名著阅读

"I had milk," she said. "I was pregnant with Denver but I had milk for my baby girl. I hadn'tstopped nursing her when I sent her on ahead with Howard and Buglar."Now she rolled the dough out with a wooden pin. "Anybody could smell me long before he sawme. And when he saw me he'd see the drops of it on the front of my dress. Nothing I could doabout that. All I knew was I had to get my milk to my baby girl. Nobody was going to nurse herlike me. Nobody was going to get it to her fast enough, or take it away when she had enough anddidn't know it. Nobody knew that she couldn't pass her air if you held her up on your shoulder,only if she was lying on my knees. Nobody knew that but me and nobody had her milk but me. Itold that to the women in the wagon. Told them to put sugar water in cloth to suck from so when Igot there in a few days she wouldn't have forgot me. The milk would be there and I would be therewith it.""Men don't know nothing much," said Paul D, tucking his pouch back into his vest pocket, "butthey doknow a suckling can't be away from its mother for long."
"Then they know what it's like to send your children off when your breasts are full."
"We was talking 'bout a tree, Sethe.""After I left you, those boys came in there and took my milk.That's what they came in there for. Held me down and took it. I told Mrs. Garner on em. She hadthat lump and couldn't speak but her eyes rolled out tears. Them boys found out I told on em.Schoolteacher made one open up my back, and when it closed it made a tree. It grows there still.""They used cowhide on you?""And they took my milk.""They beat you and you was pregnant?"
"我那时候有奶水，"她说，"我怀着丹芙，可还有奶水给小女儿。直到我把她和霍华德、巴格勒先送走的时候，我还一直奶着她呢。"她用擀面杖把面团擀开。"人们没看见我就闻得着。所以他一见我就看到了我裙子前襟的奶渍。我一点办法都没有。我只知道我得为我的小女儿生奶水。没人会像我那样奶她。没人会像我那样，总是尽快喂上她，或是等她吃饱了、可自己还不知道的时候就马上拿开。谁都不知道她只有躺在我的腿上才能打嗝，你要是把她扛在肩膀上她就不行了。除了我谁也不知道，除了我谁也没有给她的奶水。我跟大车上的女人们说了。跟她们说用布蘸上糖水让她咂，这样几天后我赶到那里时，她就不会忘了我。奶水到的时候，我也就跟着到了。""男人可不懂那么多，"保罗·D说着，把烟口袋又揣回马甲兜里，"可他们知道，一个吃奶的娃娃不能离开娘太久。"
"那他们也知道你乳房涨满时把你的孩子送走是什么滋味。"
"我们刚才在谈一棵树，塞丝。""我离开你以后，那两个家伙去了我那儿，抢走了我的奶水。他们就是为那个来的。把我按倒，吸走了我的奶水。我向加纳太太告了他们。她长着那个包，不能讲话，可她眼里流了泪。那些家伙发现我告了他们-学校老师-让一个家伙划开我的后背，伤口愈合时就成了一棵树。它还在那儿长着呢。""他们用皮鞭抽你了？""还抢走了我的奶水。""你怀着孩子他们还打你？"
背景阅读

本书简介：

《宠儿》是托妮·莫里森最震撼人心、最成熟的代表作，现已经成为当代文学史上不朽的经典，也是美国文学史上最畅销的作品之一。小说完成于1987年，1988年即获得美国普利策小说奖。2006年《纽约时报》召集125位知名作家、评论家、编辑及文坛泰斗等选出自己心目中“25年来最佳美国小说”，《宠儿》得票最高，名列第一。

“你的爱太浓了！”——一个不可能重复的故事！！！
女黑奴塞丝怀着身孕只身从肯塔基的奴隶庄园逃到俄亥俄，奴隶主循踪追至；为了使儿女不再重复自己做奴隶的悲惨命运，她毅然杀死了自己刚刚会爬的幼女宠儿……十八年后宠儿还魂重返人间，和塞丝、塞丝的女儿丹芙以及塞丝的情人保罗•D生活在同一幢房子里。她不但加倍地向母亲索取着爱，甚至纠缠和引诱保罗•D，不择手段地扰乱和摧毁母亲刚刚回暖的生活……全书充满苦涩的诗意和紧张的悬念。

作者简介：

托妮·莫里森，美国当代最重要的女作家之一。1931年生于美国俄亥俄州，曾担任兰登书屋编辑、资深编辑，1989年起任普林斯顿大学教授。主要代表作有《最蓝的眼睛》、《秀拉》、《所罗门之歌》、《宠儿》、《爵士乐》、《天堂》等，曾获美国普利策小说奖、美国图书评论协会奖等多项大奖。1993年获诺贝尔文学奖，是历史上得此殊荣的唯一黑人女作家。