《1Q84》

趁農曆年假，讀完《1Q84》。據說，《1Q84 》是對照歐威爾的《1984》的，例如 Little People 對照 Big Brother。整體印象是，書中主角都跟周圍的人疏離，所以氣氛沉鬱。有許多性愛的場面，但都是沒有愛的性。青豆的身世與遭遇奇異，故只能欣賞作者的想像力，但未有共鳴。反而有幾處對天吾的描寫，很是傳神 。

天吾有段自白曰：「小時候的我確實是個數學神童。自己也覺得那是不簡單的才能。大家都對我另眼相看，寵愛有加。不過那個終究是，無法發展到某個有意義地步的才能。那是限於那裡有的而已。我從小就身材高大、柔道很強。在縣比賽時經常得到好成績。但是進到更寬廣的世界時，比我強的柔道選手要有多少有多少。在大學就沒有被選為全國大會的代表選手。我因此深受打擊，有一段時期變得不知道自己是什麼了。」

另一段描述天吾：「他不是眾所寄望的數學神童，也不是前途有望的柔道選手。只是補習班的講師。不過這樣天吾很高興。他在那裡終於可以喘一口氣。有生以來第一次，不必顧慮別人，可以自己一個人過自由的生活了。」但自由之中，天吾又有點迷失：「雖然本來就是沒有目標的人生，不過以前別人對他有所期望和要求，為回應那個，他的人生也就忙得團團轉。然而那要求和期待一旦消失之後，就沒留下任何值得一提的東西了。沒有人生的目的。」

另外天吾在第 8 和 24 章到療養院看父親的兩幕，相當感人；雖然都是天吾自說自話，但大抵是書中最有溫情的情節了。

老實說，我仍未完全弄清村上春樹在書中傳遞的所有象徵意義。既然書的第三部尚待出版，我即管等看完大結局，再作定論。

Shanghai

At last, I tried the maglev train in Shanghai when I visited the city last month. It was all very sleek. Electronic indicators on board showed the speed of the train, and as the train accelerated from zero to some 300 km per hour within seconds, I was only grateful that the readings did not reflect the rate of increase of my blood pressure. There was no discomfort caused by the speed at all. If the train scene was a snapshot of the city profile, Shanghai is as cosmopolitan as you can get: there were conversations in Mandarin, Cantonese, English and French within my earshot, but mind you, the train was not crowded.

In the advent of the World Expo, the city was having a face-lift. Construction work was everywhere. I was unable to view the river from the Bund. Even some tourist attractions were closed for renovation. They were surrounded by fences and covers that say "Better City, Better Life", the theme of the 2010 Expo. Allow me to be critical, but the comma in the slogan appears unnecessary. In any case, the English version of the theme has a different meaning from that of the Chinese version ("城市，讓生活更美好"), which, in my opinion, also contains a superfluous comma.

I was delighted to discover a bohemian area hidden among the alleys within a block. There were enough little shops, cafes and galleries to make one lost in the maze. I hope those secret corners will not be replaced by skyscrapers as Shanghai strives to become a better city and for a better life.