WATERFALL MAGAZINE / 瀑布雜誌

再見! 回特拉法馬鐸星球的馮內果

小八這個專題的邀稿我擱了很久，說不上是一口答應她，也沒辦法婉拒，就算她沒有邀請我，我自己也有該寫的自覺。我是想好好好好寫的，不知怎麼就是拖拖拉拉。本應在知道他離開的第一時間就寫，寫不下去，拖到隔天還是沒辦法，手指的十個關節有毛病似，沒辦法敲鍵盤只能搔頭抓癢，一寫就煩躁，想在中國人的頭七完成，還是拖到七七四十九，今雖寫完，四十九還是錯過了。

Q: Who is 馮內果?
A: 他自嘲是唯一從德勒斯登大轟炸獲利的人，平均每死一人賺四塊錢版稅。
馮內果(Kurt Vonnegut, 1922-2007)德裔美國小說家，生於印第安那波里市一個建築師的家庭，愛好文學藝術，但是在父親的堅持下，1940年就讀於康乃爾大學主攻化學。兩年後輟學，時正值第二次世界大戰期間，馮內果應召入伍，參加了步兵，1944年在歐洲作戰被德軍俘虜，囚禁在德勒斯登一所屠宰場的地下冷凍室裡，幾個月後，在聯軍空襲德勒斯登，德國平民死傷慘重，馮內果因躲藏在地下室而得救，親眼看見德勒斯登轟炸後整座城市化為廢墟，目擊了十三萬五千人葬身火海的慘劇。

Q: 他都寫些什麼類型的小說?
A: 連珠炮似的牢騷加自傳，像笑話大全加荒謬童話故事的綜合體。
它們混雜成不被倪匡科幻小說獎當作範例的科幻小說；
主角多半是倒楣的作家、路德主義者、反社會達爾聞主義者等，庸人自擾不大稱頭的人。
戰後他回到芝加哥大學就讀人類學系。1947年開始寫作，並成為職業作家。1969年將此經歷表現在《第五號屠宰場》以科幻虛構方式顯現20世紀文明的恐怖與反諷的悲觀諷刺小說聞名，並在完成《自動鋼琴》後，被貼上「科幻小說家」的標籤。

當時人們普遍感覺到困惑，為何科學技術的進步卻沒有造福人類，政治經濟實力有了大幅增長，精神生活卻極度貧乏，越來越多畸形的社會亂象，在這樣的環境之下，人們對上帝和真理都產生了質疑，混合著存在主義的思潮，知識份子產生一種危機和絕望感，這種情緒便反應在創作中，產生了「黑色幽默文學」。 馮內果正是黑色幽默派的重要代表作家之一。

Q: 他的新書介《沒有國家的人》說他是個老嬉皮，他的嬉皮扮相怎樣?
A: 從網路上搜到的相片看起來，他是美國中產階級LOOK(他與他的家人、朋友都是)，衣著頭髮也沒特別打扮，不是肉眼可以識別的視覺系嬉皮。年輕時代的他即使穿著軍裝，比起軍人或嬉皮，比較像在竹科上班的工程師。
一九六O和七O年代是美國的鉅變年代，民權運動、印第安人原住民運動、反越戰、性解放、吸食LSD和大麻、公社式的烏托邦、隨著青年反叛而開始氾濫的軍警暴力，嬉皮文化與當時的美國學運相互融合，學生反越戰、爭取黑人人權，大量的使用音樂、性、藥品、蓄長髮鬍鬚、學習瑜珈和尋求宗教性神祕體驗，他們鼓吹Peace and Love、他們反對威權、反對戰爭。

前美國《細節》雜誌的編輯約翰．利蘭(John Leland)出版的《嬉皮的歷史》， 內容講述了嬉皮這個曾經只存在於地下的概念，如何從性、音樂、種族、時尚和毒品多方面塑造了美國文化，嬉皮文化發展出一系列嬉皮生活用品，也創造了新的購物需求，成為當時一種消費文化現象(似乎也持續到今日)，他同時也指出嬉皮反映出美國人心中的美國夢。 民主政府與自由經濟是製造完美美國夢的原料，美國夢的神話裡，每個人都是平等的，每個人都是政府的主人，而且每個人都有發財和致富的權利和機會，馮內果在《囚犯》 一書裡探討了他對美國夢的看法。

文中夾帶一種崇拜智力(優生學)與追求名校(名牌)的意識形態，利益與權力的合作從高等教育開始，他們將自己與某些深具影響力的辭彙盡量融合(可以稱為一種上進心嗎？)，就像為了更接近某個信念(興建天堂或是追求自由、民主…)，或是希望以此得到生活保障(權勢、財富)，而這樣的美國夢卻禁不起勞工階層的挑戰，當工人運動披露獲利分配不均的問題，貧富差距、歧視貧窮、剝削、壟斷等各種問題，民主政府與自由經濟的謊言被工人一腳踢破，那麼美國夢是否還存在呢？

Q: 妳喜歡馮內果什麼?
A: 我超愛他的家庭觀與社會觀。他刺耳的笑聲和他的家庭，他整個人充滿參考價值，我從那滋生了許多自以為是的巧合、自以為命定的牽扯，我愛這些。直接一點的形容：就像貓嗅到貓草之後想做的那些。
南方朔更進一步指出那個時代的創作特性推崇口語傳播，在文學的表現形式上被人稱之為「三點派」－意即用三個標點符號之內寫完一個句子，作家認為口語形式才是更平等且有參與意義的傳播形式。使用口語寫作，和他們追尋平等、無歧視、公共參與、公社式友愛的生活等價值有著密切關連。

馮內果在《此心不移》提及自己1945年考上芝加哥大學人類學系，發現自然人類學挺無聊的，對考古學的內容又不感興趣，他的指導教授建議他加入文化人類學的研究領域，這些成員中的核心人物是當時芝加哥大學人類學系主任羅伯特．瑞德費爾德(Robert Redfild,1897-1958)。他也是馮內果一生當中最重要的啟蒙老師。

瑞德費爾德教授生前曾規劃一個他稱為「家族社會」(The Folk Society)獲譯做「民間會社」或「庶(俗)民社會」的美好遠景。他將這幅遠景刊載於《美國社會學期刊》(The American Journal of Sociology ，1947年，52卷293-308頁)。

「家族社會」和原始社會雖有不同，但也有很多類似之處，比方說：他們的規模都不大，所以成員間對彼此都非常熟悉，他們互相傳遞訊息的速度相當快，不過和外界的聯繫卻十分有限。

「家族社會」成員以口語傳播為溝通唯一途徑，除了記憶之外，他們沒有保留過去歷史經驗的方法，因此，藏有最多記憶的老人就成為社會之寶。世代更替，但他們的想法卻沒有多大改變。個人的信念和「族人」的信念並無二致。

瑞德費爾德教授說，在一個家庭社會中：…行為是個人的，而不是與個人無關的。所謂「個人」是指一個依自己意願做反應、做決定的社會實體，而個人的特質、價值觀念則是與生俱來的。在家族社會中，所有的人都被當作是一個個人來看待，而不是一個無關痛癢的東西。

馮內果的《鬧劇》同時也以瑞德費爾德教授的「家族社會」規劃做為故事的核心。故事主角威伯與他的雙胞胎姊姊伊莉莎，一起構想出如何把美國重新分成上千個人造家族烏托邦，他們排除掉以工作專業、商業利益、社會階級組成的公會等組織，他們認為這些「家族」把小孩、老人、家庭主婦等各種失意人(邊緣人)排除在外，而且他們關注的「家族大事」通常很「專門」，並不能成為一個理想家族的形態。

Q: 妳是馮內果的粉絲，馮內果又是誰的粉絲?
A: 法國作家 塞利納(Louis-Ferdinand Céline 1894-1961)。
馮內果在英譯本的序言中提出：「塞利納的小說事實上是許多脆弱的凡夫俗子見證兩次世界大戰西方文明崩解的歷史。」 馮內果更不止一次地表示，讀到塞利納的《茫茫黑夜漫遊》(Voyage au bout de la nuit) 「無論如何，這本書如果不是深入我心，也並定深入我骨。」 、「我的寫作生涯得力於塞利納的甚多」、 「我對他說的話感到吃驚並受到啟發，我心中充滿感謝。」 ，他寫作的《第五號屠宰場》也流露出一股向賽利納致意的味道，並指定《茫茫黑夜漫遊》為他任教愛荷華大學時寫作課的讀本。

賽利納被後人稱為文體家，歐洲文學中有一種特定的體裁－流浪漢體小說。 大陸學者陸鳴九讚譽亦此書是最傑出的一例，同時也讚賞它可算是文學最大的一次流浪、最長的一次漫遊，它構成了一次真正意義的二十世紀「奧德修紀」。

Q: 妳曾經跟他搭訕過嗎?
A: 我是準備這麼做的，我的論文以他為題去年通過口考順利畢業了，就差英文版蘑蘑菇菇還沒翻譯完，就差這一步，他的宇宙大幹艦飛了。
馮內果回特拉法馬鐸的消息人在美國的李佳穎比我先知道，她MSN一行離線連結給我，點開，心裡第一個念頭是：「我訂閱的GOOGLE快訊怎沒發通知給我？」著手檢查GOOGLE網頁，信箱、訂閱、設下的關鍵字搜尋，它們一概消失無蹤，這怎麼回事，哪裡出了問題？身為粉絲，我一直都很隱忍熱情與孝順的，對他與我父親之間巧合的聯想，認定那是天意不可切斷緣份，對1922年誕生的人以及退伍軍人格調著迷，對他的家庭工作星座婚姻等細節，他什麼事我都能產生參與感，厚顏無恥的對應我人生。

我氣忿得想丟掉Cable Modem。羅浥薇說：「妳等一下再丟，我先看看能不能GOOGLE到大幹艦的艦長，我們預約100年後的雙人座去搭訕他。」「不要好了，太刺激了我會對他很冷漠。」我讓出書桌座位挪到床上，抱頭屈腿躺得像顆蛋，為我連搭訕信都還沒寫好懊悔不已。

Goodbye My Love, Kurt Vonnegut.

I postponed this writing project for Shauba for a long time. I couldn’t said I gave her words immediately, but almost. I couldn’t refused her request, I knew I’ll do it for myself sooner or later without her inviting me. I was going to put my own heart to deal with it and I should start writing at once when he passes away; somehow I couldn’t continue it after the first letter. Even it’s the next day, nothing to be done; I was impatient and my fingers were ill while typing of it. All I can do was idling. I still wanted to finish on the seventh night of his death. (According to the Chinese tradition.) But it’s already forty-nine days passed, when I finally put on the last period.

Q: Who is Kurt Vonnegut?
A: He called himself is the only one who benefits by Bombing of Dresden in World War II. He earned 4 coins of royalty per dead person.
Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007), German-American Novelist. He was born in a family in Indianapolis and his father was an architect. He’s interested in art and literature, under his father’s insistence; he turned to study chemistry in Connell in 1940. He gave up his degree two years later and joined the army while WWII. He was a prisoner of German army in Europe in 1944. He was imprisoned in a freezing basement of a slaughter house in Dresden. Few months later, the allied forces air raided by bombing, Germans had a badly damage of lives. Kurt was save of hiding in the basement, he’s been through the bombing and the city was on fire. He’d witnessed a living hell in Dresden of 130,000 people died.

Q: What kind of fiction did he write?
A: Endless complaint plus a little bit autobiographical stuff. It’s a mixture of jest book and ridiculous fairy tales. They are non-model sci-fi fictions. Most characters are unlucky writers, Lutherismists, anti-Social Darwinismists or common people who’s bother themselves all the time.
After WWII he returned to The University of Chicago study Anthropology. He’d started his writing since 1947 and he became a professional. He transformed his experience during the war to a sci-fi fiction in Slaughterhouse-Five; it’s pathetic and ironic, and it shows the terror and the sham of civilization in 20th century. He’s called a sci-fi fictionist after he’d done Player Piano.

In that age, people were confused: why the progress of technology didn’t make them happier? The politics and economy were growing steady, but less in the spiritual lives. There’s more and more freaky social phenomenon. In such circumstances, people confused about both the TRUTH and GOD. Within existentialism, intellectuals had been raising sense of desperate and sense of crisis. This phenomenon were reflected on their works, it came to a new style so called “Black Humor”, Vonnegut became one of the famous.

Q: On his latest published book a Man without a Country, he was called an old hippie, how did he look like?
A: According to his photos from google, he dressed up like a common middle class of America (Also his friends and family.) He didn’t do something special with his make up and his hair. Even his in the army uniform, he’s rather looked like a engineer works for a technical company.

60’s to 70’s was a time changed the most in America. Civil rights movement, Indian movement, anti-Vietnam war, Sexual liberation, LSD, drugs, utopia for people, youth’s rebellion, over use of the army forces, hippies, Student movement and so on. Students were against the war, fought for the right for the blacks. At the same time, they’re having lots of music, sex and drugs, they saved their beard and hair, they looked for yoga and spiritual experiences. They encouraged peace and love, they were against the power, against the war.

John Leland, the former editor of Details Magazine, had published a book Hip: The History (1). The book contains the concept of hippie, an image only exists in few people, and how did they build up American culture form different aspects, such like music, races, fashion etc. The hippies had developed series products for their lives; they created different needs of shopping also. It became a new consuming culture (it seemed to last till today.) In this book, he pointed out what did American dream looked like, democracy and the freedom of economics was the mainly composition (2). In American dream, everyone was the same; everyone was the master of the government. Everyone had the opportunity to be rich. Vonnegut had a comment of it in his book Jailbird.
Jailbird showed an ideology of pursuing intelligence and famous brand, the collaboration of profit and power began with highly education. They put themselves with those key words (Is that a way to make progress?) It’s like a way to close to some faith (Building a heaven or desire for freedom and democracy.); or to some insurance of life (The power and the fortune.). This American dream couldn’t bare the challenge form the working class though, when the working class walked on the street and showed the problem of unfair paying, a poverty gap, exploiting and titrust. Freedom and democracy became a lie, exposed by the working class. Until then, did they still have the American dream?
(1) John Leland: HIP: THE HISTORY (2004)，Ecco.
(2) Washington Observer weekly, issue37, The Hippie History of America.

Q: What did you like about Vonnegut?
A: I love his viewpoint of family and viewpoint of society so much. I love his giggles and his family. He’s full of value to look up, so that I extended much self-righteous coincidence and self-righteous fate with him; those was what I love. To make more direct description: I love those things just like a cat addicted to its cat grass.

The critic Nan, Fun-Shiou stated further that the character on writing of that age was
In his book Wampeters, foma and granfalloons, Vonnegut mentioned his experience of university of Chicago in 1945. When he entered the department of anthropology, he didn’t get interested in Physical anthropology and archaeology. His instructor suggested him participate the field of studying cultural anthropology. The core of this filed was the chairman Robert Redfild(1897-1958), he’s also the most important mentor of Vonnegut.

Prof. Redfild was planned a dreamscape of people community, he called “The Folk Society”. He published this plan on The American Journal of Sociology. (Page293-page308, book52, 1947.)

Although The Folk Society was different from The Primitive Society, they have something in common. For example: they were in small-scale, each member knew well of the other. The messages flowed among them quickly, but they could barely reach out to the outside
.
The Folk Society communicate with only the colloquial language, except for their memories, they didn’t have any method to preserve their history. In that case, who lives longer became more valuable to the society. One generation after another, their thoughts didn’t change; the faith in person was the same as the faith in community. In Porf.Redfild’s point of view, of one family society,

Q: You are a fan of Vonnegut, and then he’s a fan of whom?
A: The French writer Louis-Ferdinand Céline (1894-1961)
In the foreword of an English edition, Vonnegut said that “Novels of Louis-Ferdinand Céline were the history proved those fragile people who witnessed the crush down of the western civilization.”(3) Vonnegut mentioned more than once, he read the book Voyage au bout de la nuit: “However, this book touched deep in my heart and even my bones.”, ”My writing career must thank to Céline”, “I was shocked and inspired by his words, I was so grateful.” He revealed his mind to Céline in his Slaughterhouse-Five.

Voyage au bout de la nuit was assigned as school book on his writing class in University of Iowa. Céline was a master of writing style. The picaresque was a specific writing style in European literature, the novel Voyage au bout de la nuit was praised by Chinese scholar Lou, Ming-Jiou as the greatest one. And he also said it could be the most extensive roam and it could be the longest journey of the literature. It made 20th century a real Time of Odysseus.

Q: Have you ever try to accost him?
A: I was going to do it. After my dissertation on him had passed the oral examination so I could graduate. All I need was to finish the English translation of it, and he’s gone with his mother ship.
The news of his returning to the planet Tralfamadore came from Lee, Chia-Ying, who lives now in America, she left an offline message of url to me. It came to me first while I clicked the url, “how could the google rss hadn’t send this news to me?”. I started checking this news from google page, gmail, my rss and keywords research, but none of them showed this news. What’s going on? What’s the problem? As a big fan, I’m always holding my passion and being obedient. The link between him and my father, I took it as an unbroken destiny. I was fascinated with who was born in 1922, the demobilized soldier’s style. With the details of his everything and I looked back into my life. I could impudently said that we were in common.

I was so angry and I was going to throw away my cable modem, Wei-Wei stopped me. “Hold on a second, see if I could find out who’s the captain of his mother ship, and we could reserve the 100 years-later lovers seat on the ship to accosting him.” she said. “I don’t it’s a good idea, it’s too exiting to me, I would afraid of talking to him.” I moved my ass from my desk to my bed, crouching myself like an egg. I was so sad that I even haven’t finishing my letter to accost him.