，这可是很危险的，因为，想也知道 小狗最爱尿在消防栓上 lol 因此只要说长得像消防栓就好，原译文画蛇添足补上一句「这 样的五短身材干她那行可是很危险的。」反而让人不解其意。 p.141 又在酸医生的笔迹 Carolyn: "You got some handwriting. You should have been a doctor, did anyone ever tell you that?" 记得之前也在哪里看过，反正医生开处方的时候，就是非得要像鬼画符不可 lol 译文问题— C5, p.86 「让我们理性点。」 原文：Let us be reasonable." 这里是在讲有人找上门，向Bernie要他偷的那本书，而这句话的笑点在：明明是这人手里 拿着枪，指着Bernie，但这句话却是从他嘴里说出来 lol 一般来说，都是被人用枪指着的 那个，才会说出「有话好好说」这句话，这人却是反其道而行。就算不这样翻，也可以说 「大家讲点道理嘛～」，就如同p.88翻的那样，不是很好吗？翻什麽理性，理性跟可以理 喻是有所差异的，毕竟理性的反义词是感性，难道不可理喻就等於感性了？ p.136 「拍纸簿」 好吧，其实这译文没有问题，但我要追究的是当初发明这个译文的人… …他娘的请他给我好好解释解释，什麽叫做惊喜，不对，是什麽叫做拍纸簿？？？ 原文是 ："note pad"，因此拍这个字很显然是从pad音译过来的，但什麽叫拍？你是在拍什麽？ 这压根没有翻译到啊！谁晓得这是什麽鬼？当然，由於这种笔记本是专指可以一页一页撕下 来的一本便条纸，为了区分所以给他一个独特的译名，这很合理，但从中文的逻辑去推敲， 却根本无法将这个词与这个物件连结起来啊……虽然很多老一辈的翻译的外来语本就有不少 类似这样的问题，但我真心觉得这里翻笔记本就可以了……要说我孤陋寡闻也是可以啦…… p.144 「怎麽样，那女人吃醋罗。」 原文:"How about that?" she said. "The bitch is jealous." 原译文是也没什麽问题，不过何必把bitch马赛克？Carolyn本来就不是多文雅的 淑女，她用这种字眼称呼她的女伴，毫不意外啊，干嘛不直接翻「意外吧，这婊子居然吃醋 了。」 （How about that 也是很多人无法理解的惯用语，其实就意同「逆砍砍、逆砍砍」 、「想不到吧/没料到吧/意外吧？」，说这句话的时候意外成份是很高的，通常是惊喜。） p.279 「从我所站的地方看来」 原文: from where I stood 也是常见的惯用语，意思就是 「在我看来」，这里的 where I stand 是指抽象的「立场」。 这本中译本我只大略翻了翻，没有仔细对照，但译文貌似没什麽问题，真是谢天谢地 Orz ※ 编辑: Raist (36.226.201.61), 07/29/2017 01:41:08 好久好久没上来，直到现在才看到推文，请见谅啊 ^^" 感谢S大有心，竟然特地去查了语源，受教了～ 唉唉，感谢各位愿意看我时常充满怨气的长文， 然而当时因看了过多令人发指的错误译文，导致我有点消化不良， 是以这系列文竟然中断了这麽久（几年有了 >"<） 最近我再看看是否会继续这串系列文 但是人老了实在提不起劲（？） ※ 编辑: Raist (36.227.190.144 台湾), 11/15/2019 00:34:28