畸形的虚与实：《怪屋》选读

商务印书馆英语编辑室 2022-06-09

Charles和Sophia在战争中相遇，两年后Charles准备求娶Sophia时，女方的祖父Aristide意外去世。为了弄清Aristide的真正死因，Charles来到她家查案。这一大家子人住在一个结构畸形的屋子里，家庭成员中也有些人性格怪异。经过一系列调查后发现，Aristide是被一个最意想不到的人毒害的。最早得知真相的家人为了消灭潜在的恶魔，留下证据后与真凶同归于尽。

这就是阿加莎·克里斯蒂的侦探小说《怪屋》（Crooked House）。阿婆在《阿加莎·克里斯蒂自传》中写道，《怪屋》是她自认为的两篇得意作品之一（另一部为Ordeal by Innocence）。这部作品将带你切身感受，这一切的背后，究竟是良心的泯灭，是道德的沦丧，还是人性的扭曲。

Chapter 1

There was a crooked man and he went a crooked mile.

He found a crooked sixpence beside a crooked stile.

He caught a crooked cat which caught a crooked mouse.

And they all lived together in a little crooked house.

— British nursery rhyme

crooked adj. 怪异的

sixpence n. 六便士硬币（英国 1980 年以前使用，亦被认为能带来好运）

stile n.（翻墙等障碍物用的）梯磴

nursery rhym 童谣

I first met Sophia Leonides in Egypt towards the end of World War Ⅱ. She had quite an important job working for the government, and when I worked with her I soon realized how good at her job she was, though she was only twenty-two.

As well as being very good-looking, Sophia had a clear mind and a delightful sense of humour. We became friends. She was easy to talk to and we enjoyed our dinners and dances together very much.

But it wasn't until I was ordered to go to East Asia at the end of the war in Europe that I realized I loved Sophia and wanted to marry her.

We were having dinner together when I realized this. It wasn't a surprise – I think I'd known for a long time that I loved her. I looked at Sophia and liked everything I saw. She had dark hair and bright blue eyes, a small chin and a straight nose. She looked very English.

Then suddenly I wondered if she really was as English as she looked – after all, her surname didn't sound English. Although we'd talked about many things, Sophia had never mentioned her home or her family. I didn't know anything about her background.

Sophia asked me what I was thinking about.

'You,' I replied truthfully. 'I may not see you for a few years, Sophia, but when I get back to England, I'm going to ask you to marry me.'

She sat there calmly.

'I'm not going to ask you now,' I continued,' because you might say no and I'd be very unhappy. And if you say yes, I don't want to be engaged for years, or get married now and then leave you straightaway. I want you to go home free and independent and decide what you really want. But I wanted to let you know how I – well – how I feel.'

'But you don't want to be too romantic?' murmured Sophia.

'Darling – don't you understand? I've tried not to say I love you –'

She stopped me. 'I do understand, Charles. And I like your funny way of doing things. You can come and see me when you get back – if you still want to –'

'Of course I'll want to,' I interrupted.

'You don't know that,' said Sophia.'You don't know much about me, do you?'

chain n. 下巴

background n.（家庭、教育等）背景

engaged adj. 已订婚的

murmur v. 低语

interrupt v. 打断（某人说话）

'No,' I admitted. 'I don't even know where in England you live.'

'I live just outside London, at a place called Swinly Dean,' she said. 'In a little crooked house...'

I must have looked surprised, because she explained why she had used the last line of a nursery rhyme. 'My family,' she said. 'And they all lived together in a little crooked house. That's us. And though the house isn't really little, it's definitely crooked!'

'So do you have a large family?' I asked.

'One brother, one sister, a mother, a father, an uncle, an aunt by marriage, a grandfather, a great-aunt and a step-grandmother.'

（电影《怪屋》剧照）

'My goodness!' I exclaimed in surprise.

'Of course we don't normally all live together,' Sophia laughed. 'It was because of the war – with the bombing it was too dangerous to stay in London. But my grandfather takes care of us. He's over eighty and very small, but he's so alive that compared to him, everybody else seems rather boring.'

'He sounds interesting,' I said.

'He is interesting. He's from Greece, and his name is Aristide Leonides.' She added with a smile, 'And he's extremely rich. I wonder if you'll like him.'

'Do you?' I asked.

'More than anyone in the world,' said Sophia.

step-grandmother n. 继祖母

My goodness! excl. 我的天哪!

bombing n. 轰炸

文化注释

World War Ⅱ
The story begins during World War Ⅱ(1939-1945) in Cairo. The 'Allies' (which included the UK, the Soviet Union, the USA, and China) were fighting the 'Axis powers' (which included Germany, Italy, and Japan) for control of North Africa. Sophia and Charles are working for the British Government in Egypt when they meet.
During the war, many people had to leave home to fight or work, like Charles and Sophia. It was a time when people could make new and unexpected friendships or fall in love. However, they then often had to move to other places and could not contact their friends for months or years. This is why Charles did not want to make marriage plans at the beginning of the story.
Many large cities in the UK, especially London, were attacked by aeroplanes and bombs. These attacks destroyed a lot of buildings and killed many people across the country. Philip Leonides' family went to live with Aristide Leonides because he had a large house, and it was outside of London in the suburbs, so there was less danger from bombs.
第二次世界大战
故事开始于第二次世界大战期间（1939 —1945）的开罗。同盟国（主要包括英国、苏联、美国和中国）正与轴心国（主要包括德国、意大利和日本）交战，双方都想控制北非。Sophia 和 Charles 在埃及为英国政府工作，在这里，他俩相遇了。
战争期间，许多人像 Charles 和 Sophia一样不得不为了战斗或工作而远离家乡。在这个时期，人们容易结识新朋友，或收获意想不到的爱情。然而，他们接下来往往会转移到其他地方，相互之间几个月、甚或几年无法取得联系。这便是为什么 Charles 在故事开始时不愿结婚的原因。
英国的许多大城市，尤其是伦敦，曾遭到飞机和炸弹的袭击，这些袭击造成全国各地大量建筑物被毁，许多人被杀害。Philip Leonides一家前往父亲 Aristide Leonides 家居住，因为父亲家的房子很大，而且是在伦敦城外的郊区，所以受到炸弹袭击的危险要小一些。

（以上内容节选自《怪屋》，图片来自网络）

《怪屋》是“阿加莎·克里斯蒂经典侦探作品集”丛书之一。
阿加莎·克里斯蒂：100年前的英伦传奇
用中国人看得懂的英语带您进入阿加莎·克里斯蒂的世界