《走進李伯大夢:美國短篇小說精選(英漢對照)(25K彩圖)》 在世界文學裡,美國的短篇小說尤其出色,對現代文學造成深遠的影響。短篇小說內容比較簡潔,故事線單純,人物角色較少,通常以單一的故事貫穿全篇故事,劇情和節奏比較緊湊。故無論在文學閱讀或是英語學習上,短篇小說都是極佳讀物。 短篇小說早在十九世紀初即臻致成熟,在美國文壇上,尤以華盛頓.歐文、霍桑和愛倫.坡等為最重要的短篇小說作家。本書即精選了包括前述三人等最具代表性的八篇美國短篇小說作品,依作者年代排序,帶領讀者一窺美國經典短篇小說的文學堂奧。 本書在編排上採用英漢左右頁對照,並針對難字採取同頁註釋,附IPA音標。另外,為了方便現代讀者閱讀,略將較長的段落加以細分。行文間另搭配有名家的彩色插畫,值得典藏。
作者介紹 華盛頓.歐文 Washington Irving 1783年誕生於紐約一個富裕的蘇格蘭家庭。他在學校學法律,但興趣是文學。他從事律師職業後,開始為報紙和雜誌寫東西。他的文章和小說擅於諷刺美國社會的風俗習慣。紐約有很多來自荷蘭的移民,他在1809年出版的首部作品《紐約史》中便寫過這些移民的事。書中設定了一個叫做Diedrich Knickerbocker的虛構人物,全書透過其幽默的口吻來敘述。這本書受到熱烈的迴響,曾被評價為「第一本出自美國人筆下的偉大幽默文學」。 1815年,為了幫忙打理家族企業,歐文搬到英國。但企業經營不佳,歐文於是重搖筆桿。他最有名的小說,是1819年出版的《睡谷傳奇》和《李伯大夢》(Rip Van Winkle)。這些作品讓歐文在歐洲和美國聲名大噪。 歐文住過倫敦、巴黎和馬德里,他寫過小說、論文和歷史書籍,其作品像是《Tales of a Traveler》、《The Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus》、《The Conquest of Granada》、《Tales of the Alhambra》。1832年,他回到紐約,十年後因為外交官的身分,他再度前往馬德里。他最後的餘生回到美國紐約州的柏油村(Tarrytown)度過,這個地方就是他在《睡谷傳奇》中所設定的故事背景地點。他並在這裡寫了《喬治.華盛頓的一生》(The Life of George Washington)。1859年,卒於此地,享年76歲。 Washington Irving was born into a rich Scottish family in New York in 1783. He studied law but literature was his real passion. While he was working as a lawyer, he started to write for newspapers and magazines. His articles and stories satirized the customs and manners of the Americans. New York was home to many Dutch settlers and Irving wrote about them in his first book A History of New York, published in 1809. This humorous account by a fictional character called Diedrich Knickerbocker was immensely successful and was described as ‘the first great book of comic literature written by an American’. In 1815 Irving moved to England to look after the family company, but the business was not a success and he returned to his writing. His most famous stories, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle, appeared in 1819. The popularity of these books made Irving a celebrity in Europe and America. He lived in London, Paris and Madrid, writing stories, essays and history books, such as Tales of a Traveler, The Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus, The Conquest of Granada, Tales of the Alhambra. He returned to New York in 1832 but ten years later he went back to Madrid in a diplomatic role. He spent his last years in America, in Tarrytown in the valley of Sleepy Hollow where he wrote The Life of George Washington. He died there in 1859 at the age of 76. 作者相關著作:《睡谷傳奇(25K彩圖經典文學改寫+MP3)》 譯者介紹 羅慕謙 曾任出版社翻譯、編輯。台灣大學醫學系、德國美因玆大學(Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz)翻譯研究所畢業,現於該校攻讀博士。譯有《英文文法聖經》(寂天文化出版)、《睡夢天堂》、《沒有課桌椅的教育》(高寶國際出版)、《25種自然抗壓療法》(美商麥格羅希爾出版)等書。