美国国家公共电台 NPR Leaving High School Behind For A Dangerous Life In 'A Good Country'

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

How does Rez, a laid-back stoner of a surfer dude from Laguna Beach, get drawn¹ into a web of fanaticism²? Laleh Khadivi's new novel tells the story of Alireza from the time he's a 14-year-old chemistry whiz, the son of Iranian immigrants to America, to his transformation³ into an American kid who leaves America behind in all ways and disappears into a forbidding and destructive life. "A Good Country" is her new novel. Laleh Khadivi, author of "The Age Of Orphans⁴" and an award winning director of documentaries, joins us from Berkeley, Calif. Thanks so much for being with us.

LALEH KHADIVI: It's a pleasure. Thank you.

SIMON: I know your novel is centered around the story of how a kid finds fanaticism, but I got to tell you, there's a hit from a bong in the first paragraph that will make any parent wince⁵ at the idea of decriminalizing marijuana.

KHADIVI: (Laughter) Yeah. I don't think that it's a straight line from smoking marijuana to fanaticism or radicalization. But I do think that there's something that happens to boys becoming men that is a series of rites⁶ of passage and tampering⁷ or becoming involved with illicit⁸ drugs or having sex. Or any of these taboo⁹ things are some of these portals that kids go through, boys especially. And fanaticism to me, as I was witnessing it in a global way, was the last portal. And I wanted to write something that charted these transitions from just a little bit outside the line to a little bit more outside the line until finally there is no way back.

SIMON: The Boston Marathon bombings are an important touchstone in this book. And they're felt personally by Alireza's friends in Laguna Beach.

KHADIVI: That's something that I thought about a lot when I was sort of following the story of the Boston Marathon bombings and how it was to be Muslim in this country and to be a Muslim man in a place that's already slightly turned against you. But I imagined a situation in which someone in your very close community was affected¹¹ by an act of terrorism, and you are of the Muslim family, what the ramifications¹² would be like in that community.

And I took it a few steps further and then did research and found that it wasn't that uncommon¹³ for people who were related to, you know, Russian immigrants or children of Muslims or practicing Muslims to experience racism¹⁴ in high school afterwards. It tends to be that people are looking for someone to blame.

SIMON: Let me ask about Rez's relationship with Fatima - sort of begins as a crush. He tutors her in chemistry. And then the chemistry takes over, if you catch my (laughter) - my drift. They're equally brilliant, too. What are they seeing each other?

KHADIVI: I think Rez is at the point where he's realize that the American idea of himself is not going to pan out. And he looks to Fatima, and he sees her. And she has never had an American idea of herself. She's had an idea of herself as belonging to her family and belonging to sort of a Middle Eastern subculture in Southern California and staying within the clan¹⁵.

And he looks to her and sees the ways in which this brings her strength. She doesn't try to have American friends or be an American teenage girl. And this makes her endlessly fascinating to him.

SIMON: There's a moment in class I want to ask you about there. They're discussing "Madame Bovary." And Fatima and Meagan (ph), another young woman in the class, have a telling difference of opinion.

KHADIVI: Yeah. I came to that when I was thinking about what it meant to outlaw¹⁶ the hijab in France and what it means to claim yourself as a woman in a world that is supposed to be becoming more pluralistic but is actually becoming more tribal¹⁷. And it should be an acceptance. And I think when a Middle Eastern woman would like to claim her authority and her strength and her centeredness while being covered, the West, in general, will give her argument about that.

And in "Madame Bovary" there is a - you know, Flaubert is trying to make this statement about female vanity and a sense of class sort of raising yourself up and having your womanhood be your bootstraps. And in this case, Meagen is arguing that that's the way it should be. And America offers you this, and it's an illuminated¹⁸ culture because of that. And Fatima says, no, I think that it actually weakens and debases the woman to have to expose herself or use her beauty to attain¹⁹ wealth or stature²⁰.

SIMON: Rez goes on the Internet. What's he searching for?

KHADIVI: He's seeking people who have converted. The novel is largely about the act of conversion²¹. How you begin as one thing and how you end as something else. And he meets these boys, who are men now, who have left their countries and their families and their immigrant lives in Western Europe or the United States and who have gone to the Middle East to join more fanatical Islamic organizations under the auspices²² that they will create a country for them. And they will be considered men, not second-class citizens of any sort.

SIMON: Rez and Fatima want to give their lives to something noble. And I won't give away the ending. But does that make them vulnerable?

KHADIVI: Yes. It makes them incredibly vulnerable. I mean, being an adolescent makes you vulnerable, but being an adolescent on a mission makes you even more so because they have an idea of a life that has not yet been proven to them. And they're willing to risk everything. Their relationships with their families, their futures²³, their opportunities that they have not yet seen themselves in for an idea that is a romantic notion.

And teenagers have been doing this since the beginning of time. Romeo and Juliet did it. And that myth, you know, writ¹⁰ large over multiple cultures - teenagers are constantly throwing all their eggs in a single basket and hoping for the best. And if anything, I wanted to capture the beauty of the spirit that goes towards this and the ways in which this can disappoint.

SIMON: Laleh Khadivi, her novel "A Good Country." Thanks so much for being with us.

KHADIVI: Thank you for having me.

(SOUNDBITE OF MATEO MESSINA SONG, "UP THE SPOUT")

1 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

2 fanaticism   

n.狂热，盲信

参考例句：

• Your fanaticism followed the girl is wrong. 你对那个女孩的狂热是错误的。
• All of Goebbels's speeches sounded the note of stereotyped fanaticism. 戈培尔的演讲，千篇一律，无非狂热二字。

3 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

4 orphans   

孤儿( orphan的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The poor orphans were kept on short commons. 贫苦的孤儿们吃不饱饭。
• Their uncle was declared guardian to the orphans. 这些孤儿的叔父成为他们的监护人。

5 wince   

n.畏缩，退避，（因痛苦，苦恼等)面部肌肉抽动；v.畏缩，退缩，退避

参考例句：

• The barb of his wit made us wince.他那锋芒毕露的机智使我们退避三舍。
• His smile soon modified to a wince.他的微笑很快就成了脸部肌肉的抽搐。

6 rites   

仪式，典礼( rite的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to administer the last rites to sb 给某人举行临终圣事
• He is interested in mystic rites and ceremonies. 他对神秘的仪式感兴趣。

7 tampering   

v.窜改( tamper的现在分词 )；篡改；（用不正当手段）影响；瞎摆弄

参考例句：

• Two policemen were accused of tampering with the evidence. 有两名警察被控篡改证据。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• As Harry London had forecast, Brookside's D-day caught many meter-tampering offenders. 正如哈里·伦敦预见到的那样，布鲁克赛德的D日行动抓住了不少非法改装仪表的人。 来自辞典例句

8 illicit   

adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He had an illicit association with Jane.他和简曾有过不正当关系。
• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year.今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。

9 taboo   

n.禁忌，禁止接近，禁止使用；adj.禁忌的；v.禁忌，禁制，禁止

参考例句：

• The rude words are taboo in ordinary conversation.这些粗野的字眼在日常谈话中是禁忌的。
• Is there a taboo against sex before marriage in your society?在你们的社会里，婚前的性行为犯禁吗？

10 writ   

n.命令状，书面命令

参考例句：

• This is a copy of a writ I received this morning.这是今早我收到的书面命令副本。
• You shouldn't treat the newspapers as if they were Holy Writ. 你不应该把报上说的话奉若神明。

11 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

12 ramifications   

n.结果，后果( ramification的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These changes are bound to have widespread social ramifications. 这些变化注定会造成许多难以预料的社会后果。
• What are the ramifications of our decision to join the union? 我们决定加入工会会引起哪些后果呢？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 uncommon   

adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的

参考例句：

• Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
• Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。

14 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

15 clan   

n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派

参考例句：

• She ranks as my junior in the clan.她的辈分比我小。
• The Chinese Christians,therefore,practically excommunicate themselves from their own clan.所以，中国的基督徒简直是被逐出了自己的家族了。

16 outlaw   

n.歹徒，亡命之徒；vt.宣布…为不合法

参考例句：

• The outlaw hid out in the hills for several months.逃犯在山里隐藏了几个月。
• The outlaw has been caught.歹徒已被抓住了。

17 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

18 illuminated   

adj.被照明的；受启迪的

参考例句：

• Floodlights illuminated the stadium. 泛光灯照亮了体育场。
• the illuminated city at night 夜幕中万家灯火的城市

19 attain   

vt.达到，获得，完成

参考例句：

• I used the scientific method to attain this end. 我用科学的方法来达到这一目的。
• His painstaking to attain his goal in life is praiseworthy. 他为实现人生目标所下的苦功是值得称赞的。

20 stature   

n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材

参考例句：

• He is five feet five inches in stature.他身高5英尺5英寸。
• The dress models are tall of stature.时装模特儿的身材都较高。

21 conversion   

n.转化，转换，转变

参考例句：

• He underwent quite a conversion.他彻底变了。
• Waste conversion is a part of the production process.废物处理是生产过程的一个组成部分。

22 auspices   

n.资助，赞助

参考例句：

• The association is under the auspices of Word Bank.这个组织是在世界银行的赞助下办的。
• The examination was held under the auspices of the government.这次考试是由政府主办的。

23 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。