18本好看经典的短篇小说推荐

在很多人眼里，经典小说一般又长、又无聊（long and ponderous）。但是，事情可并不总是这样的哦！实际上，有很多篇幅很短的经典小说，如果你希望读一本引人深思（thought-provoking）的书的话，不要错过今天小编给出短篇精品小说书单。

这份书单里的短篇小说都是可以一口气就读完的。下文中的书单按篇幅由短到长的顺序排列。通过阅读这不超过200页的内容，你一定会大有收获的！

1、《变形记》弗朗茨·卡夫卡

The Metamorphosis

by

Franz Kafka

When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin.

一天早上，当格里高尔·萨姆沙从令人不安的睡梦中醒来的时候，他发现自己在床上变成了一只怪异的害虫—甲壳虫。

So begins The Metamorphosis, one of the most recognizable opening lines in literature.

于是，这场变形记开始了。《变形记》的开头是文学作品中最为出名的开头之一。

The story of Gregor Samsa, a young man who, after transforming overnight into a giant, beetle-like insect, becomes an object of disgrace to his family, an outsider in his own home, and a quintessentially alienated man.

在这个故事中，格里高尔·萨姆沙在一夜之间变成了一个巨大的，如同甲壳虫一般的昆虫。他变成了家庭的耻辱，并因此成了自己家的外人。此外，他还是一个典型的被疏远的人。

One of the most widely read and influential works of 20th-century fiction, The Metamorphosis is a harrowing yet absurdly comic meditation on inadequacy, guilt, and isolation.

这本书是二十世纪阅读量最大、影响力最深的小说之一。《变形记》这个故事对缺陷、罪恶及孤立的展现令人十分难过，但是奇怪的是它还有着喜剧效果。

2、《老人与海》欧内斯特·海明威

The Old Man and the Sea

by

Ernest Hemingway

The last novel Ernest Hemingway saw published, The Old Man and the Sea has proved itself to be one of the enduring works of American fiction.

《老人与海》是欧内斯特·海明威在生前出版的最后一本小说，也是美国小说中最为经久不衰的作品之一。

It is the story of an old Cuban fisherman and his supreme ordeal: a relentless, agonizing battle with a giant marlin far out in the Gulf Stream.

小说讲述了一位年老的古巴渔夫经历严酷考验的过程：在墨西哥湾，他坚持不懈、颇为痛苦地同一条巨大的枪鱼斗争。

Using the simple, powerful language of a fable, Hemingway takes the timeless themes of courage in the face of defeat and personal triumph won from loss and transforms them into a magnificent 20th-century classic.

书中使用了简单而有力的寓言体语言。海明威在这本书中运用了“在失败面前鼓起勇气”这个永恒的主题，并阐述了个人从损失中获益的主题，从而将这本书打造成为二十世纪颇为杰出的经典小说。

3、《动物庄园》乔治·奥威尔

Animal Farm

by

George Orwell

Animal Farm is the most famous by far of all 20th-century political allegories.

迄今为止，《动物庄园》是二十世纪最为著名的政治寓言。

Orwell is one of the very few modern satirists comparable to Jonathan Swift in power, artistry, and moral authority.

奥威尔是少有的几个可以在影响力、艺术技巧及道德权威方面同乔纳森·斯威夫特相提并论的现代讽刺作家之一。

It accounts a group of barnyard animals who revolt against their vicious human master, only to submit to a tyranny erected by their own kind.

书中讲述了一群住在农场中的动物在反抗残酷的人类主人成功之后，却再度臣服于他们中的猪建立起来的暴政之中的故事。

4、《人鼠之间》约翰·斯坦贝克

Of Mice and Men

by

John Steinbeck

A controversial tale of friendship and tragedy during the Great Depression.

这部充满争议的小说描写是经济大萧条时期的友情和悲剧。

Over 75 years since its first publication, Steinbeck's tale of commitment, loneliness, hope, and loss remains one of America's most widely read and taught novels.

在首次出版的75年之后，约翰·斯坦贝克这本讲述承诺、孤独、希望、失落的小说依然是美国阅读量极广、并被作为教材的作品之一。

An unlikely pair, George and Lennie, two migrant workers in California during the Great Depression, grasp for their American Dream.

主人公乔治与莱尼看上去不太可能成为搭档。经济大萧条时期，他们两个都到加利福尼亚做外来务工人员，并追逐他们的美国梦。

Of Mice and Men represents an experiment in form. A rarity in American letters, it achieved remarkable success as a novel, a Broadway play, and three acclaimed films.

《人鼠之间》体现了一种形式上的实验。这本书是美国书信体作品中较为罕见的一部，并以小说的形式取得了突出的成就。该书曾被改编成为百老汇的剧目，以及三部评价极高的电影。

5、《野性的呼唤》杰克•伦敦

The Call of the Wild

by

Jack London

Half St. Bernard, half shepherd, Buck learns many hard lessons as a sled dog: the lesson of the leash, of the cold, of near-starvation and cruelty.

一半是圣伯纳犬，一半是牧羊犬的巴克在作为雪橇犬的过程中得到了许多教训：链条的教训，寒冷的教训，几近饿死的教训和残酷的教训。

The greatest lesson Buck learns from his last owner, John Thornton: the power of love and loyalty.

巴克得到的最大的收获来自于他的最后一个主人—约翰·桑顿：也就是爱的力量以及忠实。

Yet always, even at the side of the human he loves, Buck feels the pull in his bones, an urge to answer his wolf ancestors as they howl to him.

但是，尽管是在他喜欢的主人旁边，巴克还是能够感受到骨子里的力量，即对于他的祖先，也就是狼的呼唤做出回应的强烈欲望。

6、《局外人》阿尔贝·加缪

The Stranger

by

Albert Camus

With millions of copies sold The Stranger is one of the most widely read novels in the world. It stands as perhaps the greatest existentialist tale ever conceived.

《局外人》已被发行数百万本，是世界上阅读量最大的小说之一。这本书可能是目前最伟大的存在主义小说了。

When a young Algerian named Meursault kills a man, his subsequent imprisonment and trial are puzzling and absurd.

当阿尔及利亚青年莫尔索杀死一个男人之后，他被收监入狱，并经历了莫名其妙且荒诞的审判过程。

This remarkable translation by Matthew Ward has been considered the definitive English version since its original publication.

马修·华德的英译本非常不错，被看做是自原作出版以来最佳的英译本。

7、《华氏451度》雷·布雷德伯里

Fahrenheit 451

by

Ray Bradbury

Ray Bradbury's internationally acclaimed novel Fahrenheit 451 is a masterwork of 20th-century literature set in a bleak, dystopian future.

雷·布雷德伯里的《华氏451度》是二十世纪的杰作，在国际上广受赞誉。该书的背景设定在暗淡且反乌托邦的未来。

Guy Montag is a fireman. In his world, where television rules and literature is on the brink of extinction, firemen start fires rather than put them out. His job is to destroy the most illegal of commodities, the printed book, along with the houses in which they are hidden.

盖伊·蒙泰戈是一名消防员。在他的世界里，电视大行其道，而文学作品则濒临灭绝。消防员的工作也是放火，而不是灭火。盖伊·蒙泰戈的职责是消灭违法的商品，也就是印刷书以及藏匿这些图书的房屋。

Montag never questions the destruction and ruin his actions produce, returning each day to his bland life and wife.

盖伊·蒙泰戈从来都不质疑自己带有破坏性的行动会带来怎样的恶果。每一天，他都一次次地面对着他平淡乏味的生活和索然无趣的老婆。

But then he meets an eccentric young neighbor, Clarisse, who introduces him to a past where people didn’t live in fear and to a present where one sees the world through the ideas in books instead of the mindless chatter of television...

可是，后来他遇到了一个古怪的年轻邻居——克拉丽丝。克拉丽丝向他介绍了过去的情况。那时候，人们不用生活在恐惧之中。他们从书籍中获得见解，而不是依赖没头脑且喋喋不休的电视……

8、《了不起的盖茨比》F·弗朗西斯·菲茨杰拉德

The Great Gatsby

by

F. Scott Fitzgerald

The exemplary novel of the Jazz Age, F. Scott Fitzgeralds' third book, The Great Gatsby (1925), stands as the supreme achievement of his career.

《了不起的盖茨比》是爵士时代的典型小说，于1925年首次出版。该书是F·弗朗西斯·菲茨杰拉德所写的第三本书，被视作是他写作事业的巅峰之作。

T. S. Eliot read it three times and saw it as the "first step" American fiction had taken since Henry James.

托马斯·艾略特把这本书读了三遍，并将其看做是美国小说继享利·詹姆斯之后走出的“第一步”。

A novel of lyrical beauty yet brutal realism, of magic, romance, and mysticism, The Great Gatsby is one of the great classics of 20th-century literature.

小说的抒情很优美，但是它却有残酷的现实主义风格，兼备魔力、浪漫主义及神秘主义。《了不起的盖茨比》是二十世纪最为经典的文学作品之一。

9、《最蓝的眼睛》托妮·莫里森

The Bluest Eye

by

Toni Morrison

Pecola Breedlove, a young black girl, prays every day for beauty.

皮科拉·布里德洛瓦是一名年轻的黑人女孩。每天，她都在祈祷自己会变得更加美丽一些。

Mocked by other children for the dark skin, curly hair, and brown eyes that set her apart, she yearns for normalcy, for the blond hair and blue eyes that she believes will allow her to finally fit in.

其他的孩子都嘲笑她与众不同的黑色皮肤、卷卷的头发和棕色的眼睛。她渴望自己可以变得同其他人一样，拥有金色的头发和蓝色的眼睛。她相信这样一来自己就可以被接纳了。

Yet as her dream grows more fervent, her life slowly starts to disintegrate in the face of adversity and strife.

但是，随着她对梦想越来越执着，她的生活却慢慢地在逆境和麻烦中走起了下坡路。

A powerful examination of our obsession with beauty and conformity, Toni Morrison’s virtuosic first novel asks powerful questions about race, class, and gender with the subtlety and grace that have always characterized her writing.

托妮·莫里森这本具有名家风范的处女作有力地表现了我们对于美貌的迷恋及从众心理。她在书中颇具力度地提出了关于种族、阶层和性别的问题。书中精妙而优雅的文笔是托妮·莫里森一贯的风格。

10、《苍蝇王》威廉·戈尔丁

Lord of the Flies

by

William Golding

Lord of the Flies remains as provocative today as when it was first published in 1954, igniting passionate debate with its startling, brutal portrait of human nature.

自从1954年出版以来，《苍蝇王》至今仍然是一部引发热议的作品。该书对于人性令人震惊、近乎残酷的描写引发了激烈的讨论。

Though critically acclaimed, it was largely ignored upon its initial publication.

尽管该书在经过人们的慎重的批评之后广受好评，但是它在刚刚出版的时候却受到了极大程度的忽略。

Yet soon it became a cult favorite among both students and literary critics who compared it to J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye in its influence on modern thought and literature.

后来，《苍蝇王》受到了学生以及文学评论者的追捧。他们将这本书同杰罗姆·大卫·塞林格的《麦田里的守望者》相提并论，因为它对现代思想及文学产生了不可忽视的影响。

11、《美丽新世界》奥尔德斯·赫胥黎

Brave New World

by

Aldous Huxley

Aldous Huxley's tour de force, Brave New World is a darkly satiric vision of a "utopian" future — where humans are genetically bred and pharmaceutically anesthetized to passively serve a ruling order.

奥尔德斯·赫胥黎的杰作《美丽新世界》是一部对于“乌托邦”的未来的讽刺小说，风格略显阴暗。在那个乌托邦的世界里，人类是通过试管培养的。除此之外，人们都被医学麻醉，以被动地受控于一定的统治规则。

A powerful work of speculative fiction that has enthralled and terrified readers for generations, it remains remarkably relevant to this day as both a warning to be heeded as we head into tomorrow and as thought-provoking, satisfying entertainment.

这是一本有力的推理小说，已经吸引并震撼了一代又一代的读者。这本书同今天依然有显著的关系，既在我们走向明天的时候给了我们一个警醒，又是一部发人深省、令人喜爱且可供人们消遣的作品。

12、《觉醒》凯特·肖邦

The Awakening

by

Kate Chopin

First published in 1899, this beautiful, brief novel so disturbed critics and the public that it was banished for decades afterward.

这本书首次出版于1899年，是一部美妙而简短的小说。这本书使批评家和大众感到不安，这也令它曾在首次出版后的几十年中被禁。

Now widely read and admired, The Awakening has been hailed as an early vision of woman's emancipation.

如今，人们已经广泛阅读并欣赏这本小说了。《觉醒》曾被誉为女性解放的先声。

Originally entitled A Solitary Soul, this portrait of 28-year-old Edna Pontellier is a landmark in American fiction, rooted firmly in the Romantic tradition of Herman Melville and Emily Dickinson.

起初，该书的名字是《孤独的灵魂》。这本书描绘了28岁的埃德娜·庞德烈的故事。埃德娜·庞德烈是美国小说中的标志性人物，深深地扎根于赫尔曼·梅尔维尔和艾米莉·狄金森的浪漫主义传统之中。

13、《他们的眼睛望着上帝》佐拉·尼尔·赫斯顿

Their Eyes Were Watching God

by

Zora Neale Hurston

One of the most important and enduring books of the 20th century, Their Eyes Were Watching God brings to life a Southern love story with the wit and pathos found only in the writing of Zora Neale Hurston.

《他们的眼睛望着上帝》是二十世纪最为重要、经久不衰的书籍之一。该书讲述了一个发生在美国南方的爱情故事。故事带有佐拉·尼尔·赫斯顿特有的风趣、富有感染力的风格。

Out of print for almost 30 years — due largely to initial audiences' rejection of its strong black female protagonist — Hurston's classic has since its 1978 reissue become perhaps the most widely read and highly acclaimed novel in the canon of African-American literature.

该书曾绝版达将近三十年，其中很大的原因是读者起初非常抵触书中坚强的黑人妇女角色。自1978年重新发行之后，佐拉·尼尔·赫斯顿的这本书几乎已经成为非裔美国文学经典作品中阅读量最大、最广受好评的作品。

14、《汤姆索亚历险记》马克·吐温

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

by

Mark Twain

The classic story of a boy who makes his own rules and the small Missouri town where he and his friends experience the adventures of a lifetime.

这是一个讲述男孩子的经典故事。男孩子制定了自己的规则，并在密苏里州小小的镇上同他的朋友展开一生难得的冒险经历。

A tale of friendship, fun, and intrigue that celebrates the rural life Mark Twain knew as a boy growing up on the Mississippi River.

这本是一本关于友谊、乐趣及密谋的童话，同马克·吐温自身在密西西比河流域的乡村长大的经历相关。

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer mixes good-natured humor with thoughtful consideration of serious issues such as race, religion, and the strictures of adult life.

《汤姆索亚历险记》将本性善良的幽默同对种族、宗教及成年生活受限的沉重思考结合在一起。

Amusing and insightful for readers of all ages, it is one of the most enduring novels in American literature.

该书对所有年龄段的读者来说都十分有趣，富有洞察力。如今，《汤姆索亚历险记》已经是美国文学中最为经久不衰的小说之一。

15、《弗兰肯斯坦》玛莉·雪莱

Frankenstein

by

Mary Shelley

In the most famous gothic horror story ever told, Shelley confronts the limitations of science, the nature of human cruelty, and the pathway to forgiveness.

这本书可能是最为著名的哥特式恐怖小说了。玛莉·雪莱冲破了科学的界限，直面人性的残酷以及宽恕的过程。

Victor Frankenstein's monster is stitched together from the limbs of the dead, taken from "the dissecting room and the slaughter-house".

小说主人公维克多·弗兰肯斯坦的怪兽是由“解剖室和屠宰场”里的尸体的肢体拼凑而成的，这使得怪物丑陋无比。

The result is a grotesque being who, rejected by his maker and starved of human companionship, sets out on a journey to seek his revenge.

怪物的创造者维克多·弗兰肯斯坦厌恶怪物，而怪物也无法得到人类的陪伴。于是，怪物踏上了他的复仇之旅。

Begun when Mary Shelley was only 18 years old and published two years later, this chilling tale of a young scientist's desire to create life — and the consequences of that creation — still resonates today.

玛莉·雪莱从十八岁开始写这本小说，并在两年之后出版该小说。直到今天，我们还在阅读这个令人害怕的故事。在这个故事里，年轻的科学家想要创造生命，却面临了一系列由此带来的后果。

16、《道林·格雷的画像》奥斯卡·王尔德

The Picture of Dorian Gray

by

Oscar Wilde

A tragic story of hedonism and desire, The Picture of Dorian Gray is Oscar Wilde's only published novel.

这是一个关于享乐主义和欲望的悲剧。《道林·格雷的画像》是奥斯卡·王尔德唯一被出版的小说。

The Picture of Dorian Gray scandalized readers when it was first published in 1890. Written in Wilde's signature style, the story has gone on to become an enduring tale of man's hubris and narcissism.

1890年，当奥斯卡·王尔德的《道林·格雷的画像》被首次出版的时候，读者们受到了极大的震撼。这部作品带有王尔德的标志性风格，并已成为关于人类傲慢及自恋的经典故事。

17、《高山上的呼喊》詹姆斯·鲍德温

Go Tell It on the Mountain

by

James Baldwin

"Mountain," Baldwin said, "is the book I had to write if I was ever going to write anything else."

詹姆斯·鲍德温说：“《高山上的呼喊》是我必须要写的书，不然我就什么都写不了。”

Go Tell It On The Mountain, first published in 1953, is Baldwin’s first major work, a novel that has established itself as an American classic.

该书在1953年首次出版，是该作者的首部专著，并已成为美国的经典文学作品。

With lyrical precision, psychological directness, resonating symbolic power, and a rage that is at once unrelenting and compassionate, Baldwin chronicles a 14-year-old boy's discovery of the terms of his identity.

这本小说抒情细腻、心理描写直截了当、象征意义深远，并能迅速引发长久且富有同情心的情感体验。詹姆斯·鲍德温用编年体的形式讲述了一个十四岁男孩对于自己身份的探索过程。

Baldwin's rendering of his protagonist's spiritual, sexual, and moral struggle of self-invention opened new possibilities in the American language and in the way Americans understand themselves.

詹姆斯·鲍德温对于小说主人公精神、性及道德挣扎方面的自我塑造的展现以让美国人自己理解的方式发掘了美语新的可能性。

18、《1984》乔治·奥威尔

1984

by

George Orwell

In 1984, London is a grim city where Big Brother is always watching you and the Thought Police can practically read your mind.

1984年，伦敦是一个阴森的城市。在那里，老大哥总是在盯着你，思想警察可以知道你在想什么。

Winston is a man in grave danger for the simple reason that his memory still functions.

主人公温斯顿面临着巨大的危险，而这仅仅是因为他的记忆仍然存在。

Drawn into a forbidden love affair, Winston finds the courage to join a secret revolutionary organization called The Brotherhood, dedicated to the destruction of the Party.

在陷入了一场被视为禁忌的风流韵事之后，温斯顿终于鼓起勇气加入了一个叫做兄弟会的秘密革命组织，致力于推翻老大哥的党派。

Together with his beloved Julia, he hazards his life in a deadly match against the powers that be.

温斯顿同他深爱的茱莉娅相伴，冒着生命危险参与一场致命的游戏，以对抗敌对势力。