殘忍而美麗的情誼:The Kite Runner 追風箏的人(138)

He said. The Khyber Pass was as famous for its terrain as for the bandits who used that terrain to rob travelers. Before I could answer, he winked and said in a loud voice, “Of course no dozd would waste his time on a car as ugly as my brother’s.”
Farid wrestled the smallest of the three boys to the floor and tickled him on the ribs with his good hand. The kid giggled and kicked. “At least I have a car,” Farid panted. “How is your donkey these days?”
“My donkey is a better ride than your car.”
“Khar khara mishnassah,” Farid shot back. Takes a donkey to know a donkey. They all laughed and I joined in. I heard female voices from the adjoining room. I could see half of the room from where I sat. Maryam and an older woman wearing a brown hijab--presumably her mother--were speaking in low voices and pouring tea from a kettle into a pot.
“So what do you do in America, Amir agha?” Wahid asked.
“I’m a writer,” I said. I thought I heard Farid chuckle at that.
“A writer?” Wahid said, clearly impressed. “Do you write about Afghanistan?”
“Well, I have. But not currently,” I said. My last novel, A Season for Ashes, had been about a university professor who joins a clan of gypsies after he finds his wife in bed with one of his stu dents. It wasn’t a bad book. Some reviewers had called it a “good” book, and one had even used the word “riveting.” But suddenly I was embarrassed by it. I hoped Wahid wouldn’t ask what it was about.
“Maybe you should write about Afghanistan again,” Wahid said. “Tell the rest of the world what the Taliban are doing to our country.”
“Well, I’m not... I’m not quite that kind of writer.”

他說。與開伯爾隘口同樣遠近聞名的是，強盜利用那裏的地形打劫過往旅客。我還沒有回答，他就眨眨眼，大聲說：“當然，沒有任何強盜會打我兄弟那輛破車的主意。”
法裏德將最小那個孩子抱倒在地，用那隻完好的手去撓他的肋骨。那孩子咯咯大笑，雙腳亂踢。“最少我還有一輛車，”法裏德氣喘吁吁地說，“你那頭驢子最近怎樣？”
“我的驢子騎起來比坐你的車好。”
“騎驢才知驢難騎。”法裏德回敬說。他們全都笑起來，我也笑了。我聽見隔壁傳來女人的聲音。從我坐的地方，可以看到那間屋子的一半。瑪麗亞和蒙着棕色面紗的婦女低聲交談，從一個大水壺往茶壺裏面倒茶。那女人年紀較大，應該是她媽媽。
“你在美國幹什麼呢，老爺？”瓦希德問。
“我是個作家。”我說，法裏德聽到之後輕聲一笑。
“作家？”瓦希德說，顯然頗有好感。“你寫阿富汗嗎？”
，寫的是一個大學教授的故事，他發現妻子跟他的學生上牀之後，追隨一羣吉卜賽人而去。這本書不錯。有些評論家說它是本“好”書，有一個甚至還用了“引人人勝”這樣的評語。但突然之間，它讓我很難爲情。我希望瓦希德不會問起它的內容。
“也許你應該再寫寫阿富汗。”瓦希德說，“將塔利班在我們國家的所作所爲告訴世界其他角落的人們。”
“嗯，我不是……我不算是那種作家。”