11年前上映的《怦然心动》Flipped如今仍高居豆瓣TPO250的第24名,作为一部爱情电影,这是十分高的排名。
读过原著或看过全片会发现,抛开初恋,作品的主题还有成长——其蕴含的勇敢、真诚、善良的价值观甚至能让成年读者动容。
原著作者Wendelin Van Draanen于2001年出版了这本书。Flip的本义是“使快速翻转”,翻一眼目录会发现:书名Flipped同时也是首尾的两个章节名。有意思的是,译者陈常歌把开篇的flipped翻译成了“心动”,结尾的则翻译成了“怦然心动”。
鉴于书的内容就是两位主人公各自视角的叙述,因此,第一个说的就是女生Juli,后一个则是男生Bryce。
一起来感受一次心动吧。
斯人若彩虹,遇上方知有
知道Bryce作为新邻居要搬到自家附近,Juli乐坏了——终于有人陪她玩儿了。对方家里人还在忙搬家,这边Juli已经“不请自来”,帮人家卸货。被支开后还非得找Bryce一起玩儿。
I chased Bryce up the walkway, and that’s when everything changed. You see, I caught up to him and grabbed his arm, trying to stop him so maybe we could play a little before he got trapped inside, and the next thing I know he’s holding my hand, looking right into my eyes.
我追着他上了人行道,从这一刻起,一切都变了。这么说吧,我追上他,抓住他的胳膊,只想在他被困在屋里之前截住他,跟我玩一会儿。然后突然之间,他牵起我的手,直直地看着我的眼睛。
My heart stopped. It just stopped beating. And for the first time in my life, I had that feeling. You know, like the world is moving all around you, all beneath you, all inside you, and you’re floating. Floating in midair. And the only thing keeping you from drifting away is the other person’s eyes. They’re connected to yours by some invisible physical force, and they hold you fast while the rest of the world swirls and twirls and falls completely away.
毫无原因地,我心脏就那么漏跳了一拍。我的人生中第一次有了那样的感觉。就像整个世界在你四周,从你身体由内而外地翻滚,而你飘浮在半空中。唯一能绑住你不会飘走的,就是那双眼睛。你们两个人的眼睛被一种看不见的力量连接在一起,在外面的世界旋转、翻腾并彻底分崩离析的时候,一把抓住了你。
I almost got my first kiss that day. I’m sure of it.
那天,我差一点儿就得到了我的初吻。我十分肯定。
迷上Bryce之后,Juli在学校更是“英雄救美”——二年级就知道吃醋了,对方是学校的小太妹Shelly Stalls.
My solution to Shelly Stalls was to ignore her, which worked just dandy until about halfway through the fifth grade when I saw her holding hands with Bryce. My Bryce. The one who was still embarrassed over holding my hand two days before the second grade. The one who was still too shy to say much more than hello to me. The one who was still walking around with my first kiss.
我对待雪莉·斯道尔斯的方式是无视她,这一直都很奏效,直到五年级的时候我看到她握着布莱斯的手。那是我的布莱斯,是那个始终为了二年级开学前两天握了我的手而害羞的家伙。是那个因为太害羞,除了“你好”以外不敢跟我多说一句话的家伙。是那个一直还欠我一个初吻的家伙。
How could Shelly have wormed her hand into his? That pushy little princess had no business hanging on to him like that! Bryce looked over his shoulder from time to time as they walked along, and he was looking at me. My first thought was that he was telling me he was sorry. Then it dawned on me — he needed my help. Absolutely, that’s what it had to be!
雪莉怎么敢把她的手塞进他的手心里?这个爱出风头的娇气小公主根本没理由和他混在一起!当他们经过的时候,布莱斯时不时小心翼翼地回头看,他看的是我。我首先想到的是,他是在向我表示抱歉。然后我忽然领悟了——他是想让我帮忙。没错,只能是这个意思!
鸡蛋冲突
从二年级到初二,两人一直磕磕绊绊,Juli一直追着Bryce,而Bryce则有时配合有时避之不及。
期间发生了许多事——Juli想要保护镇上的一颗巨大的无花果树免遭砍伐,Bryce没能坚定站在她这边;Juli养了许多小鸡,此后一直给Bryce家赠送鸡蛋,但Bryce却因为家里人饭桌上谈论过沙门氏菌而偷偷扔掉。
有一次偷偷扔鸡蛋终于被抓包。
Juli tackled the trash and pulled out her precious little carton of eggs, and she could tell right off that they weren’t broken. They weren’t even cracked. She stood frozen with the eggs in her hands while I dumped the rest of the trash. “Why did you throw them out?” she asked, but her voice didn’t sound like Juli Baker’s voice. It was quiet. And shaky.
朱莉抓住垃圾箱,翻出她宝贵的鸡蛋,马上就发现它们都好好的,连裂纹也没有。她手里拿着鸡蛋,定定地站在那里,而我倒掉剩下的垃圾。“你为什么要扔掉它们?”她问,可听上去完全不像平时的朱莉·贝克。那声音轻轻的,带着颤抖。
So I told her we were afraid of salmonella poisoning because her yard was a mess and that we were just trying to spare her feelings. I told it to her like we were right and she was wrong, but I felt like a jerk. A complete cluck-faced jerk.
于是,我告诉她我们害怕被传染沙门氏菌,因为她家的院子实在太脏了,而且我们不想伤害她的感情。我说得好像我们是对的,她才是错的,但我觉得自己就像个浑蛋,一个假惺惺的浑蛋。
Then she tells me that a couple of neighbors have been buying eggs off her. Buying them. And while I’m coming to grips with this incredible bit of news, she whips out her mental calculator. “Do you realize I’ve lost over a hundred dollars giving these eggs to you?” Then she races across the street in a flood of tears.
她说,有几家邻居从她那里买鸡蛋。花钱买。当我的脑子还在处理这个惊人的消息时,她已经迅速地心算过了。“你有没有想过,为了给你这些鸡蛋,我已经损失了超过一百美元?” 她的眼泪汹涌而出,转身跑过街道。
这一切都伤透了Juli的心。Juli有一次跑回家跟妈妈说:
“Mom, all those years I liked him? I never really knew him. All I knew was that he had the most beautiful eyes I’d ever seen and that his smile melted my heart like the sun melts butter. But now I know that inside he’s a coward and a sneak, so I’ve got to get over what he’s like on the outside!”
“妈妈,这些年我真的一直都喜欢他吗?我从没有真正了解过他。我只知道他有一双我见过的最漂亮的眼睛,他的笑容像阳光融化黄油一样融化了我的心。但我现在知道,他内心深处不过是个懦夫,是个鬼鬼祟祟的家伙。所以我必须忘记他的外表!”
醒悟道歉
此后,Bryce一直在找机会弥补自己的过错。在学校竞拍活动上拔得头筹他也没有很开心,反倒吃起了Juli的醋——因为Juli竞拍了另一个不起眼的男孩Jone。有一次两家人聚会,Bryce打算道歉。
That left me alone in the foyer with Bryce. He said hi to me and I lost it.
只剩下我一个人在门厅,和布莱斯在一起。他冲我打招呼,而我装作没有听见。
Bryce意图解释,但Juli毫不领情。
Our eyes locked for a minute, and for the first time the blueness of his didn’t freeze up my brain.
我们的目光碰在一起,良久,这是我第一次没有被他的蓝眼睛冲昏头脑。
Then when Mrs. Loski announced that dinner was ready, Bryce held my arm and whispered, “Juli, I’m sorry. I’ve never been so sorry about anything in my whole life. You’re right, I was a jerk, and I’m sorry.”
当罗斯基太太宣布开饭的时候,布莱斯抓住我的胳膊低声说:“朱莉,对不起。我从来没有像今天这样感到抱歉。你说得对,我是个浑蛋,对不起。”
I yanked my arm free from his grasp and said, “It seems to me you’ve been sorry about a whole lot of things lately!” and left him there with his apology hanging wounded in the air.
我把手臂从他手里抽出来,说:“我想你最近做了太多需要抱歉的事!”他被我扔在那儿,道歉的声音还回荡在空气里。
Juli无视他,Bryce这边也是苦恼得紧。同时他也慢慢发现,Juli固执保护无花果树背后的勇敢、养育小鸡给它们唱歌所显示出的爱心、在学校里门门拿A的聪慧,每一点都在慢慢吸引着他。
And every time I saw her, she seemed more beautiful. She just seemed to glow. I’m not talking like a hundred-watt bulb; she just had this warmth to her. Maybe it came from climbing that tree. Maybe it came from singing to chickens. Maybe it came from whacking at two-by-fours and dreaming about perpetual motion. I don’t know.
每次我看到她,她似乎都变得更漂亮。她仿佛散发着光彩。我指的不是像一百瓦的灯泡那样发光;她只是具备了同样的温暖。也许是因为爬树,也许是因为给小鸡唱歌,也许是因为敲着木桩,梦想着永动机。我不知道。
经年风雨后,再遇才可求
挣脱了旧友的讽刺和学校里对他喜欢Juli的流言的束缚,意识到自己喜欢Juli的Bryce决定做些什么。Juli的视角缓缓展开:
He dragged over some potting soil, pierced the bag with the spade, and shoveled dirt into the hole. Then he disappeared. And when he came back, he wrestled a big burlapped root ball across the lawn, the branches of a plant rustling back and forth as he moved. My dad joined me on the couch and peeked out the window, too. “A tree?” I whispered. “He’s planting a tree?” “I’d help him, but he says he has to do this himself.” “Is it a …” The words stuck in my throat.
他拖过来一些盆栽用的土壤,用铲子划破袋子,把土倒进洞里。然后他消失了。回来的时候,他费力地扛着一棵用麻袋裹住根部的巨大的树苗穿过草坪,他一边往前走,树枝一边前后摆动,窸窣作响。爸爸走过来,陪我一起坐在沙发上偷偷地看着窗外。“一棵树?”我悄声说,“他要种一棵树?” “我想帮他,可是他说他必须自己动手。” “这是棵……”剩下的半句话卡在我喉咙里。
I didn’t really need to ask, though, and he knew he didn’t need to answer. I could tell from the shape of the leaves, from the texture of the trunk. This was a sycamore tree. I flipped around on the couch and just sat. A sycamore tree. Bryce finished planting the tree, watered it, cleaned everything up, and then went home.
我根本不用问,他也知道他用不着回答。从叶子的形状和树干的质感,我能看得出来。这是一棵无花果树。我从沙发上跳起来,又坐了回去。一棵无花果树。布莱斯把树种下去,浇水,收拾好东西,然后走回家去。
And I just sat there, not knowing what to do. I’ve been sitting here for hours now, just staring out the window at the tree. It may be little now, but it’ll grow, day by day. And a hundred years from now it’ll reach clear over the rooftops. It’ll be miles in the air! Already I can tell — it’s going to be an amazing, magnificent tree.
我只是坐在那儿,不知道该怎么办。现在,我已经在那儿坐了好几个小时,望着窗外那棵树。它现在也许还小,但它会一天天长大。一百年后,它将会超过屋顶。它会向着天空伸展好几英里!我已经能够看出——它将会是棵神奇、壮美的大树。
And I can’t help wondering, a hundred years from now will a kid climb it the way I climbed the one up on Collier Street? Will she see the things I did? Will she feel the way I did? Will it change her life the way it changed mine?
我忍不住在想,一百年后,会不会有个孩子像我在克里尔街那样爬到树上去?她会不会看到我曾经看到的风景?这会不会改变她的生活,就像它们改变了我的生活一样?
I also can’t stop wondering about Bryce. What has he been trying to tell me? What’s he thinking about? I know he’s home because he looks out his window from time to time. A little while ago he put his hand up and waved. And I couldn’t help it — I gave a little wave back.
我也忍不住想起了布莱斯。他想对我说些什么?他在想些什么?我知道他在家,因为他不时从窗户向外眺望。不久前,他刚刚举手朝我挥动着。而我实在忍不住——我也微微挥手作为回应。
作者在书的末尾留下了开放式的结局,读者对于二人的发展可以有自己的描画。
但书评网站评论区的读者们几乎都同意:怯懦的“绣花枕头”终于挣脱了有毒的环境,承认自己其实一直都喜欢Juli,而女孩在数年间不仅展露了聪明、勇敢和善良,也终于等来了那个真正值得奔赴的人。
在某次家庭饭局冲突后,Bryce曾和外公一起外出散步——外公一直是很喜欢对面邻居家的小女孩儿Juli,为此还被女婿抱怨 “不照顾自家小孩,反倒跑去疼惜别人家的”——他们走到被砍掉的无花果树空地附近。
As we were winding back into our own territory, we passed by the house that’s going up where the sycamore tree used to be. My granddad stopped, looked up into the night, and said, “It must’ve been a spectacular view.” I looked up, too, and noticed for the first time that night that you could see the stars.
在回家的路上,我们经过无花果树曾经屹立的地方,那里现在是一所房子。外公停下来望着夜空,说:“那里一定曾有过壮观的景色。” 我也把头抬起来,头一次发现这里的夜晚能看到星星。
“Did you ever see her up there?” I asked him. “Your mother pointed her out to me one time as we drove by. It scared me to see her up so high, but after I read the article I understood why she did it.” He shook his head. “The tree’s gone, but she’s still got the spark it gave her. Know what I mean?”
“你见过她爬上去吗?”我问他。“有一次开车经过这里的时候,你妈妈曾指给我看过。她爬得那么高,把我吓了一跳,不过,读了那篇新闻,我明白她为什么要这么做。”他摇摇头,“树被砍掉了,可是她仍然保留着那棵树给她带来的快乐和感动。你明白我的意思吗?”
Luckily I didn’t have to answer. He just grinned and said, “Some of us get dipped in flat, some in satin, some in gloss…” He turned to me. “But every once in a while you find someone who’s iridescent, and when you do, nothing will ever compare.”
我很高兴自己不用回答这个问题。他只是笑了笑,接着说道:“有人住高楼,有人在深沟。有人光万丈,有人一身锈。世人万千种,浮云莫去求。斯人若彩虹,遇上方知有。”
斯人若彩虹没错,但初遇不一定是,再遇或许才是。
carton [ˈkɑːtn] n 大包装盒
salmonella [ˌsælməˈnelə] n 沙门氏菌
sycamore [ˈsɪkəmɔː(r)] n (美国)悬铃木
flat [flæt] n (尤指水边的)平地;低洼地
satin [ˈsætɪn] n 缎子
gloss [ɡlɒs] n 光泽;光亮;虚假的外表;虚饰
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