名作家诺曼·梅勒(NormanMailer)的新作《刽子手之歌》(TheExecutioner’s Song)出版后,立即畅销一时,列入《纽约时报·书评周刊》的畅锵书目单。可是在这个书目单发布之前,《时报·书评周刊》的编辑们面临一个难题:把这本书当作是小说呢,还是非小说呢?畅销书目单一向分为虚构(Fiction)与非虚构(Non Fiction)二种。前者所列者是小说,后者是其他各类非小说的作品。但梅勒将这本书标榜为“非虚构小说”(Nonfiction Novel)。这就使编辑伤脑筋了,因为这个名词有点自相矛盾。本文 The publication of The Executioner’s Song, a new work by famous writer Norman Mailer, sold well for a while and included in the Cheong Kut Booklet of The New York Times Book Review Weekly. But before the bibliography was published, the editors of The Times Book Review magazine faced a dilemma: whether it be a novel or a non-fiction, and best-selling bibliography is divided into Fiction and Non- Non Fiction) two kinds. The former is listed in the novel, the latter is a variety of other non-fiction works. But Mailer labels the book Nonfiction Novel. This bothers editors because the term is a bit self-contradictory. This article