经济学人384:墨西哥一代大文豪卡洛斯·富恩特斯

 　　Carlos Fuentes

　　卡洛斯·富恩特斯

　　Carlos Fuentes, man of letters, died on May 15th, aged¹ 83

　　学者卡洛斯·富恩特斯于5月15日逝世，享年83岁

　　EVERY summer holiday when he was at school, Carlos Fuentes would stay with his grandmothers, one in Veracruz, on the steamy Gulf² coast, the other from Mazatlán, near the badlands of Sinaloa on the Pacific. The women told the young boy stories, tales of Mexico, of revolution, of peasants who were leaving the land to make great cities, of bandits, of love and lust³, of feud⁴ and food, of Indians, of Spaniards and baroque Spanish towns in America. He took these stories back with him to Washington, to Santiago, to Buenos Aires, to wherever his father, a Mexican diplomat⁵, was posted (Carlos himself was born in Panama). The solitude⁶ of this peripatetic⁷ childhood turned the boy into a writer: he began to publish his stories when he was 11, and never stopped until the day he died.

　　上学时的每个暑假，卡洛斯·富恩特斯都会与他的祖母们呆在一起，一位在潮湿的墨西哥海湾维拉克鲁斯州，另一位来自太平洋锡那罗亚州不毛之地上的马萨兰特。两位女士给这只小男孩讲故事，讲关于墨西哥，关于革命，关于离开这片土地去建设城市的农民，关于歹徒、爱与欲望、封地与食物、印第安人、美洲的西班牙人和巴洛克西班牙城镇的故事。他把这些故事揣在身边去到华盛顿、圣地亚哥、布宜诺斯艾利斯，以及他老爸被派遣去的地方任何地方，他老爸是一位墨西哥外交官（卡洛斯本人是出生在巴拿马的）。孤独辗转的童年把他变成了一位作家：他11岁就开始出版自己写的故事了，出到死才停下来。

　　The routine was always the same. He rose early and wrote, in longhand on the right-hand page of large blocks, later correcting on the left-hand page. E-mail he did not use, not even a computer. He was, in the old-fashioned sense, a man of letters. There were some 60 books, novels mainly but plays and essays too, as well as much political commentary and journalism⁸. Afternoons and evenings, whether in Mexico City or London, where in recent decades he lived for part of each year to escape celebrity⁹, were for reading (his tastes were wide, including Wordsworth), the cinema (a lifelong passion), for seeing friends and for seduction, at which he was a master. He was always elegantly dressed, his suits as sharp as his conversation; his verbal thrusts were often delivered with a wicked twinkle in his eye. A dandy, his detractors said, but women loved that in him. He claimed that his conquests included Jean Seberg and Jeanne Moreau, and perhaps they did.

　　他的日常工作一成不变。他早起先在右手页的大格子里执笔写作，过一会儿在左手页上进行修改。他不用伊妹儿，甚至连电脑也不碰。他是一位传统的学者。有大约60本书，大多数是小说但也有戏剧和论文，还有很多政论和新闻体文章。下午和晚上，无论是在墨西哥城或是伦敦，这些地方他在最近几十年内每年都要住一段时间来避世，是为了阅读（他的口味很广泛，包括华兹华斯）、电影（毕生的激情），为了见朋友和勾引人，在这方面他是老手。他总是穿着考究，他的穿着与它的言谈一样犀利；他的口头抨击总是带着调皮的眼光。爱贬低他的人说他是花花公子，而女士们通常很吃他那一套。他声称他的战利品包括珍﹒西宝和珍妮﹒摩露，也许她们是臣服于他了。

　　Clearing the air

　　净化空气

　　So prolific¹⁰ was his output that it was inevitably¹¹ uneven¹². Some of the early novels will last the best. They are panoramic¹³, richly-textured reflections on Mexican history, its underlying¹⁴ contradictions of world view between Indian and Spaniard and their sometimes awkward melding in mestizaje and in the country’s revolution of 1910-17. “La Región Más Transparente” (translated as “Where the Air is Clear”), his ambitious debut¹⁵ novel set in Mexico City, reflects on the challenge to Mexican identity posed by modernity. “The Death of Artemio Cruz”, published in 1962, chronicles the descent from the idealism of revolution to the cynicism of the long rule of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) through the life of a politician and newspaper tycoon¹⁶ enriched by graft¹⁷.

　　他的太多产难免会造成不平衡。一些早期的作品将会维持在最佳。它们是墨西哥丰富历史的完整写照，印度人和西班牙人之间世界观的根本矛盾，麦士蒂索人和这个国家在1910-17改革的一段尴尬融合。“La Región Más Transparente”（译为“空气清新的地方”）是他首次野心勃勃在墨西哥城写的小说，反映了现代性对墨西哥身份提出的挑战。1962年出版的“阿特米奥克鲁斯之死”记录了在从理想主义革命沦为制度革命党（PRI）长期统治的犬儒主义背景下，他从一位政客变为报业大亨贪污肥足的一生。

　　The creative antagonism¹⁸ of the relationship between Spain and America was an obsession¹⁹ for Mr Fuentes, recurring²⁰ in “Terra Nostra”, a sprawling²¹ historical fantasy, and “The Buried Mirror”, an extended essay. The narrator in “Artemio Cruz” imagines in a baroque church

　　西班牙和美国之间创造性的对立关系是富恩特斯偏执的意淫，并反复出现在一部叫做“Terra Nostra”的庞大历史幻想中和一篇叫做“The Buried Mirror”的拓展性论文里。“阿特米奥克鲁斯”里的叙述者想象在一个巴洛克风格的教堂里

　　“the fa?ade of the Conquest, severe yet jocund²², with one foot in the dead Old World and the other in the New, which did not begin here but on the other side of the ocean: the New World arrived when they arrived; fa?ade of austere²³ walls to protect their avaricious²⁴, sensual, happy hearts. You will enter the nave²⁵, where all that was Spanish will be conquered by the macabre²⁶ smiling lavishness²⁷ of Indian saints, angels, and gods.”

　　征服者的嘴脸严峻而快乐，一只脚在旧世界另一只脚在新世界，它不是从这儿开始的但在大洋的另一边：当它们到达的时候新世界也来到了；严峻的外墙用来保护贪婪、世俗、快乐的心。你将进入教堂正厅，那里西班牙人的一切都将被印度圣徒、天使和上帝的死亡微笑所征服。“

　　Mr Fuentes was a leading figure in the Latin American literary boom of the 1960s and 1970s, a friend of both Gabriel García Márquez and Mario Vargas Llosa (as well as of Octavio Paz until their relationship was destroyed by an intemperate²⁸ attack on Mr Fuentes in Mr Paz’s literary magazine). Many thought it unjust that he alone of these four did not receive the Nobel prize.

　　富恩特斯先生在20世纪六七十年代繁荣的拉丁美洲文坛是头号人物，他是Gabriel García Márquez和马里奥·巴尔加斯·略萨的朋友（也是奥柯塔维欧·派兹的朋友，直到他们的友谊被一篇写在派兹先生文学杂志里对富恩特斯先生的过激批判所摧毁）。很多人认为四个人当中就只有他没有得到诺贝尔奖这件事是不公平的。

　　He was no magical realist. His inspirations were Cervantes and Borges. His language was complex. He employed multiple voices and styles. His upbringing in two cultures, Latin American and Anglo-Saxon, made him both a Mexican and a universal writer.

　　他不是魔幻现实主义作家。他的灵感是赛凡提斯和博格斯。他的语言很复杂。他使用了多种声音和风格。他是在两种文化背景下成长的，拉丁美洲和安格鲁-撒克逊，使他变成了一位墨西哥及世界级的作家。

　　He was a man of the left, but a democratic one. He was initially²⁹ enthusiastic about both the Cuban revolution and the Sandinistas in Nicaragua, but later criticised their authoritarianism³⁰. He had no time for Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez, calling him a “tropical Mussolini”.

　　他曾是个左翼，但却是个民主的左翼。他曾热衷于古巴革命和尼加拉瓜政党桑蒂诺政权，但之后又抨击了他们的专制主义。他没有时间给委内瑞拉的雨果﹒查韦斯，称他为“热带墨索里尼”。

　　His later years were marked by personal tragedy. Both his children with Silvia Lemus, his second wife who was a television presenter³¹, died before him, one of complications from haemophilia and the other from drug addiction³². As Mexico descended³³ into drug-related violence, his later novels became darker. “La Voluntad y La Fortuna” (“Destiny and Desire”) begins with the musings of a severed³⁴ head, floating in the Pacific. He dismissed Enrique Pe?a Nieto, the PRI candidate and front-runner in Mexico’s presidential election, due on July 1st, as a lightweight, unequal to the country’s problems.

　　他的晚年基本上就是个悲剧。他的孩子和第二任夫人职业是电视节目主持人的西尔维娅﹒莱姆斯，都死得比他早，一位死于血友病的并发症，另一位死于吸毒成瘾。当墨西哥落入与毒品有关的暴力行为时，他的后期作品也变得黑暗起来。“La Voluntad y La Fortuna”（“命运与欲望”）以一只漂浮在大西洋上断头的沉思开篇。他不理睬Enrique Pe?a Nieto，制度革命党的候选人也是墨西哥总统竞选的领先人物，7月1日任期到期，他认为此人无足轻重，也没有能力解决这个国家存在的问题。

　　Mr Fuentes was at home in Europe, New York and Mexico. But he still felt the pull of Veracruz, where Cortes and the Spaniards first landed. When asked in 2009 to write an article about his favourite museum for Intelligent Life, our sister magazine, he instantly offered to return to the Museum of Anthropology³⁵ in Xalapa, the state capital, with its colossal³⁶ Olmec stone heads and laughing figurines, the union of the sacred and the human. Veracruz, he declared, was “where I belong”.

　　富恩特斯先生在欧洲、纽约和墨西哥的时候感到自由自在。但是他仍然能够感受到维拉克鲁斯的召唤，那里是科尔特斯和西班牙人第一次登陆的地方。2009年要求他为我们的姐妹杂志智慧生活写一篇关于他最喜爱的博物馆时，他立刻表示愿意回到州府哈拉帕的人类学博物馆，摆着巨大奥尔梅克石雕像和神圣笑俑的地方。他声明维拉克鲁斯是他的“归属”。

1 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

2 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

3 lust   

n.性(淫)欲；渴(欲)望；vi.对…有强烈的欲望

参考例句：

• He was filled with lust for power.他内心充满了对权力的渴望。
• Sensing the explorer's lust for gold, the chief wisely presented gold ornaments as gifts.酋长觉察出探险者们垂涎黄金的欲念，就聪明地把金饰品作为礼物赠送给他们。

4 feud   

n.长期不和；世仇；v.长期争斗；世代结仇

参考例句：

• How did he start his feud with his neighbor?他是怎样和邻居开始争吵起来的？
• The two tribes were long at feud with each other.这两个部族长期不和。

5 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

6 solitude   

n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方

参考例句：

• People need a chance to reflect on spiritual matters in solitude. 人们需要独处的机会来反思精神上的事情。
• They searched for a place where they could live in solitude. 他们寻找一个可以过隐居生活的地方。

7 peripatetic   

adj.漫游的，逍遥派的，巡回的

参考例句：

• Her father was in the army and the family led a peripatetic existence.她父亲是军人，所以全家人随军过着一种流动的生活。
• Peripatetic music teachers visit the school regularly.兼职音乐教师定期到校授课。

8 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。

9 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

10 prolific   

adj.丰富的，大量的；多产的，富有创造力的

参考例句：

• She is a prolific writer of novels and short stories.她是一位多产的作家，写了很多小说和短篇故事。
• The last few pages of the document are prolific of mistakes.这个文件的最后几页错误很多。

11 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

12 uneven   

adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的

参考例句：

• The sidewalk is very uneven—be careful where you walk.这人行道凹凸不平—走路时请小心。
• The country was noted for its uneven distribution of land resources.这个国家以土地资源分布不均匀出名。

13 panoramic   

adj. 全景的

参考例句：

• Most rooms enjoy panoramic views of the sea. 大多数房间都能看到海的全景。
• In a panoramic survey of nature, speed is interesting because it has a ceiling. 概观自然全景，速率是有趣的，因为它有一个上限。

14 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

15 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

16 tycoon   

n.有钱有势的企业家，大亨

参考例句：

• The tycoon is on the verge of bankruptcy.那名大亨濒临破产的边缘。
• The tycoon has many servants to minister to his needs.那位大亨有很多人服侍他。

17 graft   

n.移植，嫁接，艰苦工作，贪污；v.移植，嫁接

参考例句：

• I am having a skin graft on my arm soon.我马上就要接受手臂的皮肤移植手术。
• The minister became rich through graft.这位部长透过贪污受贿致富。

18 antagonism   

n.对抗，敌对，对立

参考例句：

• People did not feel a strong antagonism for established policy.人们没有对既定方针产生强烈反应。
• There is still much antagonism between trades unions and the oil companies.工会和石油公司之间仍然存在着相当大的敌意。

19 obsession   

n.困扰，无法摆脱的思想(或情感)

参考例句：

• I was suffering from obsession that my career would be ended.那时的我陷入了我的事业有可能就此终止的困扰当中。
• She would try to forget her obsession with Christopher.她会努力忘记对克里斯托弗的迷恋。

20 recurring   

adj.往复的，再次发生的

参考例句：

• This kind of problem is recurring often. 这类问题经常发生。
• For our own country, it has been a time for recurring trial. 就我们国家而言，它经过了一个反复考验的时期。

21 sprawling   

adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着）

参考例句：

• He was sprawling in an armchair in front of the TV. 他伸开手脚坐在电视机前的一张扶手椅上。
• a modern sprawling town 一座杂乱无序拓展的现代城镇

22 jocund   

adj.快乐的，高兴的

参考例句：

• A poet could not but be gay in such a jocund company.一个诗人在这种兴高采烈的同伴中自然而然地会快乐。
• Her jocund character made her the most popular girl in the county.她快乐的个性使她成为这个郡最受欢迎的女孩。

23 austere   

adj.艰苦的；朴素的，朴实无华的；严峻的

参考例句：

• His way of life is rather austere.他的生活方式相当简朴。
• The room was furnished in austere style.这间屋子的陈设都很简单朴素。

24 avaricious   

adj.贪婪的，贪心的

参考例句：

• I call on your own memory as witness:remember we have avaricious hearts.假使你想要保证和证明，你可以回忆一下我们贪婪的心。
• He is so avaricious that we call him a blood sucker.他如此贪婪，我们都叫他吸血鬼。

25 nave   

n.教堂的中部；本堂

参考例句：

• People gathered in the nave of the house.人们聚拢在房子的中间。
• The family on the other side of the nave had a certain look about them,too.在中殿另一边的那一家人，也有着自己特有的相貌。

26 macabre   

adj.骇人的，可怖的

参考例句：

• He takes a macabre interest in graveyards.他那么留意墓地，令人毛骨悚然。
• Mr Dahl was well-known for his macabre adult stories called 'Tales of the Unexpected'.达尔先生以成人恐怖小说集《意料之外的故事》闻名于世。

27 lavishness   

n.浪费，过度

参考例句：

28 intemperate   

adj.无节制的，放纵的

参考例句：

• Many people felt threatened by Arther's forceful,sometimes intemperate style.很多人都觉得阿瑟的强硬的、有时过激的作风咄咄逼人。
• The style was hurried,the tone intemperate.匆促的笔调，放纵的语气。

29 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

30 authoritarianism   

权力主义，独裁主义

参考例句：

• Modern authoritarianism is a vestige of traditional personal rule. 现代独裁主义则是传统的个人统治的残余。
• In its latter days it was a byword for authoritarianism, incompetence, and corruption. 在后期，它是独裁、无能和腐化的代号。

31 presenter   

n.（电视、广播的）主持人，赠与者

参考例句：

• Most people think being a television presenter is exciting.很多人认为当电视节目主持人是一件刺激的事情。
• The programme dispensed with its most popular presenter.这个节目最受欢迎的主持人被换掉了。

32 addiction   

n.上瘾入迷，嗜好

参考例句：

• He stole money from his parents to feed his addiction.他从父母那儿偷钱以满足自己的嗜好。
• Areas of drug dealing are hellholes of addiction,poverty and murder.贩卖毒品的地区往往是吸毒上瘾、贫困和发生谋杀的地方。

33 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

34 severed   

v.切断，断绝( sever的过去式和过去分词 )；断，裂

参考例句：

• The doctor said I'd severed a vessel in my leg. 医生说我割断了腿上的一根血管。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We have severed diplomatic relations with that country. 我们与那个国家断绝了外交关系。 来自《简明英汉词典》

35 anthropology   

n.人类学

参考例句：

• I believe he has started reading up anthropology.我相信他已开始深入研究人类学。
• Social anthropology is centrally concerned with the diversity of culture.社会人类学主要关于文化多样性。

36 colossal   

adj.异常的，庞大的

参考例句：

• There has been a colossal waste of public money.一直存在巨大的公款浪费。
• Some of the tall buildings in that city are colossal.那座城市里的一些高层建筑很庞大。