好書推薦：最杰出的6本黑幫小說(shuō)

1. The Godfather by Mario Puzo

馬里奧·普佐的《教父》

An obvious choice, perhaps, but a reflection of how seminal it is to the genre. Francis Ford Coppola’s film adaptation is regarded as one of the greatest of all time, but the book is a classic in its own right. It introduced terms like Cosa Nostra3 and omertà to a mass audience and defined the public perception of mobsters for decades to come.

也許大家都會(huì)選這本書，這也反映出它對(duì)這類小說(shuō)影響深遠(yuǎn)。弗朗西斯·福特·科波拉據(jù)其改編的電影可視作史上最優(yōu)秀的作品之一，而這本書本身也堪稱經(jīng)典。它向廣大讀者介紹了Cosa Nostra（美國(guó)黑手黨）和omertà（緘默法則）等黑幫用語(yǔ)，并且在接下來(lái)的數(shù)十年內(nèi)界定了公眾對(duì)黑幫人物的認(rèn)知。

2. Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi

尼古拉斯·皮萊吉的《盜亦有道》

Adapted by Martin Scorsese as the film Goodfellas, Pileggi’s account of the life of mobster Henry Hill was the starting point for the modern-day depiction of the gangster. The book set the template for all that followed – from Casino and Donnie Brasco right through to The Sopranos.

皮萊吉的這本書講述了黑幫人物亨利·希爾的一生，后經(jīng)馬丁·斯科塞斯改編成電影《好家伙》。該書是現(xiàn)代描述黑幫作品的起點(diǎn)。從《賭城風(fēng)云》和《忠奸人》一直到《黑道家族》，后來(lái)的此類作品均以該書為典范。

3. American Tabloid by James Ellroy

詹姆斯·艾爾羅伊的《美國(guó)小報(bào)》

Ellroy dedicates his masterpiece to “bad men, and the price they paid to secretly define their time”. Covering the period from JFK’s4 election to his assassination, Ellroy takes us into the world of thugs, fixers5 and killers on the fringes of power. It still amazes me that in 600 pages, the closest thing to a hero6 is a hitman who by his own reckoning has killed more than 500 people. It was accused of glorifying criminals, but I prefer Ellroy’s own explanation: this is a story of three men crushed by the weight of their own evil.

艾爾羅伊將這部杰作獻(xiàn)給“壞人，還有他們?yōu)槟茉熳约旱臅r(shí)代而付出的代價(jià)”。故事發(fā)生在從約翰·F. 肯尼迪當(dāng)選總統(tǒng)到遇刺身亡的這段時(shí)間，作者將我們帶入暴徒、毒品販子和殺手的世界，將我們帶到了權(quán)力的邊緣。至今仍讓我驚嘆不已的是，600頁(yè)的故事里，唯一跟英雄沾邊兒的人物是一個(gè)據(jù)自己估算刺殺了500多人的雇傭殺手。有人曾指責(zé)這本書在為犯罪分子唱贊歌，但我更贊同艾爾羅伊自己的解釋：這本書講述的是三個(gè)男人被自己沉重的罪惡壓垮的故事。

4. The Power of the Dog by Don Winslow

唐·溫斯洛的《犬之力》

Winslow’s novel chronicles the first 30 years of the US’s “war on drugs”. Epic in every sense, the book lays bare the violence, futility and hypocrisy of the policy, and is made all the more striking by its grounding in true events. But this is much more than a fictional exposé of recent history; as in The Godfather, it’s the personal relationships that drive the narrative as the friendship between DEA7 agent Art Keller and narco kingpin Miguel Angel Barrera disintegrates into a blood feud.

溫斯洛的這部小說(shuō)按時(shí)間順序講述了美國(guó)“禁毒之戰(zhàn)”前30年的征程。從各個(gè)層面來(lái)講，它都是一部史詩(shī)級(jí)作品，揭開(kāi)了禁毒政策充滿暴力同時(shí)又徒勞無(wú)果且虛偽的一面。小說(shuō)基于真實(shí)事件寫成，因而更加令人矚目。但是，這本書遠(yuǎn)不止是以小說(shuō)的形式披露那一段歷史；與小說(shuō)《教父》一樣，本書故事進(jìn)展也由人物之間的關(guān)系推動(dòng)，美國(guó)緝毒局特工阿特·凱勒和毒梟米格爾·安赫爾·巴雷拉之間的友情逐漸瓦解，演變成一場(chǎng)血腥紛爭(zhēng)。

5. LA Confidential by James Ellroy

詹姆斯·艾爾羅伊的《洛城機(jī)密》

For my money8, Ellroy’s five-book run from The Big Nowhere to The Cold Six Thousand is as strong as any crime author has put together. LA Confidential focuses on the LA mob scene after Siegel9, but takes in LAPD corruption, institutional racism, high-class prostitution and more. Sprawling and complex, yet exquisitely plotted, it’s the pathos Ellroy imbues in his tough guys that sets this apart. That and the fact that it features the villainous Dudley Smith at his absolute zenith.

在我看來(lái)，從《無(wú)際荒原》到《冷峻六千》，艾爾羅伊創(chuàng)作的這五部作品質(zhì)量都很高，不弱于任何其他犯罪小說(shuō)作家的作品集?！堵宄菣C(jī)密》重點(diǎn)描寫了繼西格爾之后的洛杉磯黑社會(huì)勢(shì)力，但也沒(méi)有忽略洛城警方內(nèi)部腐敗墮落、制度性種族歧視、高級(jí)性交易等現(xiàn)象。小說(shuō)鋪陳宏大、錯(cuò)綜復(fù)雜，卻又布局精妙；艾爾羅伊筆下的硬漢頗具感染力，正是這點(diǎn)使該故事與眾不同。還有一個(gè)原因，那就是本書中邪惡的達(dá)德利·史密斯正處于權(quán)力的絕對(duì)巔峰時(shí)期。

6. After Hours by Edwin Torres

埃德溫·托里斯的《非常時(shí)間》

Torres’s work opens up the rarely featured world of Puerto Rican gangs in Spanish Harlem10. It is the second book in the series, and this time Carlito Brigante is older and wiser and looking for a way out of the life – and anyone familiar with the genre knows that never goes well. The book hums with authenticity, and Brigante is a standout character: a killer and a survivor, but smart and thoughtful with it.

托里斯的這部作品展現(xiàn)了一個(gè)極少受人關(guān)注的世界，那就是東哈萊姆區(qū)的波多黎各黑幫。本書是一套系列小說(shuō)的第二部。這一部里，黑幫人物卡利托·布里甘特老了幾歲，也聰明了一些，試圖擺脫過(guò)去的生活——任何熟悉這類小說(shuō)的人都知道如此選擇從來(lái)都不會(huì)有好結(jié)局。這本書讀起來(lái)非常真實(shí)，布里甘特也是個(gè)不同尋常的角色：既是個(gè)生命力頑強(qiáng)的殺手，也是個(gè)言行謹(jǐn)慎的聰明人。

注釋：

1. in a different light 從不同的角度，從不同的方面。

2. what makes someone tick 某人做某事的原因或動(dòng)機(jī)。

3. Cosa Nostra 指美國(guó)黑手黨；意大利語(yǔ)，本意為“我們的事業(yè)”。

4. =John Fitzgerald Kennedy（約翰·F. 肯尼迪，1917—1963），1961 年至1963 年為美國(guó)第35 任總統(tǒng)。

5. fixer 通過(guò)非法的手段解決各種棘手問(wèn)題的人。

6. the closest thing to a hero 在英雄完全不存在的情況下，最接近英雄的人物。

7. =Drug Enforcement Administration 藥物執(zhí)法管理局，俗稱美國(guó)緝毒局。

8. for my money 我認(rèn)為。

9. 即Benjamin Siegel（1906—1947），美國(guó)有名的黑幫老大，率先在拉斯維加斯建造了高檔酒店，拉開(kāi)了賭城繁榮發(fā)展的序幕。

10. 即East Harlem，紐約的東哈萊姆區(qū)，波多黎各人居多，說(shuō)西班牙語(yǔ)。