이 작품은 다음 - 2007 Debut Dagger Award, 2009 Agatha Award for Best First Novel, 2010 Spotted Owl Award, 2009 Dilys Award 등 - 의 수상작이며 아직 발표가 안된 올해 여러 상의 수상후보로 올라가있다. 1950년대 영국의 한 시골에 사는, 부유한 신사계급집안의 3자매중 막내인 11살짜리 Flavia de Luce 시리즈의 첫번째이다. 작가는 현재 3번째 작품을 쓰고 있으며 (아아, 두번째 작품 페이퍼백으로 언제 나오는거야~~~), 5편까지 이미 제목까지 정해졌다. 한동안 소홀했다가 아마존검색을 통해 간간히 사들인 것중, 최신작이고 그냥 손에 잡히는대로 집어들었는데 이건 왠걸 정말 초대박작품이라는게 팍팍 다가온다. 아, 이거 번역되면 정말 사람들이 재미있어할텐데...쩝.

 

 

여하간, 작가가 아니라 주인공이자 11살짜리 꼬마탐정 이름으로 팬싸이트 개설되어있지않나, 워낙에 한 페이지당 신랄한 독설을 고 귀여운 입에서 뿜어대는지라 인용문 게시판까지 인기이다 (http://216.74.34.10/author/quotes/1074866.Alan_Bradley).

 

 

 

..seed biscuit and milt! I hated Mrs.Mullet's seed biscuits the way Saint Paul hated sin...I wantes to clamber up onto the table, and with a saussage on the end of a fork as my scepter, shout in my best Laurence Olivier voice, "Will no one rid us of this turbulent pastry cook?"..p.49

 

 

 

(요건 맨첫문장부터 읽은 오디오북과 출판사에서 만든 영상을 결합해 아마존에 띄운 것)  

 

 

 

이야기는 요 주인공이 손으로 묶여서 갇혀있는 장면에서 시작된다. 난 또 이거 또 [러블리 본즈]아닌가 싶게 긴장했는데, 알고보니 정말 아주 서로 못잡아먹어서 안달난 두 언니, 17살의 Ohpelia와 13세살난 Daphene가 그녀를 가뒀다. Flavia([젠다성의 포로]에 나오는 공주이름, 부모의 이름취향도 참..^^)도 '둘이 나이 함치면 30살이나 되는 주제'에(푸하하하) 자기에게 못되게 군다고 난리지만, 화학영재이자 화학을 너무나 좋아하는 (선조의 화학실험실을 물려받았다. Flavia의 가장 큰 특징은, 화학을 그것도 독물학을 무지하게 좋아한다. 그녀는 숫자나 사물을 외울때에도 원자번호를 이용해 외운다. 피아노를 잘치거나 책을 좋아하는 언니들은 침대머리맡에 슈만이나 디킨즈의 사진을 붙여놓지만, Flavia는 분젠, 라브와지에 등등의 사진을 붙여놓을 정도이다) 그녀는 약물을 추출해 언니의 립스틱을 다시 만들었다. 입술 부르트도록...그나저나, 둘째언니인 Daphene가 읽는 책또한 무지 흥미로운데, 시작부터 호레이스 월폴의 [오트란토성]부터, 찰스 디킨즈의 [니컬라스 니클비], [황폐한집],[두도시이야기], 사바티니의 [스카라무슈], 프레이저의 [황금가지], [보물섬], [젠다성의 포로], [Pelham (이거 며칠전 케이블에서 영화했는데..볼껄...)] 등을 읽는다 (그때마다 입에서 나오는 말투가 달라진다 ^^). 난 [니컬라스 니클비]에서 독살의 가능성을 발견해내는 Flavia가 놀랍다. 그녀는 자신이 바라보는 그림이나 작품속의 인물상태를 통해 무슨 독약이 이용되었는지를 추측한다.

 

한편!

 

바람잘날 없는 (아아, 이 나이보다 조숙한 이 소녀가 화학과 독물학에 집착하고 독설을 내뿜는 이유는 아마도 나이 한살때 엄마 Harriet을 잃어서일까? 아내를 너무 사랑했는지 아들을 너무 바랬는지 아빠는 멀고, 나이차기가 나는 언니들을 지네들끼리 뭉쳐서 예술적 재능을 각자 자랑하지만...) De Luce집안의 어느 여름날 아침, 문을 열어보니 jacksnipe가 죽어서 등을 대고 누운채 날카로운 부리에는 여왕의 얼굴이 그려진 black penny의 우표가 달려있었던 것이다. 그걸 본 Flavia의 아빠는 얼굴이 하얗게 변하고...그날밤 무슨 소리에 깨서 아빠의 서재로 내려온 Flavia는 서재에서 아빠가 어떤 남자와 싸우는 소리를 듣는다. 집안을 돌보는, 아빠의 전쟁후임병 Dogger가 와서 그녀를 다시 방으로 올려보내고.. 새벽에 일어난 Flavia는 정원에서 쓰러진 사람을 발견한다. 아마도 아빠와 싸웠던 그 남자는, Flavia에게 'Vale'이라는 말을 하고 숨진다. 그나저나, 달려온 검시관, '죽은지 8시간 이상 됐습니다'란 말을 던지다니!!! 가뜩이나 조숙하고 세상에 겁날게 없는 Flavia인지라 - 게다가 호기심은 완전거대!!!!!! - 옅들은 말을 토대로, 마을 도서관을 간다.

 

원래의 사서는 집안일로 자리를 비우고 대신 Miss Mountjoy의 도움으로 기사를 검색한 Flavia는 30년전 이도시의 학교에서 한 선생님이 학교탑에서 떨어져 자살한 것을, 그리고 죽으면서 'vale' 이란 말을 남겼다는 것을 알게된다. 그리고 연이어 알게된 사실은, 죽은 Mr.Twinning은 Miss Mountjoy의 외삼촌. 그녀는, 학생들에게 자상했던 자신의 외삼촌이 학교에서 우표수집클럽을 열었고 거기서 아주 중요하고 희귀한 우표를 누군가 훔쳐가서 이에 대한 책임감과 배신감 때문에 자살을 했다며, 실상 그건 살인이나 마찬가지라고 울분을 토한다.

 

Flavia는 동네여관을 뒤지고, 친구를 만들고...Flavia의 아빠,Colonel De Luce는 경찰에 체포되어가고..

 

 

자, 이제 문학, 음악, 화학, 독물학, 우표학 (philately)에 빅토리아 여왕시절 이야기까지 곁들여, 한페이지도 방심할 수 없이 알찬 재미가 빼곡하게 가득하다.

 

하지만, 가장 큰 장점은 소녀탐정 Flavia de Luce.

아마존에 인터뷰가 실렸는데, 이걸 읽으니 Flavia에 대해서 보다 명확한 그림이 그려진다. 맨처음엔 11살소녀의 독설이 너무 뛰어나(!!) 작가가 투영이 된게 아닌가 싶었다만, 자신도 모르게 Flavia란 소녀가 생겨버렸다는 말 이 인터뷰내용을 읽으니 약간 믿겨진다. 자신이 외롭다는 것도 모르고, 혼자 지내는 시간이 너무 많아서 그덕에 좋아하는 것에 완전 빠져버릴 수 있지만 오히려 가족과 타인과의 관계에서 빠르지못한 소녀의 모습이...

 

엄마를 느끼고 싶어서 엄마가 쓰던 이후도 아빠가 사용을 금지시킨 롤스로이스안에 새벽에 들어가다가 언젠가는 울다가 나오는 아빠를 보고 아무말도 못하고... 언니들을 괴롭히는 재미에 살면서, 막상 언니의 짝사랑 상대나 그 나이도래의 워킹클래스 소녀와 교감을 나누면서 언니들을 그리워하고...먼거리를 엄마의 자전거를 타고가서 아빠를 면회가서 경찰에게 자신이 범인이라고 말하다가 아빠를 안고싶지만 말도 못하고 혼자 끙끙대면서, 어떤 말을 해야 아빠에게 해가 안될까 고민하는 모습 등이 정말 너무 리얼해서, 작가도 어쩔 수 없이 주인공 데뷔시켜줘야했던 독립적인 인물이 떠오른다.   

 

인터뷰의 작가말마따나, 소녀이기때문에 (정말 명탐정 코난처럼) 심리적맹점을 이용, 잠입도 가능하고 (변명댈 구실도 완벽한데다) 어른들은 무심결에 중요한 정보 (그것도 경찰에게는 입다무는)를 흘리기도 하기에 우수한 아마추어탐정이 될 가능성이 높다. 다만, 요즘들어나오는 코지물에선 점점 더 경찰일에 관여하는것에 대한 주의사항이 살자쿵 포함되어있는데..아무리 탐정쪽에서 봐도 경찰의 수사가 미진한 것처럼 보여도, 조직력과 축적된 기술이 있는한 아무리 목격자 관련자의 중요진술 확보에 능하다 하더라도 범죄자의 위협앞에선 위태롭기 쉽상. 그러나, Flavia의 순발력을 한번 믿어봐도 될듯 (그나저나, 'you have a hand of a poisoner'라고 애한테 말하는 어른은 뭥미?)

 

 

슬픈일도 있던 기간이었는데, 이 책때문에 덜 힘들었다. 바로 이어서 [The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag]이 너무너무 읽고싶다.

 

 

  

 

 

p.s: 1) Flavia가 정말로 대단히 좋아하는 작곡가의 작품. 얼마나 좋아하는지 라디오에서 나오는거 듣고 자기방에서 아래로 다다다다다 뛰어내려왔더니 음악이 끝나서 문을 벌컥 열고들어가서 마주본 (놀래서 쳐다본 아빠랑) 멀뚱히 보다 다시 나왔다는...음악이 너무 짧다고 말하는데...ㅋㅋㅋ

 

 

...Toccata by pietro Domenico Paradisi - the one from his sonata in A major...was my favorite composition; to my mind it was the greatest musical accompolishment in the entire history of the world...Whenever I hear this music it makes me think of flying down the steep east side of Goodger Hill; running so fast that my legs can barely keep up with themselves as I swoop from side to side, mewing into the wind, like a rapturous seagull...heard Eileen Joyce ply the Toccara on BBC Home service. Father had it switched on, not reallying listening, as he fiddled with his stamp collection. The notes had found their way through the corridors and galleries of Buchshaw, floated up the spiral staicases and into my bedroom. By the time I realized what was being played, raced down the stairs, and burst into Father's study, the music had ended. We had wtood there looking at each other, Father and I, not knowing what to say, until at last, withough a word, I had backed out of the room and gone slowly back upstairs. That's the only problem with the Toccata: It's too short...p105~106

 

 

Bach's Goldberg Variations...It was slow but lovely nonetheless, although even on his best days Bach, to my way of thinking, couldn't hold a candle to Pietro Domenico Paradisi...p.107~108

 

 

 

요걸 이태리광고에선 새롭게 곡을 만들었는데...무지 괜찮다~~~

 

 

 

 

2) 작가 인터뷰  

 

 

Q&A with Alan Bradley

Question: With the publication of The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, you’ve become a 70-year-old-first time novelist. Have you always had a passion for writing, or is it more of a recent development?

Alan Bradley: Well, the Roman author Seneca once said something like this: “Hang on to your youthful enthusiasms--you’ll be able to use them better when you’re older.” So to put it briefly, I’m taking his advice.

I actually spent most of my life working on the technical side of television production, but would like to think that I’ve always been a writer. I started writing a novel at age five, and have written articles for various publications all my life. It wasn’t until my early retirement, though, that I started writing books. I published my memoir, The Shoebox Bible, in 2004, and then started working on a mystery about a reporter in England. It was during the writing of this story that I stumbled across Flavia de Luce, the main character in Sweetness.

 

Q: Flavia certainly is an interesting character. How did you come up with such a forceful, precocious and entertaining personality?

 

AB: Flavia walked onto the page of another book I was writing, and simply hijacked the story. I was actually well into this other book--about three or four chapters--and as I introduced a main character, a detective, there was a point where he was required to go to a country house and interview this colonel.

I got him up to the driveway and there was this girl sitting on a camp stool doing something with a notebook and a pencil and he stopped and asked her what she was doing and she said “writing down license number plates“ and he said “well there can't be many in such a place“ and she said, “well I have yours, don’t I? “ I came to a stop. I had no idea who this girl was and where she came from.

She just materialized. I can't take any credit for Flavia at all. I’ve never had a character who came that much to life. I’ve had characters that tend to tell you what to do, but Flavia grabbed the controls on page one. She sprung full-blown with all of her attributes--her passion for poison, her father and his history--all in one package. It surprised me.

 

Q: There aren’t many adult books that feature child narrators. Why did you want Flavia to be the voice of this novel?

 

AB: People probably wonder, “What’s a 70-year-old-man doing writing about an 11-year-old-girl in 1950s England? “ And it’s a fair question. To me, Flavia embodies that kind of hotly burning flame of our young years: that time of our lives when we’re just starting out, when anything--absolutely anything!--is within our capabilities.

I think the reason that she manifested herself as a young girl is that I realized that it would really be a lot of fun to have somebody who was virtually invisible in a village. And of course, we don’t listen to what children say--they’re always asking questions, and nobody pays the slightest attention or thinks for a minute that they’re going to do anything with the information that they let slip. I wanted Flavia to take great advantage of that. I was also intrigued by the possibilities of dealing with an unreliable narrator; one whose motives were not always on the up-and-up.

She is an amalgam of burning enthusiasm, curiosity, energy, youthful idealism, and frightening fearlessness. She’s also a very real menace to anyone who thwarts her, but fortunately, they don’t generally realize it.

 

Q: Like Flavia, you were also 11 years old in 1950. Is there anything autobiographical about her character?

 

AB: Somebody pointed out the fact that both Flavia and I lacked a parent. But I wasn’t aware of this connection during the writing of the book. It simply didn’t cross my mind. It is true that I grew up in a home with only one parent, and I was allowed to run pretty well free, to do the kinds of things I wanted. And I did have extremely intense interests then--things that you get focused on. When you’re that age, you sometimes have a great enthusiasm that is very deep and very narrow, and that is something that has always intrigued me--that world of the 11-year-old that is so quickly lost.

 

Q: Your story evokes such a vivid setting. Had you spent much time in the British countryside before writing this book?

 

AB: My first trip to England didn’t come until I went to London to receive the 2007 Debut Dagger Award, so I had never even stepped foot in the country at the time of writing Sweetness. But I have always loved England. My mother was born there. And I‘ve always felt I grew up in a very English household. I had always wanted to go and had dreamed for many years of doing so.

When I finally made it there, the England that I was seeing with my eyes was quite unlike the England I had imagined, and yet it was the same. I realized that the differences were precisely those differences between real life, and the simulation of real life, that we create in our detective novels. So this was an opportunity to create on the page this England that had been in my head my whole life.

 

Q: You have five more books lined up in this series, all coming from Delacorte Press. Will Flavia age as the series goes on?

 

AB: A bit, not very much. I think she’s going to remain in the same age bracket. I don’t really like the idea of Flavia as an older teenager. At her current age, she is such a concoction of contradictions. It's one of the things that I very much love about her. She's eleven but she has the wisdom of an adult. She knows everything about chemistry but nothing about family relationships. I don’t think she’d be the same person if she were a few years older. She certainly wouldn’t have access to the drawing rooms of the village.

 

Q: Do you have a sense of what the next books in the series will be about?

 

AB: The second book, The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag, is finished, and I’m working on the third book. I have a general idea of what’s happening in each one of the books, because I wanted to focus on some bygone aspect of British life that was still there in the '50s but has now vanished. So we have postage stamps in the first one... The second book is about the travelling puppet shows on the village green. And one of them is about filmmaking--it sort of harks back to the days of the classic Ealing comedies with Alec Guinness and so forth.

 

Q: Not every author garners such immediate success with a first novel. After only completing 15 pages of Sweetness, you won the Dagger award and within 8 days had secured book deals in 3 countries. You’ve since secured 19 countries. Enthusiasm continues to grow from every angle. How does it feel?

 

 

AB: It's like being in the glow of a fire. You hope you won't get burned. I’m not sure how much I’ve realized it yet. I guess I can say I‘m “almost overwhelmed”--I’m not quite overwhelmed, but I’m getting there. Every day has something new happening, and communications pouring in from people all over. The book has been receiving wonderful reviews and touching people. But Flavia has been touching something in people that generates a response from the heart, and the most often mentioned word in the reviews is love--how much people love Flavia and have taken her in as if she’s a long-lost member of their family, which is certainly very, very gratifying.

(Photo © Jeff Bassett)