经济学人93:魔幻神秘之旅 A magical mystery tour

 　　Books and Arts; Book Review; New fiction; A magical mystery tour;

　　文艺；书评；新小说；魔幻神秘之旅；

　　The Night Circus. By Erin Morgenstern.

　　《午夜马戏团》,艾琳·摩根斯坦著。

　　Magic in fiction has had a renaissance¹ in the past decade, with the success of J.K. Rowling and Philip Pullman. In this respect Morgenstern's debut², “The Night Circus”, is right on trend. The book has many of the ingredients of a conventional fairy tale: cruel parenting, blighted³ love and a life-and-death contest. But ordinary elements combined with flair⁴ deserve to be recognised, and “The Night Circus” is a beguiling⁵, gripping read, which is sure to be a commercial hit.

　　近十年来，随着JK罗琳的和菲利普普尔曼的成功，小说中的魔法元素大有复兴繁荣的趋势。在此方面，艾琳摩根斯坦的第一部小说《午夜马戏团》正好赶上了潮流。这本书有着传统童话故事里都有的情节：严酷残忍的父母，被阻挠的感情，生死攸关的斗争，但这些普通的情节被作者运用其天赋将它们串起来时，这本小说焕然一新，值得一读。情节扣人心弦，读者读起来欲罢不能，它肯定会很很畅销。

　　Le Cirque des Rêves, the circus of dreams, arrives without warning and opens at dusk. A celebration of the senses for its late-19th-century audience, its black-and-white tents host a tattooed⁶ contortionist, an ice garden, a wishing tree and a labyrinth⁷ with a dizzying network of chambers⁸, such as one piled high with suitcases and another bedded with snowflakes.

　　马戏团之梦的故事毫无征兆的开始了，开头设定在某日的一个黄昏。此书是为了向19世纪晚期的观众们献礼，黑白相间的帐篷里上演着一位有纹身的柔术师的表演，里面还有冰花园，一棵许愿树，和如迷宫般错综复杂的房间，有的用手提箱将里面堆地满满的，有的里面飘满了雪花。

　　The circus is not just about punters' fun, though. It is also the setting for a secret and strange battle between two people, Celia and Marco. Though they meet only as adults, they have long been groomed⁹ in the art of magic for an ongoing¹⁰ competition to perform the most elaborate, fantastical feat¹¹. But the rules are unknown and the stakes high: this is a duel¹² to the death, a fact only gradually revealed to its two main players.

　　马戏团并不是都是些唱唱跳跳的快乐。在书中，这也为西利亚和马尔科之间秘密和不可思议的斗争提供了背景。数年来，他们一直学习训练魔术，为了展现最为精巧和奇幻的表演而一直较着劲，但他们直到长大后才彼此相遇。游戏的规则仍然未知，设置的奖金高的诱人：这是一场生与死的决斗，事实在他们俩之间慢慢展现开来。

　　A circus is a popular stage for colourful literary escapades that mine its transgressive space. But besides the carnival¹³ and hocus-pocus, this book also considers deeper questions about life and fate. We are introduced to a set of twins, for example, the brother can read people's pasts, the sister their future—but which ability is more powerful?

　　马戏团为文学创作提供了一个绚丽多彩的舞台，上面上演了各种奇异的冒险犯罪活动。在表面的喧嚣狂欢和把戏之下，这本书也探讨了深层次的生与死的问题。例如，书中有一对双胞胎，哥哥可以看到人们的过去，而姐姐可以预见他们的未来，你认为这两种能力，哪一个能为强大呢？

　　Here the concept of magic is hardly simple. The competitors perform “real” feats¹⁴ (Celia heals a stab wound instantly), yet must present them as tricks because audiences prefer illusion to truth. This tension, between the force of the material world and the will of the imagination, lies at the centre of this book. It neatly¹⁵ addresses a paradox¹⁶ at the heart of all fiction: that the best fabrication seems true; that a make-believe world can be built so intricately that readers feel its edges. Ms Morgenstern has crafted a thrilling and transporting tale. In so doing she makes it clear that of all the shapes magic may take, storytelling is often the most powerful of them all.

　　这里，魔术的概念一点都不简单。作家们上演着“真实”的奇迹（西利亚立刻就可以治好剑伤），但是却要用一种魔术的方式呈现出来，因为读者们更喜欢接近于真实的幻象。真实世界的力量和无穷的想象力之间的较量，正是此书的核心。此书阐明了所有小说的一个悖论之处：编的最好的故事一定是看起来最真实的；作者精妙构思的虚拟世界看起来如此真实，读者们几乎可以感觉到这个世界就在身边。摩根斯坦创造了一个扣人心弦的故事，大受欢迎广为传播。她以她的行动证明了，尽管魔术可以以很多种形式呈现出来，但其中最具影响力的一定是讲故事。

1 renaissance   

n.复活，复兴，文艺复兴

参考例句：

• The Renaissance was an epoch of unparalleled cultural achievement.文艺复兴是一个文化上取得空前成就的时代。
• The theme of the conference is renaissance Europe.大会的主题是文艺复兴时期的欧洲。

2 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。

3 blighted   

adj.枯萎的，摧毁的

参考例句：

• Blighted stems often canker.有病的茎往往溃烂。
• She threw away a blighted rose.她把枯萎的玫瑰花扔掉了。

4 flair   

n.天赋，本领，才华；洞察力

参考例句：

• His business skill complements her flair for design.他的经营技巧和她的设计才能相辅相成。
• He had a natural flair for business.他有做生意的天分。

5 beguiling   

adj.欺骗的，诱人的v.欺骗( beguile的现在分词 )；使陶醉；使高兴；消磨（时间等）

参考例句：

• Her beauty was beguiling. 她美得迷人。
• His date was curvaceously beguiling. 他约会是用来欺骗女性的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 tattooed   

v.刺青，文身( tattoo的过去式和过去分词 )；连续有节奏地敲击；作连续有节奏的敲击

参考例句：

• He had tattooed his wife's name on his upper arm. 他把妻子的名字刺在上臂上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sailor had a heart tattooed on his arm. 那水兵在手臂上刺上一颗心。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

7 labyrinth   

n.迷宫；难解的事物；迷路

参考例句：

• He wandered through the labyrinth of the alleyways.他在迷宫似的小巷中闲逛。
• The human mind is a labyrinth.人的心灵是一座迷宫。

8 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

9 groomed   

v.照料或梳洗（马等）( groom的过去式和过去分词 )；使做好准备；训练；（给动物）擦洗

参考例句：

• She is always perfectly groomed. 她总是打扮得干净利落。
• Duff is being groomed for the job of manager. 达夫正接受训练，准备当经理。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

11 feat   

n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的

参考例句：

• Man's first landing on the moon was a feat of great daring.人类首次登月是一个勇敢的壮举。
• He received a medal for his heroic feat.他因其英雄业绩而获得一枚勋章。

12 duel   

n./v.决斗；(双方的)斗争

参考例句：

• The two teams are locked in a duel for first place.两个队为争夺第一名打得难解难分。
• Duroy was forced to challenge his disparager to duel.杜洛瓦不得不向诋毁他的人提出决斗。

13 carnival   

n.嘉年华会，狂欢，狂欢节，巡回表演

参考例句：

• I got some good shots of the carnival.我有几个狂欢节的精彩镜头。
• Our street puts on a carnival every year.我们街的居民每年举行一次嘉年华会。

14 feats   

功绩，伟业，技艺( feat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He used to astound his friends with feats of physical endurance. 过去，他表现出来的惊人耐力常让朋友们大吃一惊。
• His heroic feats made him a legend in his own time. 他的英雄业绩使他成了他那个时代的传奇人物。

15 neatly   

adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地

参考例句：

• Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
• The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。

16 paradox   

n.似乎矛盾却正确的说法；自相矛盾的人(物)

参考例句：

• The story contains many levels of paradox.这个故事存在多重悖论。
• The paradox is that Japan does need serious education reform.矛盾的地方是日本确实需要教育改革。