[Bury Your Dead摘錄］天生我材必有用（關於人物描述，含spoiler）

(spoiler begins)
Louise Penny很殘忍，剛介紹了一個有趣的新角色，便要弄死他。而且過程頗殘忍。


恐怖份子悄悄地進行一宗破壞力強的大案，為了分散魅北克重案組的注意力，遂殺了一個警探並捉走另一個，將他綁在一枚炸彈旁，通知警方他們將在廿四小時後引爆炸彈。綁匪要探員與重案組的Chief Inspector Gamache保持通話；如對話終止，他們會立即引爆炸彈。這位不幸被綁的探員就是上集才出場的Agent Morin。於是，Gamache要一邊和Agent Morin通話，一邊思考綁匪動機，一邊叫被他打入冷宮的Agent Nicole以分析背景聲音的方法找出Agent Morin的確切位置，還要說服死對頭高層相信他查到的線索，派員去阻止恐怖份子的大行動。

這事件在小說開始時已完結，讀者是透過Gamache和Beauvoir貫穿全書的回憶片段，才逐漸知道真相的。當我知道Agent Morin可能已被殺的一刻，簡直不敢相信。這個傻氣又認真，剛加入重案組不久的探員，是個有趣的角色。不敢相信作者將他描述得栩栩如生，卻殘忍地奪去他的性命。不過話說回來，如果她不是將這個角色寫得這麼好，戲劇張力也不會這樣大。況且，這就是人生，好人也會遭逢不幸。


這件事，亦在Gamache的角色發展上起了很大作用。看似完美的Gamache也會犯錯。雖然他已經盡力，雖然他被人誤導才會出錯，沒人會怪責他，但他就是會怪犯自己。特別像他這樣一個有責任感的人。他怪自己對Morin食言；他怪自己為何不能早點說服高層，讓自己能早點出發營救Morin；他氣自己在關鍵時刻沒有想清楚，選了錯的方向...... 而最令人難受的，是他剛深入認識這位年輕人，便要用最殘忍的方法與他道別。他和Morin在電話不停歇地長談二十多小時，恐怕與最好的朋友也未試過這樣。 

看著他們閒話家常，回憶往事，看著Gamache設法逼Morin笑，看著Morin努力不去想自己的命運...... 實在不忍。

好了，到摘錄部份：


－很喜歡這段描述。Morin「生成這個樣」，原來是要用來彈奏小提琴！天生我材必有用也。喜歡這句：”his body suddenly making sense”。

And a violin. In a breath Gamache was back in that cabin watching Agent Paul Morin. Gangly, awkward, young, picking up the priceless violin, tucking it under his chin and leaning into it. His body suddenly making sense, as though bred to play this instrument. And filling the rustic, log cabin.

－他的身體為何最初看起來不make sense?

And he saw young Agent Morin standing in the cabin, so awkward, like a wooden puppet, all gangly arms and legs. But as soon as he’d played that priceless violin his body had changed.

－他究竟有多awkward？作者形容得很生動（雖然有點刻薄）：

…knack for looking like an imbecile. It wasn’t something Morin tried to do, but he succeeded. He often had his mouth slightly open and his thick lips moistened as though he was about to drool. It could be either disconcerting or disarming. One thing it never was was attractive. But it had grown on Gamache and his team as they realized what his face was doing had nothing to do with his brain or his heart.

唔，講完Morin，讓我搭幾段作者對幾個角色的描述：
(spoiler ends)


作者對一位女侍應的描述（不過她只是過客)，寫來充滿同情：

“I have one more request.”
 “What is it?” She was impatient. She had her tip and needed to go work for another, and another and enough to put a modest roof over her head and feed her children. And these well-off men were delaying her, with their nice clothes and aromas of soap and something else. Sandalwood, she recognized. It was a nice fragrance and the larger man had kind eyes, thoughtful eyes, and was smiling at her. Still, she couldn’t pay the landlord with smiles, though God knows she’d tried. Couldn’t feed her kids the kindness of strangers. She needed these men gone and new bums on the seats.

－再來一段作者對女主角Clara的描述。她是個藝術家，為人神經質，處事靠直覺，沒機心，不懂說謊（起碼在沒心理準備下）：

Clara hesitated. She hadn’t expected to be asked and had no lie prepared. Foolish, really. What were her regular lies? I’m busy that night. The art world’s just too conservative to appreciate my work. The dog did it or, as a variation, it’s Ruth（半瘋老詩人）’s fault. That covered everything from smells, to missing food, to dirt through the house. To, sometimes, her art. It didn’t, however, seem to cover this.
但有些人，在沒心理準備之下都能講大話：

－描述一個說話聲量細得沒有人能聽到的人：

But what happened to people who never spoke, never raised their voices? Kept everything inside? Gamache knew what happened. Everything they swallowed, every word, thought, feeling rattled around inside, hollowing the person out. And into that chasm they stuffed their words, their rage.

－描述一個不在乎錢的嫌疑犯：

You have another motivation, another master. Money was never the currency that counted. No. It’s compliments you collect. Respect, admiration. You collect the certainty that you’re better than anyone else. A saint, even. It’s your ego, your self-esteem that needs feeding, demands feeding, not your bank account.

最後，想摘錄這一段淒美的描述：

The day of the funerals was clear and cold. It was mid-December and a wind rattled down from the Arctic and didn’t stop until it slammed into the men, women and children who lined the cortege route.