Out of Africa

　　一直到最後，我才知道，他從來不屬於我。

　　海明威：「要是這次諾貝爾文學獎頒給美麗的作家伊薩克．狄尼森，我會更高興。」

　　◇ 與安徒生兄弟齊名，最懂得說故事的丹麥國寶級才女作家
　　◇ 《麥田捕手》中，叛逆、苦悶的霍爾曼藉來排遣情思的小說
　　◇ 1985年奧斯卡金像獎最佳影片《遠離非洲》原著

　　她天真、執著，為愛勇於出走至非洲，
　　只是愛情如此易滅，婚姻成為孤獨的開始－－

　　有時候，在農莊十分寂寞，
　　靜靜的黃昏，鐘面上的時光一點一滴流逝，
　　我的生命彷彿也跟著時光一寸一寸溜走，
　　但孤寂之中，我一直感覺到土著沉默、幽暗的存在，
　　與我的存在，如同兩架飛機比翼翱翔，
　　彼此的聲響迴旋呼應。

　　女人在此地接連失去兩位曾想倚靠一生的男人，
　　卻在即將離開非洲之際驀然察覺，
　　關於愛的歸所，原來，她早已覓得。

　　丹麥人最鍾愛的才女作家－－伊薩克．狄尼森的自傳作品
　　二十世紀最詩意而內斂的文字

　　作者輕巧地隱身在故事裡，以恬靜筆觸將非洲十八年的見聞，與風土民情化作美麗而動人的文字－－我們看不出她困頓的日常、心繫的戀人、糾纏終生的病痛－－她只想好好說完屬於自己的故事，用魔棒般的筆觸，將非洲生活的點滴化作一幕幕讓讀者縈迴神往的奇幻時刻。

　　* 本書中譯本<<遠離非洲>>由紅桌文化出版

　　Karen Blixen's Out of Africa is the lyrical and luminous memoir of Kenya that launched a million tourist trails, beautifully repackaged as part of the Penguin Essentials range.

　　'I had a farm in Africa, at the foot of the Ngong Hills . . . Up in this high air you breathed easily . . . you woke up in the morning and thought: Here I am, where I ought to be.'

　　From the moment Karen Blixen arrived in Kenya in 1914 to manage a coffee plantation, her heart belonged to Africa. Drawn to the intense colours and ravishing landscapes, Blixen spent her happiest years on the farm, and her experiences and friendships with the people around her are vividly recalled in these memoirs.

　　Out of Africa is the story of a remarkable and unconventional woman, and of a way of life that has vanished for ever.

　　'With its lyrical and luminous picture of Kenya, it launched a million tourist trails' Guardian

　　'A compelling story of passion and a movingly poetic tribute to a lost land' The Times

　　A work of sincere power ... a fine lyrical study of life in East Africa - Harold Nicolson, Daily Telegraph

　　Karen Blixen was born in Rungsted, Denmark, in 1885. After studying art at Copenhagen, Paris and Rome, she married her cousin, Baron Bror Blixen-Finecke, in 1914. Together they managed a coffee plantation in Kenya until they divorced in 1925. She continued on the farm until a collapse in the coffee market forced her back to Rungsted in 1931.

　　Although she had written occasional contributions to Danish periodicals since 1905 (under the nom de plume of Osceola), her real debut took place in 1934 with the publication of Seven Gothic Tales, written in English under the pen name, Isak Dinesen. Out of Africa (1937) is an autobiographical account of the years she spent in Kenya. All of her subsequent books were published in both English and Danish, including Winter's Tales (1942) and The Angelic Avengers (1936). Among her other collections of stories are Last Tales (1957), Anecdotes of Destiny (1958), Shadows on the Grass (1960) and posthumously Ehrengard (1963). In the 1950s she was mentioned several times as a candidate to receive the Noble Prize in Literature.

　　Baroness Blixen died in Rungsted in 1962. In 1991 her house was opened as The Karen Blixen Museum.

作者簡介

伊薩克．狄尼森 Isak Dinesen, 1885-1962

　　伊薩克．狄尼森是男人的名字，她的本名是凱倫．白列森（Karen Blixen）。她躲在好幾個筆名後面：奧休拉（Osceola）、皮耶．翁德里塞（Pierre Andrezel）；朋友則喚她作坦妮或塔妮亞。偉大的心靈皆是雌雄同體：她是他，他也是她。

　　凱倫出生在丹麥的貴族世家，在哥本哈根、羅馬、巴黎學習藝術，是個出色的畫家，在巴黎念書時，還學了一身好廚藝。日後，特別是在著名的短篇故事〈芭比的盛宴〉中，讀者可以看出她將美味的領略，化作人生的體悟。

　　她愛上了堂哥，但這段得不到回應的愛，讓她決定遠離家園，與堂哥的攣生兄弟芬尼克白列森結婚，到非洲展開新的生活。然而，丈夫婚後不改風流倜儻，只顧到處游獵，對金錢沒有概念，留她一人經營咖啡莊園，獨自背負日益沉重的債務。

　　她四十六歲那年，世界的咖啡市場崩盤，凱倫失去事業、情人，無奈回到丹麥，頓時孑然一身。她為了逃避二次世界大戰的紛亂，繭居故鄉寫作，沉浸在非洲的舊日時光好忘卻現實的傷痛。她處事向來神祕低調，直到《遠離非洲》在歐美文壇引起轟動，她的身影才浮現舞台。凱倫散發的貴族風采讓同時代的海明威、卡波特、導演奧森．威爾斯仰慕不已。

　　她死後葬在丹麥宏斯特（Rungsted）。丹麥人尊她為國寶級作家，與安徒生兄弟齊名。丹麥的郵票以及紙鈔50克朗上，都印有她美麗的肖像。今日在肯亞的奈洛比近郊，有一社區蓋在狄尼森以前的莊園上，以她為名。

　　她承接的是一股消逝的文學傳統，一種將故事娓娓道來的藝術。她是《一千零一夜》裡故事說不停的少女，調製故事的靈藥，令時間在如幻似真中推移。她以英文、法文、丹麥文寫作，著有《傳奇故事七則》、《遠離非洲》、《不朽的傳說》（收錄〈芭比的盛宴〉）、《再見非洲》等。

　　From the moment Karen Blixen arrived in Kenya in 1914 to manage a coffee plantation, her heart belonged to Africa. Drawn to the intense colours and ravishing landscapes, Karen Blixen spent her happiest years on the farm and her experiences and friendships with the people around her are vividly recalled in these memoirs. Out of Africa is the story of a remarkable and unconventional woman and of a way of life that has vanished for ever. Out of Africa was made into a highly acclaimed film, starring Meryl Streep and Robert Redford, and won seven Oscars. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.