美国国家公共电台 NPR Novelist And 'Book Matchmaker' Tayari Jones Shares Her Favorite Books Of 2018

 

(SOUNDBITE OF VINCE GUARALDI TRIO'S "SKATING")

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

OK, we have an important holiday public service announcement. For the next few days, we will be talking to writers about what books they will be giving to friends and family. They've compiled lists so you don't have to. And now to help us with some fiction selections, we are joined by Tayari Jones, whose 2018 novel, "An American Marriage," has made it to many best-of lists this year. Welcome.

TAYARI JONES: Hi. Thank you.

CHANG: So what is your approach to book giving during the holidays?

JONES: I think of myself as kind of a book matchmaker.

CHANG: (Laughter).

JONES: You have to match two things. You have to match what you think your friend would like to read with what you think your friend should read. And you have to make a Venn diagram of that.

CHANG: OK. Well, let's start with a novel called "The Overstory" by Richard Powers. It was huge this year. It was shortlisted for The Man Booker Prize. What about this book appealed to you?

JONES: And it's also huge. It's, like, a big doorstopper of a book. And I do...

CHANG: Oh, it's actually physically¹ huge.

JONES: Yes, it's huge. And I like an immersive book where you can just commit to it and stay with it for a long time. I was really surprised at how much I loved this book because, you know, it's about trees. I had not put a lot of thought into trees. And I think some of the magic of Powers' storytelling is that he really helps you see trees and the Earth as a very urgent matter. And he does so through, you know, characters who care about the environment. And, you know, you think about it. We have various social issues that are so important to us, but if we don't have an Earth on which to have these issues, you know, all the rest of our efforts are for nothing.

CHANG: The next book on your list is another novel. It's called "Circe" by Madeline Miller². And it's kind of a reimagining of the life of Circe who shows up in all kinds of ancient Greek literature as this evil sorceress. So, you know, she's an ancient character, but how would you say this book speaks to readers in 2018?

JONES: Well, first, I want to tell you that I basically ate this book while I was on a plane.

CHANG: (Laughter).

JONES: It is about Circe. She is the enchanted³ goddess. But she's, like, a low-ranking goddess, so the other gods don't really respect her. And she has been exiled for sorcery, and she has various relationships with all these mortals. And I feel like modern women can totally relate to the idea of being a goddess and trying to date all these mortals. It's difficult. And it's also about work-life balance in that she...

CHANG: Really?

JONES: Yes. She has lots of responsibilities as a goddess, but she also has a son whom she loves, and she has assorted⁴ lovers, and she's trying to figure out how to do all these things at once while also pursuing her own destiny and nurturing⁵ her own talents - literally⁶, her own magic.

CHANG: Now we're going to go to a short story collection that you've picked by Renee Simms. It's called "Meet Behind Mars." Tell us about this book.

JONES: Oh, my goodness - so good. A lot of the stories are set in Detroit, which is the author's hometown. It has a lot, though, about the everyday challenges of being an African-American mother. The title story, "Meet Behind Bars," it's all in letters that a mother is writing to her child's school. Her son has been - just throughout his entire childhood career of school been put in detention⁷ for little, small infractions, accused of bullying⁸, accused of being a criminal because he had a nail file at school. And sometimes it's funny, sometimes it's heartbreaking. But all the way through, it's just brilliantly illuminating⁹.

CHANG: And I understand you've snuck a memoir¹⁰ on your list, Michelle Obama's "Becoming." Are you just a Michelle Obama fan, or is there something about the way this particular memoir is written that spoke¹¹ to you so deeply?

JONES: I am Michelle Obama fan, but this memoir is fantastic. It's a love letter to the Great Migrationers who go from the South to the North in an effort to give their children a better life, the incredible sacrifice. And it's moving. It's informative¹². This isn't a memoir about compromising our values in order to find common ground. This is about becoming our higher selves to move forward into the future we want for our children.

CHANG: Tayari Jones, thank you so much for helping¹³ us with our holiday book list.

JONES: It's my pleasure. Happy reading.

CHANG: It just so happens Tayari Jones' novel, "An American Marriage," is included in the 2018 NPR Book Concierge¹⁴. Check out book picks from critics and all our staff at npr.org/bestbooks.

(SOUNDBITE OF VINCE GUARALDI TRIO'S "SKATING")

1 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

2 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

3 enchanted   

adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• She was enchanted by the flowers you sent her. 她非常喜欢你送给她的花。
• He was enchanted by the idea. 他为这个主意而欣喜若狂。

4 assorted   

adj.各种各样的，各色俱备的

参考例句：

• There's a bag of assorted sweets on the table.桌子上有一袋什锦糖果。
• He has always assorted with men of his age.他总是与和他年令相仿的人交往。

5 nurturing   

养育( nurture的现在分词 )； 培育； 滋长； 助长

参考例句：

• These delicate plants need careful nurturing. 这些幼嫩的植物需要精心培育。
• The modern conservatory is not an environment for nurturing plants. 这个现代化温室的环境不适合培育植物。

6 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

7 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

8 bullying   

v.恐吓，威逼( bully的现在分词 )；豪；跋扈

参考例句：

• Many cases of bullying go unreported . 很多恐吓案件都没有人告发。
• All cases of bullying will be severely dealt with. 所有以大欺小的情况都将受到严肃处理。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 illuminating   

a.富于启发性的，有助阐明的

参考例句：

• We didn't find the examples he used particularly illuminating. 我们觉得他采用的那些例证启发性不是特别大。
• I found his talk most illuminating. 我觉得他的话很有启发性。

10 memoir   

n.[pl.]回忆录，自传；记事录

参考例句：

• He has just published a memoir in honour of his captain.他刚刚出了一本传记来纪念他的队长。
• In her memoir,the actress wrote about the bittersweet memories of her first love.在那个女演员的自传中，她写到了自己苦乐掺半的初恋。

11 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

12 informative   

adj.提供资料的，增进知识的

参考例句：

• The adverts are not very informative.这些广告并没有包含太多有用信息。
• This intriguing book is both thoughtful and informative.这本引人入胜的书既有思想性又富知识性。

13 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

14 concierge   

n.管理员；门房

参考例句：

• This time the concierge was surprised to the point of bewilderment.这时候看门人惊奇到了困惑不解的地步。
• As I went into the dining-room the concierge brought me a police bulletin to fill out.我走进餐厅的时候，看门人拿来一张警察局发的表格要我填。