Image via goodreads
去年12月中旬我買下Ender’s Game的原文書。人還在高雄時，讀得斷斷續續的，咀嚼原文書的速度總是比中文緩慢，很容易受其他翻譯書籍吸引，將故事擱置一陣子後，再次翻閱，想重新投入就得再次調適讀字的心境。
學生時期還有報告deadline做鞭策，畢業後，甚少強迫自己非得在某個期限內將某本書讀完，這也就是為什麼我從來不報名試讀，deadline總是讓我焦慮啊！是說我開始認真寫心得也是這一、兩年的事，小小小咖就算報名也不見得入出版社的眼吧…
今年三月遷徙北上，隨身攜帶著這本小書，吃飯時讀它、在自助洗衣店讀它、等待面試的空檔也讀它。一開始的動機很膚淺，純粹是想在沒有行動上網的環境下練習英文閱讀（畢竟讀完整本The Silence of the Lambs已經是兩年前的事了，更別說遠古時代讀完就變成收藏品的全套Harry Potter）。
當然中間偶爾還是會分心去翻閱其他書本，可我始終將Ender’s Game放在包包內，像護身符一樣帶著，掛念著Ender的命運。故事從第八個章節開始抓住我的心，從那一刻開始，我每天至少都要讀上兩個章節……如今故事來到尾聲，要將這本書放回書架上，像是要跟已成為靈魂的某部分說再見，萬般不捨。（幸好有卡蘭坦斯蓋普恩基地a.k.a.譯者王寶翔的續集中譯分享：＜亡靈代言人＞得以解饞。）
Ender’s Game不是一本容易閱讀的書。單就挑選英文閱讀而言，我想英文只要有台灣高中程度（或者英檢中級），應該都能獨立完成。可真正的挑戰是故事本身，如同我在這則臉書日記所評：『…這本書加諸在角色身上的精神折磨和冷暴力前所未見，堪稱目前我看過最殘忍（卻不見一滴血）的故事。也難怪電影普遍評價不好，電影色調還是偏明亮的，並沒有把Ender內心的陰鬱、慍怒、絕望中尚有一絲溫柔的個人特質拍攝出來。這大概就是閱讀小說不可取代之處，內心戲用演的能觸動人心，用文字就能像子彈齊發一樣打進讀者心裡，餘韻久久不散。』
閱讀這本書時，我亦重拾bookmark佳句和查單字／專有名詞／人名的習慣。之於我，算是一種簡易的英語溫習方式吧，很久沒這麼做了，大學畢業以後，逐漸荒廢了查單字的習慣，基本上只要能讀懂上下文，一般來說我是不會在意一、兩個陌生字眼的。但其實這樣反而浪費一個學習新字詞（或複習舊詞彙）的好機會。從這本書開始，往後閱讀任一原文書，我都想持續這麼做（…是說下一本原文書該挑戰哪一本呢？也許一眨眼又是猴年馬月了。Like I said，中譯本之所以誘人，就是因為有我這種讀英文讀太慢，但是又想趕快知道後續發展和結局的急性子＋懶惰鬼。）
舉例來說，這張照片當中，Ender's Game這本書被貼上紅色和橘色的標籤。我看到喜歡（或是覺得震撼）的段落，會貼上紅色，為值得背誦或作為寫作參考的佳句。至於橘色，則是出現了某個我不明白（或猜不出意思）的單字，而不懂該單字（或該片語／人名…等等）會影響理解時，我就會貼上橘色標籤，事後查merriam-webster或thefreedictionary，甚至維基百科，在筆記上寫下以下資訊，幫助自己記憶：
（一）該單字在書本中出現的頁碼
（二）在書中出現的句子（想像其場景，或對話的語氣，能幫助加深記憶）
（三）以及在merriam-webster上的例句（有時候一個單字能用在正面與負面的語氣，或一個單字有多種解釋，參考一下字典的用法，再對照小說的用法，避免誤解或誤用）
除了單字，還有陌生的歷史人名也是比照以上方法，寫下頁碼，然後google其資訊，簡短註記。（請忽略格主歪歪扭扭的字跡，我很久沒寫字了，書寫閱讀筆記的次要動機，也是想練習寫字，不然每次面試時遇到筆試都要錯三、五個字，有愧於虔誠寫手和母校東亞系所這兩個招牌。）
以下為佳句分享（單字就不獻醜了，這張照片當中我寫下了magnanimous和lax這兩個單字，這兩個應該是很基本的SAT或GRE單字吧？哈哈～是說我當初SAT和GRE都考得不怎麼樣，一樣有大學可唸，研究所亦申請上三間，只是最後決定不去，總之，學海無涯，閱讀可以是休閒，也可以是學習，能從一本好書中習得新詞彙，或溫習歷史，滿足和成就感，一舉兩得！）
Image via starburstmagazine
(Quotes via Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
First Mass Market Movie Tie-In Edition: October 2013)
國鳳按：
不曉得為什麼底下的英文字有些會跑掉（也許是我電腦的問題？），怎麼試都調整不好，大家就將就著看吧～～
（愚婦是電腦白痴，寫文總是複製貼上，排版一向是弱點啊～）
總算改好了…
總算改好了…
Page xxv
This is the essence of the transaction between storyteller and audience. The “true” story is not the one that exists in my mind; it is certainly not the written words on the bound paper that you hold in your hands. The story in my mind is nothing but hope; the text for the story is the tool I created in order to try to make that hope a reality. The story itself, the true story, is the one that the audience members create in their minds, guided and shaped by my text, but then transformed, elucidated, expanded, edited, and clarified by their own experience, their own desires, the own hopes and fears.
（國鳳按：讀者才是成就故事、甚至成就作家本身的關鍵因素。一本書好看與否，打動人心與否，全取決於各個讀者的愛好、成長背景、價值觀，而隨著年齡增長，經驗累積，閱讀的角度和視野也會更著有所變動。這些都是寫作者／創作者所無法預見的。）
Page 87
He could see Bonzo’s anger growing hot. Hot anger was bad. Ender’s anger was cold, and he could use it. Bonzo’s was hot, and so it used him.
（國鳳按：短短一句話即可看出Ender最令人讚賞的特質，「察言觀色」，冷漠，冷眼，冷處理，腦筋動得比嘴巴和手腳快，凌駕於情緒之上，不讓過多的恐懼、感傷、甚至「得失心」掌控自己的一舉一動。這樣固然活得辛苦，但在劍拔弩張明爭暗鬥的環境裡，這項特質卻能讓Ender比他人更能迅速站穩腳步。）
Page 108
“...It’s the teachers, they’re the enemy. They get us to fight each other, to hate each other. The game is everything. Win win win. It amounts to nothings. We kill ourselves, go crazy trying to beat each other, and all the time the old bastards are watching us, studying us, discovering our weak points, deciding whether we’re good enough or not. Well, good enough for what? I was six years old when they brought me here. What the hell did I know? They decided I was right for the program, but nobody ever asked me if the program was right for me.”
（國鳳按：同樣的心聲套用在當今十二年國教、語文課綱等教育爭議，好像也適用？）
Page 111
Believed, but the seed of doubt was there, and it stayed, and every now and then sent out a little root. It changed everything, to have that seed growing. It made Ender listen more carefully to what people meant, instead of what they said. It made him wise.
（國鳳按：Again, 察言觀色。）
Page 127
Writing was something Val did better than Peter. They both knew it. Peter had even named it once, when he said that he could always see what other people hated most about themselves, and bully them, while Val could always see what other people liked best about themselves, and flatter them. It was a cynical way of putting it, but it was true. Valentine could persuade other people to her point of view -- she could convince them that they wanted what she wanted them to want.
（國鳳按：我是先看電影，覺得喜歡，才買小說的，卻發現小說有很多電影沒有的鋪陳。電影改編刪修掉Peter和Valentine的戲份，其實滿可惜的，如此一來雖能提升電影的流暢度，將敘事著眼在Ender這位主角上，但有趣（可憐亦或可憎）的配角就這麼被埋沒了，少了Peter和Valentine當Ender的對照組，就人物的層次而言，電影雖然精彩，還是不及小說。
這一章節很有意思，Peter和Valentine靠著不斷練習，精進自己的文筆和論點，終於在網路上的政治論壇嶄露頭角，掀起國與國之間的波瀾，算是閱讀這本書意料之外的驚喜。）
Page 168
That’s what I’m doing to you, Bean. I’m hurting you to make you a better soldier in every way. To sharpen your wit. To intensify your effort. To keep you off balance, never sure what’s going to happen next, so you always have to be ready for anything, ready to improvise, determined to win no matter what. I’m also making you miserable. That’s why they brought you to me, Bean. So you could be just like me. So you could grow up to be just like the old man.
（國鳳按：Bean這個角色在電影裡的表現不多，但在小說中還滿關鍵的，感覺他就像是另一個Ender。查了一下才發現作者寫了一本Ender's Shadow，就是從Bean的角度在重述整個Ender’s Game的故事。卡蘭坦斯蓋普恩基地的格主貌似沒有繼續無償翻譯的打算，只能看出版社願不願意投資出版這系列了…）
Page 173
Chapter 11
Veni Vidi Vici
（國鳳按：這章名值得一提。Veni Vidi Vici是拉丁文，直譯成英文為I came; I saw; I conquered，是著名的羅馬軍事統帥凱撒之名言，來到今日，這句話象徵的是迅速而決定性的勝利。為了查這句話我還順便溫習了一下凱撒遭暗殺、屋大維擊敗安東尼等歷史，也算是意外的收穫。）
Page 183
“Everything I know,” said Ender. “I’m just playing it by ear right now.”
（國鳳按：這句話也值得學起來。 Play it by ear，根據thefreedictionary的解釋， “decide on one's actions as one goes along, depending on the situation”，而urban dictionary則是：
“To let things go as they may. It is usually said when a person who is asked a question is not quite sure as to what to answer with.”
中文可以是：隨機應變，或，「到時候再說吧！」）
其實我有在認真的考慮要不要買本（全新或二手的）戰爭遊戲中譯本來讀，看看自己有沒有誤解或錯過什麼，也許該找個時間去趟圖書館～？（笑）
－國鳳 May 6, 2015
（國鳳按：讀者才是成就故事、甚至成就作家本身的關鍵因素。一本書好看與否，打動人心與否，全取決於各個讀者的愛好、成長背景、價值觀，而隨著年齡增長，經驗累積，閱讀的角度和視野也會更著有所變動。這些都是寫作者／創作者所無法預見的。）
Page 87
He could see Bonzo’s anger growing hot. Hot anger was bad. Ender’s anger was cold, and he could use it. Bonzo’s was hot, and so it used him.
（國鳳按：短短一句話即可看出Ender最令人讚賞的特質，「察言觀色」，冷漠，冷眼，冷處理，腦筋動得比嘴巴和手腳快，凌駕於情緒之上，不讓過多的恐懼、感傷、甚至「得失心」掌控自己的一舉一動。這樣固然活得辛苦，但在劍拔弩張明爭暗鬥的環境裡，這項特質卻能讓Ender比他人更能迅速站穩腳步。）
Page 108
“...It’s the teachers, they’re the enemy. They get us to fight each other, to hate each other. The game is everything. Win win win. It amounts to nothings. We kill ourselves, go crazy trying to beat each other, and all the time the old bastards are watching us, studying us, discovering our weak points, deciding whether we’re good enough or not. Well, good enough for what? I was six years old when they brought me here. What the hell did I know? They decided I was right for the program, but nobody ever asked me if the program was right for me.”
（國鳳按：同樣的心聲套用在當今十二年國教、語文課綱等教育爭議，好像也適用？）
Page 111
Believed, but the seed of doubt was there, and it stayed, and every now and then sent out a little root. It changed everything, to have that seed growing. It made Ender listen more carefully to what people meant, instead of what they said. It made him wise.
（國鳳按：Again, 察言觀色。）
Page 127
Writing was something Val did better than Peter. They both knew it. Peter had even named it once, when he said that he could always see what other people hated most about themselves, and bully them, while Val could always see what other people liked best about themselves, and flatter them. It was a cynical way of putting it, but it was true. Valentine could persuade other people to her point of view -- she could convince them that they wanted what she wanted them to want.
（國鳳按：我是先看電影，覺得喜歡，才買小說的，卻發現小說有很多電影沒有的鋪陳。電影改編刪修掉Peter和Valentine的戲份，其實滿可惜的，如此一來雖能提升電影的流暢度，將敘事著眼在Ender這位主角上，但有趣（可憐亦或可憎）的配角就這麼被埋沒了，少了Peter和Valentine當Ender的對照組，就人物的層次而言，電影雖然精彩，還是不及小說。
這一章節很有意思，Peter和Valentine靠著不斷練習，精進自己的文筆和論點，終於在網路上的政治論壇嶄露頭角，掀起國與國之間的波瀾，算是閱讀這本書意料之外的驚喜。）
Page 168
That’s what I’m doing to you, Bean. I’m hurting you to make you a better soldier in every way. To sharpen your wit. To intensify your effort. To keep you off balance, never sure what’s going to happen next, so you always have to be ready for anything, ready to improvise, determined to win no matter what. I’m also making you miserable. That’s why they brought you to me, Bean. So you could be just like me. So you could grow up to be just like the old man.
（國鳳按：Bean這個角色在電影裡的表現不多，但在小說中還滿關鍵的，感覺他就像是另一個Ender。查了一下才發現作者寫了一本Ender's Shadow，就是從Bean的角度在重述整個Ender’s Game的故事。卡蘭坦斯蓋普恩基地的格主貌似沒有繼續無償翻譯的打算，只能看出版社願不願意投資出版這系列了…）
Page 173
Chapter 11
Veni Vidi Vici
（國鳳按：這章名值得一提。Veni Vidi Vici是拉丁文，直譯成英文為I came; I saw; I conquered，是著名的羅馬軍事統帥凱撒之名言，來到今日，這句話象徵的是迅速而決定性的勝利。為了查這句話我還順便溫習了一下凱撒遭暗殺、屋大維擊敗安東尼等歷史，也算是意外的收穫。）
Page 183
“Everything I know,” said Ender. “I’m just playing it by ear right now.”
（國鳳按：這句話也值得學起來。 Play it by ear，根據thefreedictionary的解釋， “decide on one's actions as one goes along, depending on the situation”，而urban dictionary則是：
“To let things go as they may. It is usually said when a person who is asked a question is not quite sure as to what to answer with.”
中文可以是：隨機應變，或，「到時候再說吧！」）
其實我有在認真的考慮要不要買本（全新或二手的）戰爭遊戲中譯本來讀，看看自己有沒有誤解或錯過什麼，也許該找個時間去趟圖書館～？（笑）
－國鳳 May 6, 2015
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