回老家过年时把这两本旧小说分别送给了两个表妹，相同的故事，一本中文译版一本英文原版，其中一位表妹受英文教育，恰恰好。
知道这个故事先是从电影开始，预告片里那一橱柜子漂亮的名牌鞋子吸引了我走进戏院，电影故事围绕着一对性格迥異的姊妹，两人的外貌也非常天地相差，表面上互看对方不顺眼，心里其实都羡慕对方有的自己没的，互相依赖的同时却又不知不觉中互相伤害。
Cameron Diaz 饰演漂亮性感的妹妹 Maggie，个性不负责任，私生活乱七八糟，老是把事情搞得一团糟，又喜欢偷穿姊姊的高跟鞋，擅长技能之一就是常把工作搞丢，如果我真的有一个这样子的妹妹，我会很想把她捏死。
个性踏实又固执的姊姊 Rose，认为有一份工作比什么都重要，面对如此吊儿郎当的妹妹，她就算再抓狂也得无可奈何地接受，就如她告诉女友一样 Because she’s my sister，这是没能改变的事实，何况除了爸爸以外 （对她们来说，那个纹了的眉，注射了 botox 导致脸部表情僵硬的继母不算），她就是 Maggie 唯一的亲人。
后来 Maggie 越过了 Rose 所能忍受的界线，我想，应该是任何女人都难于接受的背叛，伤心至极的 Rose 把妹妹赶出了家门，要她自己想办法自力更生，最后让两人和好的，竟然是她们都以为已经不在了，以前也没曾见过面的外婆。
两人分开的那段日子，再见面时都难以相信对方变了许多，Rose 不相信好玩好颠的妹妹能生活在一群老人的圈子里而不被闷死，竟然还当起了私人服装顾问。Maggie 觉得姊姊比以前开朗了，想不到她还抛掉高薪收入的律师工作，当起帮人家带宠物散步的自由业人士。
可算是 “改邪归正” 了的 Maggie 最终克服了她从小就有的阅读障碍， 在姊姊 Rose 的婚礼上朗诵诗句 《I Carry Your Heart》 送给两位新人，那一幕让我热了眼眶，手足之间那有隔夜仇，Rose 穿在身上的婚纱还是 Maggie 帮她准备的呢~
看完了电影不久我就开始找寻原创小说，通常改编自小说的电影都会把故事简化，先买下的是中文译版，我还是比较喜欢看中文书，毕竟是自己熟悉的语言，再后来连英文原版也买了，为的是小说里所提及的一首首诗，中文翻译没能比原文读起来更有感觉。
看在他人眼里是自甘堕落，卖弄美貌，没有前途可言的 Maggie，她的所作所为其实是为了掩饰内心的自卑，先天的阅读障碍缺陷让她觉得自己矮人一等。
渐渐地，退休社区里的老人们都非常满意她为他们搭配和买回来的衣服，越来越多人找她做服装顾问，让她开始建立了自信心，并打算租下一家小店售卖自己搜罗回来的二手衣。
这一切的改变也唤起了她想起过去种种不愉快的回忆，从求学时的挫折，开除她的老板，把她赶出去的房东，到所有曾经笑过她笨的人.......... 可是她知道，这一次自己不会再跌倒。
奥地利作家 - 托马斯•伯恩哈德 - 的哲理名言: “每个人都有他的路，每条路都是正确的。現在有近 60 亿人，就有 60 亿条正确的路。人的不幸在于他们不想走自己的路，而总是想走別人的路。”
是的，找到属于自己的路，终有一天，一定会到达罗马。
- One Art By Elizabeth Bishop -The art of losing isn't hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster,
Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.
Then practice losing farther, losing faster:
places, and names, and where it was you meant
to travel. None of these will bring disaster.
I lost my mother's watch. And look! my last, or
next-to-last, of three beloved houses went.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.
I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,
some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.
I miss them, but it wasn't a disaster.
-- Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture
I love) I shan't have lied. It's evident
the art of losing's not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write it!) a disaster.
- To Say Before Going to Sleep By Rainer Maria Rilke -I would like to sing someone to sleep,
have someone to sit by and be with.
I would like to cradle you and softly sing,
be your companion while you sleep or wake.
I would like to be the only person
in the house who knew: the night outside was cold.
And would like to listen to you
and outside to the world and to the woods.
The clocks are striking, calling to each other,
and one can see right to the edge of time.
Outside the house a strange man is afoot
and a strange dog barks, wakened from his sleep.
Beyond that there is silence.
My eyes rest upon your face wide-open;
and they hold you gently, letting you go
when something in the dark begins to move.
