The Sins of the Fathers

Name: The Sins of the Fathers
ISBN: 9787513300322

Lawrence BlockNew Star Press2010

4.0

Word count: 73K words
Chapters: 17
Series: The Sins of the Fathers is the opening book of Lawrence Block's Matthew Scudder series and the case through which Chinese readers first met this unlicensed private detective. The story is set in 1970s New York: in a Greenwich Village apartment, a young woman named Wendy is stabbed to death, the entire bed turned into a sea of blood; the boy living with her, Richard Vanderpoel, covered in blood, rushes into the street, is arrested as the killer, and later takes his own life in prison. A murder that seems closed, two young lives abruptly ended. Wendy's father (some say stepfather), Cale Hanniford, comes to New York from out of town. Not satisfied with catching the killer, he wants to know what his daughter, out of touch for years, had become, why she died this way, why she invited murder. He finds Scudder, who has left the police force, has no license, and lives by running errands and taking the occasional case, and asks him to enter the last years of his daughter's life. Scudder traces Wendy's home, work, and relationships, and also steps into the shadow of another father—Richard's clergyman father, strangely indifferent both to his son's situation and to the dead woman. The crime scene is soon clear, but the locked rooms of the heart open one by one: the murder that seems solved has only just begun. Told in a cold first person, the book uses the shell of a crime story to write about loneliness, family, faith, and the ambiguous territory of morality, establishing the series' keynote of "finding explanations for what the police think needs no handling, or what the parties cannot bring to the police."
ISBN: 9787513300322

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Summary

Many people meet Matthew Scudder through Eight Million Ways to Die, but to truly understand this New York man who is always quitting drinking, always lighting candles, always cleaning up after the dead, it is best to start with The Sins of the Fathers. It is the first book in the series, short, and its pace is less unhurried than later works, yet it already contains Block's core: a city not clean enough, a group of people not respectable enough, and a truth that, once uncovered, brings no comfort. The most moving thing is that it writes "investigating" as "salvaging." Wendy is already dead, and Scudder can only piece her together from others' memories, complaints, and silences—why she left school, why she lived in such an apartment, why she shared it with Richard yet kept a certain distance. Beyond the investigative line runs a contrast between two fathers: one wants to understand everything, one refuses to understand anything. Block makes neither a simple villain; he simply traps each in his own place. So this is not a mystery that makes you slap the table in admiration, but a book that leaves the room a little cold after you close it. The hard-boiled label on the cover easily misleads; the real Block is soft: he writes violence, and the unclaimed loneliness after violence. Hou Hsiao-hsien, Tony Leung, Zhu Tianxin, and Tang Nuo are longtime readers of the series, and that reputation spanning genre and serious literature is visible from the first book. If you plan to read only one Scudder, choose Eight Million Ways to Die; if you want to accompany him all the way, start here.

Editor's review

很多人是从《八百万种死法》认识马修·斯卡德的，但要真正理解这个总在戒酒、总在点蜡烛、总在替死者收拾残局的纽约男人，最好从《父之罪》开始。它是系列第一本，篇幅不大，节奏也不像后来的作品那样从容，却已经有布洛克最核心的东西：一个不够干净的城市，一群不够体面的人，一场查清之后并不让人痛快的真相。本书最动人的地方，是它把“查案”写成了“打捞”。温蒂已经死去，斯卡德只能从别人的记忆、抱怨和沉默里一点点把她拼起来——她为什么离开学校，为什么住在这样的公寓，为什么和理查德同住却保持某种距离。案情的推进线之外，还并行着两位父亲的对照：一个想弄清一切，一个拒绝弄清一切。布洛克没有把任何一方写成简单的恶人，他只是让每个人都困在自己的位置上。因此这不是一本读完会拍案叫绝的推理小说，而是一本合上书后会觉得房间里有点冷的书。封面上的硬汉标签容易让人误会，真正的布洛克是柔的：他写暴力，也写暴力之后那些无人认领的孤独。侯孝贤、梁朝伟、朱天心、唐诺都是这套书的长期读者，这种跨越类型与严肃文学的口碑，从第一本就能看出端倪。如果你只打算读一本斯卡德，选《八百万种死法》；如果你想陪他走完全程，就从这本开始。

Who it's for

A good fit for

喜欢硬汉派、社会派侦探小说的读者
想按顺序系统阅读马修·斯卡德系列的读者
对纽约城市文化与七十年代美国社会感兴趣的读者
偏爱冷峻第一人称叙事、不追求诡计反转的读者

Not a good fit for

期待密室、本格诡计与公平解谜的读者
偏好轻松幽默、节奏明快的娱乐型推理的读者
对性、暴力与宗教议题描写较为敏感的读者

Reading tips

把它放在系列首位读，先认识斯卡德酗酒、无照、独居的底色，再读《在死亡之中》《八百万种死法》会更有层次。
不必急着追问“凶手是谁”，本书的重点在于动机与人心，读时可留意两位父亲截然不同的反应。
备一张纽约地图或随手查一查格林尼治村、地狱厨房等地名，跟着斯卡德的脚步走，代入感会强很多。
读完后可再回看开篇委托场景，会发现很多关于“父亲”的伏笔早已埋下。

About the publisher

New Star Press China · Founded in 1989

New Star Press focuses on classic works, mystery and detective fiction, science fiction, history, foreign literature and art, and its 602 titles in the library show a balance between popular reading and humanistic depth. Representative books include The Complete Works of Shakespeare: Illustrated Collector's Edition, And Then There Were None, Murder on the Orient Express, The Player of Games, Local Government in Qing China, A Good Man Is Hard to Find and A Collection of Fine Ukiyo-e Prints, spanning classic literature, detective fiction, science fiction, local history and visual art. Its authors and contributors include William Shakespeare, Agatha Christie and Iain M. Banks, as well as translators such as Zhu Shenghao and Su Fuzhong and illustrators such as John Gilbert and George Cruikshank. Known for the detective series Midnight Library and for social-science and humanities titles, the press emphasizes edition design and reading experience; public information is limited, so this profile highlights the publishing features reflected in the library's books.

FAQ

《父之罪》是马修·斯卡德系列的哪一本？

它是该系列的第一本，也是马修·斯卡德首次登场的作品，1976年在英文世界出版，中文版由易萃雯翻译。想按顺序读斯卡德，从这本开始最合适。

这本书适合推理入门读者吗？

适合作为了解硬汉派的入门书，但它不靠诡计和反转取胜，谜底推进较慢，重心在人物与城市。若你期待本格解谜，可能会觉得不够“推理”。

中文版有几个版本，ISBN 是哪个？

常见中文版有 2006 年新星出版社初版（ISBN 9787802251014）与 2010 年新星出版社版（ISBN 9787513300322），2018 年四川人民出版社另有新版（ISBN 9787220106712）。本书条目按流传较广的 2010 年新星版著录。

没读过其他布洛克作品，能直接读这本吗？

完全可以。这是系列首作，不需要前置阅读。读完若喜欢，可继续读《在死亡之中》《谋杀与创造之时》，再进入公认高峰《八百万种死法》。

书中的“父之罪”指什么？

书名对应英文原名 The Sins of the Fathers，指向父亲这一角色在悲剧中的责任与缺席。书中有两位父亲形成对照，具体所指涉及情节，建议读后自行体会。

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About the author

Lawrence Block Author · American · 1938

Lawrence Block, born in 1938 in Buffalo, New York, and long based in New York City, is a leading figure in contemporary hardboiled detective fiction. He created several series, including those featuring Matthew Scudder, Bernie Rhodenbarr the burglar, Evan Tanner, and the killer Keller, and has written more than a hundred books. Among his best-known works are Eight Million Ways to Die and the Bernie Rhodenbarr "burglar" series, which includes The Burglar Who Painted Like Mondrian, The Burglar Who Thought He Was Bogart, and The Burglar in the Library. His books are often categorized as suspense and mystery fiction or foreign literature. Block has received the Edgar Allan Poe Award, the Shamus Award, the Diamond Dagger, and the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America.