[Book] 非普通讀者 The Uncommon Reader - Alan Bennett

  The Uncommon Reader: A Novella 《非普通讀者》

    by Alan Bennett

    faber and faber, 124 pp.

    Rating: 

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去圖書館借這本書的時候，圖書館阿姨跟我聊了一下，她說這本書很有趣，問我是否之前有看Alan Bennett其他的書籍。我提到因為在BBC 4〈Afternoon Reading〉聽到作者Alan Bennett朗讀自己作品《The Uncommon Reader》引起我的興趣，我覺得Alan Bennett和Stephen Fry朗讀有聲書風格很不一樣，但是一樣有趣。阿姨形容Alan Bennett的特色是"dry humor"。就這樣，加上kindle剛來的第一個禮拜，我整個人深陷在字句串連的書頁裡，不能自拔。


一切都是狗的錯，某天皇室狗在白金漢宮的花園裡狂吠亂叫 (barking their heads off)，英國女王出面制止並意外發現一輛西敏寺的巡迴圖書車，並向前為狗狂吠亂叫道歉。女王為了不讓圖書館員Mr Hutching覺得巡迴圖書車好像很貧瘠，就順口問：有什麼書你可以推薦的嗎？

圖書館員Mr Hutching回問：What does Your Majesty like?
結果女王遲疑了一會，說真的連女王自己都不知道。因為身為女王是不能有偏好的，而閱讀這嗜好牽涉到偏愛，女王必須避免個人喜好。

She’d never taken much interest in reading. She read, of course, as one did, but liking books was something she left to other people. It was a hobby and it was in the nature of her job that she didn't have hobbies. Jogging, growing roses, chess or rock-climbing, cake decoration, model aeroplanes. No. Hobbies involved preferences and preferences had to be avoided; preferences excluded people. One had no preferences. Her job was to take an interest, not to be interested herself. And besides, reading wasn't doing. She was a doer. - p6

書的重量

喜歡東野圭吾的《秘密》《使命與心的極限》，kindle＋桃紅色的皮外衣＝書的重量。漸漸忘記，大部頭套書應該有的重量了。連續四個禮拜，都在閱讀東野圭吾，越來越喜歡這位作家的多元化角度寫懸疑推理，讓推理的高潮不只是在揭曉最後一頁謎底。

《The Uncommon Reader》，就像圖書館阿姨跟我說得一樣，Alan Bennett擅長的幽默以直接鋪成的手法，敘述英國女王的閱讀悅讀過程。記得當初借的時候，我和阿姨聊說，我聽過BBC Alan Bennett自己朗讀《The Uncommon Reader》的有聲書，我覺得很有意思，所以來借書看看。阿姨大力推薦，用了"dry humor" 形容Alan Bennett。當初不太瞭解"dry humor"是什麼意思，在閱讀完《The Uncommon Reader》，想起阿姨的話，會心一笑。