敬启者 Gentlemen,
你们在《周六文学评论》上刊登广告 your ad in the Saturday Review of Literature says
说你们专营绝版书 that you specialize in out-of-print books.
这些书都像相当罕见 They are all pretty uncommon.
我又不是要手抄本《旧约全书》 What I was asking for here isn’t personal copy of The Old Testament.
天哪 这可都是知名作家的著作啊 These are famous books by famous writers for god sake.
它们是英国作家写的英国书 They are British books by British writers.
早就没人看了 Nobody asks for them anymore.
要不你去找找编剧 Maybe you should try scripters.
我试过了 I’ve been to scripters.
但那里东西都太贵了 Everything is so fancy over there.
到哪能买到便宜货呢 How to get any cheap editions?
有 但你要的这些不是 Well, some. But not the ones you want.
不好意思 I’m sorry.
这是我今早跑的第四家书店了 This is the fourth book store I’ve been to this morning,
纽约就没人看英国文学吗 doesn’t anybody read English literature in New York?
《周六文学评论》 Saturday Review
在那 Right there.
1949年10月5日 马克斯与科恩书店收 October 5th, 1949, to MARKS & CO.
英国伦敦查令十字街84号 84 Charing Cross Road, London, WC2, England.
敬启者 Gentlemen,
你们在《周六文学评论》上刊登广告 your ad in the Saturday Review of Literature says
说你们专营绝版书 that you specialize in out-of-print books.
“古董书售卖”这个字眼让我有点害怕 The phrase "antiquarian booksellers" scares me somewhat,
因为我认为“古董”意味着高价 as I equate "antique" with expensive.
我是个爱好古董书的穷作家 I am a poor writer with an antiquarian taste in books
我想要的书在我这里都很难找到 and all the things I want are impossible to get over here
除非是异常昂贵而罕见的版本 except in very expensive rare editions,
随信附上我最需要的书单 I enclose a list of my most pressing problems.
如果你有这些书清晰的二手复制版 If you have clean secondhand copies of any of the books on the list,
且每本不超过5美元 for no more than $5.00 each,
我愿意购买 请你们寄给我好吗 will you consider this a purchase order and send them to me?
此致 Very truly yours,
海莲·汉芙 Helene Hanff