经济学人10:新英国小说 作家和间谍

 　　Books and Arts; Book Review;

　　文艺；书评；

　　New British fiction；

　　新英国小说；

　　The writer and the spy；

　　作家和间谍；

　　A clever book that leaves you cold；

　　打不动人心的一本智慧书；

　　Sweet Tooth. By Ian McEwan.

　　《甜蜜牙齿》作者：Ian McEwan.

　　At 64, with a Hollywood film, a Man Booker prize and a gong from the queen, Ian McEwan has become a grand old man of British letters. Publication of his latest novel, “Sweet Tooth”, was announced on the evening news. A reading at the Edinburgh book festival was introduced by none other than the first minister, Alex Salmond.

　　64岁那年，带着被改编成的好莱坞电影，伊恩.麦克万从女王的手里接过了布克奖和奖章。成为英国的最年长的作者。晚间新闻报道了他最新出版的小说《甜蜜的牙齿》。在爱丁堡图书节的一次读书会上，竟然是首席部长阿列克斯.萨尔蒙德推荐了这本小说。

　　For all the attendant publicity¹, “Sweet Tooth” is not Mr McEwan's finest book. It has neither the darkness of “The Comfort of Strangers” nor the passion of “Enduring Love”, nor even the forensic² observation that made “On Chesil Beach” such an uncomfortable and memorable³ read. It is a clever book—ostensibly about spying, yet really about writers and the alchemy of fiction. But it is also curiously⁴ forgettable. What it lacks is not so much an animating⁵ spirit, as a heart.

　　对于所有的参赛作品来说，《甜蜜的牙齿》并不是麦克万最棒的书。它既没有《舒适的陌生人》的那种阴郁，也没有《永恒的爱》那么的激情，甚至没有那种使《在Chesil的海滩》成为令人忐忑，却难以忘却的书的法医的观察。这是一本智慧的书——表面看似是关于谍报活动的，其实它是讲作者和小说的魔力。但是，说来奇怪，它也容易被忘掉。它缺少的是没有令人心跳般地虎虎生机。

　　The novel is set in 1972, a pivotal year in post-war British history, when a series of bloody⁶ IRA bombings and debilitating⁷ miners' strikes seemed to presage⁸ the political and economic chaos⁹ that would mark the rest of the decade. Farther afield, the cold war stumbled on, as East and West battled for cultural influence.

　　小说的故事设定在1972年，英国历史上战后的最关键的一年，一连串的北爱尔兰共和军的流血爆炸，虚弱矿工的罢工似乎预示着政治和经济的大乱，那混乱也许充斥那个年代的剩下的整个时间。远方，冷战磕磕碰碰地继续着，就像东西方为了文化影响战斗一样。

　　In her final year at Cambridge—nest of an earlier generation of spies—Serena Frome (rhymes with “plume”, the reader is swiftly told, for no discernible reason) has an affair with an older man, who helps recruit her to become a junior spy. At the time the West was spending millions spreading anti-Soviet propaganda, and America was bankrolling newspapers and broadcasters like Radio Free Europe. Serena, a compulsive reader of fiction, is sent on a secret mission to convert a promising¹⁰ young novelist, Tom Haley, to the cause.

　　剑桥是这个早先一代间谍的的老窝。Serena Frome （与”plume”押韵，给读者一带而过，没有别的意思。）在剑桥的最后一年，和一个老头之间有段韵事，老头协助招募她，使她成了一位初级间谍。那时，西方花费数百万用于反苏宣传，美国资助着报纸和广播，如自由欧洲电台等。一位痴迷小说的读者，Serena身负着神秘使命，被送去策反年轻有为的小说家 Tom Haley到这事业来。

　　The two become lovers. Their hedonistic affair is full of Chablis and long discussions about famous writers and publishers of the time (Martin Amis, Tom Maschler). The book chugs along this way until the end, when Mr McEwan delivers an unwieldy denouement¹¹ and some unearned sadness. By then it is hard to feel much of anything for these heroes, who are all notions and no depth.

　　这两个成了恋人，他们享受着花天酒地，久久地讨论着当时知名的作家和出版商（如Martin Amis, Tom Maschler）。这本书遵循着这条线索，跌宕起伏，一直到结束，这时麦克万写出了繁琐的结尾和一些顺理成章的伤感。直到此刻我们也很难感受到这些英雄的什么事迹，虽然他们一直贯穿始终，但没有深度。

1 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

2 forensic   

adj.法庭的，雄辩的

参考例句：

• The report included his interpretation of the forensic evidence.该报告包括他对法庭证据的诠释。
• The judge concluded the proceeding on 10:30 Am after one hour of forensic debate.经过近一个小时的法庭辩论后，法官于10时30分宣布休庭。

3 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

4 curiously   

adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地

参考例句：

• He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
• He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。

5 animating   

v.使有生气( animate的现在分词 )；驱动；使栩栩如生地动作；赋予…以生命

参考例句：

• Nature has her animating spirit as well as man who is nature's child. 大自然就象它的孩子――人类一样，有活生生的灵魂。 来自辞典例句
• They were doubtlessly the animating principle of many hours that superficially seemed vacant. 在表面看来无所事事的许多时刻中，它们无疑是活跃的因素。 来自辞典例句

6 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

7 debilitating   

a.使衰弱的

参考例句：

• The debilitating disease made him too weak to work. 这个令他衰弱的病，使他弱到没有办法工作。
• You may soon leave one debilitating condition or relationship forever. 你即将永远地和这段霉运说拜拜了。

8 presage   

n.预感，不祥感；v.预示

参考例句：

• The change could presage serious problems.这变化可能预示着有严重问题将要发生。
• The lowering clouds presage a storm.暗云低沉是暴风雨的前兆。

9 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

10 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

11 denouement   

n.结尾，结局

参考例句：

• The book's sentimental denouement is pure Hollywood.该书的煽情结局纯粹是好莱坞式的。
• In a surprising denouement,she becomes a nun.结局出人意表，她当修女了。