美国国家公共电台 NPR 'Patron Saints Of Nothing' Is A Book For 'The Hyphenated'

 

NOEL KING, HOST:

For the hyphenated. That's what it says on the dedication¹ page of author Randy Ribay's latest novel. It's called "Patron Saints Of Nothing," and it comes out tomorrow. We talked over Skype, and he told me that the hyphenated are Filipino Americans. That's a group he belongs to.

RANDY RIBAY: But then also there's, like - any other layer to that, I think, applies. Like, anyone who would consider themselves, you know, more than one thing, which, you know, I think most people would. And also thinking about it in terms of kind of the drug war going on, the victims of the drug war are often kind of dehumanized and kind of thought of as one thing, you know, as a drug addict² or as a criminal.

KING: He's talking about a violent drug war launched by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. It's not clear how many people have been killed. Human Rights Watch estimates it could be as many as 20,000 since the drug war started in 2016. But the police in the Philippines have much more conservative numbers. They say around 5,000 people. Ribay was watching this unfold from the United States and decided³ to write a novel about it. Ribay says his main character, Jay, a fictional⁴ teenager, helped him examine parts of his own identity.

RIBAY: My initial reaction is that this is just a glaring human rights abuse. But it was kind of striking to me that most of my Filipino family, as well as - you know, if you are to believe the surveys - most Filipinos supported the drug war. And so I kind of had this moment where I was like, well, what right do I have to speak on this topic kind of as an outsider, as somebody who hasn't lived in the Philippines since, you know, I was a baby? Jay's cousin's death kind of operates as this event that makes him confront that question. And so as the story goes on, it's about him trying to figure out what happened to his cousin. But it's kind of simultaneously⁵ about him trying to figure out his role as a Filipino American.

KING: At one point in the book, Jay's uncle, who's a policeman in the Philippines, tries to school his American nephew on how to be Filipino. He takes Jay to the National Museum in the capital Manila, which is a real place, and Jay's uncle tells him that the Western media misrepresents the Philippines, especially when it comes to the drug war. He read me a passage from the book.

RIBAY: (Reading) He gestures around us. Have they said anything about President Duterte making the museums free? Building bridges and repairing roads that have lay crumbling⁶ for decades? Making contraception free for all women, regardless of income? Banning cigarettes so we can breathe cleaner air? Reducing crime to its lowest rates ever so that people can finally feel safe walking around their own bongais (ph) at night? I stay silent. No, he continues, these people, the ones writing the articles you've been reading, they do not care about the Filipino people. They sensationalize the worst of what is happening here and ignore the best in order to sell copies or win awards. It is that simple.

It speaks back to the dedication page - for the hyphenated, right?

KING: Yeah.

RIBAY: None of us are any single thing. And I think, you know, a vast majority of the people supporting the drug war, well, you know, they're not straight evil. They're not trying to support it because they're in it for personal gain. I mean, there's certainly some of that, I think, with some people. But I think with the vast majority, there is kind of that other side of it that can't be ignored. And just like with Duterte, some of that stuff that he's doing is good, and I think it's kind of worth acknowledging both sides of this.

KING: Jay, the Filipino American teenager, has a relationship with his cousin, Jun, in which they communicate by writing letters. But Jun is a great letter writer. He is faithful, and he sends letters frequently. Jay is distracted by girlfriends, by high school, and so he doesn't write as much. And eventually, he just peters out altogether and ends up feeling this enormous guilt⁷ when his cousin dies that he hasn't kept in touch. You make this very interesting point about the emigrant⁸ family who leaves, come someplace like the United States and says, of course, we'll stay in touch, you know, we're a family. But then they don't really stay in touch, and that gives them a flattened⁹ view of how things really are back home.

And I wonder, have you experienced that in your own family? Have you seen that happening in your community?

RIBAY: For sure. I mean, I think, you know, once you leave, you have a different set of experiences. And it's just a completely different realm. And you can call people. You can go back and visit every now and then. But it's not the same as living there still. And it's hard because we want to place a value judgment¹⁰. You know, I find, at least, I want to place a value judgment on that.

KING: Yeah.

RIBAY: But - to use a very common phrase - like, it is what it is. Like, that's the experience. And, you know, acknowledging that it's different from the experience of living there.

KING: You were born in the Philippines, but you grew up here in the U.S. And I wonder, when you were writing characters who live in the Philippines, who spent their whole lives there, who in some ways resent the part of the family who moved to the U.S., did you get anxious at all? Like, I'm not sure I know how to do this, how to write these people?

RIBAY: Yeah. I think that kind of comes up anytime you write anything. (Laughter).

KING: (Laughter).

RIBAY: I think it becomes especially poignant¹¹ when, you know, it's a community that you care about deeply. (Laughter).

KING: Yeah.

RIBAY: You know, like I said, my intended audience is Filipino Americans but then also Filipinos. And so I care about getting it right. And I care about kind of representing things as accurately¹² as I can. And so, you know, at my end, it's kind of a matter of doing the research and trying to get the facts right at the very basics, kind of considering how the differences between us might lead to different perspectives and kind of justify¹³ those different perspectives, as well as getting sensitivity readers. You know, I had several Filipinos read through it and kind of give me their take on whether I was portraying¹⁴ things accurately.

KING: Has anyone in your family been affected¹⁵ by the drug war?

RIBAY: Fortunately, not yet not.

KING: Not yet has an air of menace to it, though, doesn't it?

RIBAY: Yeah. I mean, I think ultimately the thing that kind of draws me to the topic is, like, fear for the people that I love.

KING: Yeah.

RIBAY: You know? 'Cause I do have a lot of family still in the Philippines. And so whenever I think about this, it's always, like, could this happen to them?

KING: I won't give away the end of the book, but Jay really evolves in terms of how he feels about the Philippines and what he wants his next moves to be after he discovers what's happened to his cousin. What do you think that character in particular says about the relationship between an immigrant, their country of origin, and then the country that they're expected to eventually go home to when the two-week break is over, the family visit is over?

RIBAY: I think it says that there is this connection, but I think also if you are to foster that connection, kind of make it something meaningful, you want to acknowledge kind of what you don't know. And then two, learn. And doing those things kind of strengthens that connection, and I think one ends up with a stronger sense of who they are, especially somebody with, like, a dual¹⁶ identity. It can kind of lessen¹⁷ or mitigate¹⁸ those feelings of, you know, not being something enough, right? Not being Filipino enough, or not being whatever the second piece of the identity is.

KING: Randy Ribay is author of the novel "Patron Saints Of Nothing." Randy, thanks so much for coming on.

RIBAY: Yeah. Thank you for having me.

1 dedication   

n.奉献，献身，致力，题献，献辞

参考例句：

• We admire her courage,compassion and dedication.我们钦佩她的勇气、爱心和奉献精神。
• Her dedication to her work was admirable.她对工作的奉献精神可钦可佩。

2 addict   

v.使沉溺；使上瘾；n.沉溺于不良嗜好的人

参考例句：

• He became gambling addict,and lost all his possessions.他习染上了赌博，最终输掉了全部家产。
• He assisted a drug addict to escape from drug but failed firstly.一开始他帮助一个吸毒者戒毒但失败了。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 fictional   

adj.小说的，虚构的

参考例句：

• The names of the shops are entirely fictional.那些商店的名字完全是虚构的。
• The two authors represent the opposite poles of fictional genius.这两位作者代表了天才小说家两个极端。

5 simultaneously   

adv.同时发生地，同时进行地

参考例句：

• The radar beam can track a number of targets almost simultaneously.雷达波几乎可以同时追着多个目标。
• The Windows allow a computer user to execute multiple programs simultaneously.Windows允许计算机用户同时运行多个程序。

6 crumbling   

adj.摇摇欲坠的

参考例句：

• an old house with crumbling plaster and a leaking roof 一所灰泥剥落、屋顶漏水的老房子
• The boat was tied up alongside a crumbling limestone jetty. 这条船停泊在一个摇摇欲坠的石灰岩码头边。

7 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

8 emigrant   

adj.移居的，移民的；n.移居外国的人，移民

参考例句：

• He is a British emigrant to Australia.他是个移居澳大利亚的英国人。
• I always think area like this is unsuited for human beings,but it is also unpractical to emigrant in a large scale.我一直觉得，像这样的地方是不适宜人类居住的，可大规模的移民又是不现实的。

9 flattened   

[医]（水）平扁的，弄平的

参考例句：

• She flattened her nose and lips against the window. 她把鼻子和嘴唇紧贴着窗户。
• I flattened myself against the wall to let them pass. 我身体紧靠着墙让他们通过。

10 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

11 poignant   

adj.令人痛苦的，辛酸的，惨痛的

参考例句：

• His lyrics are as acerbic and poignant as they ever have been.他的歌词一如既往的犀利辛辣。
• It is especially poignant that he died on the day before his wedding.他在婚礼前一天去世了，这尤其令人悲恸。

12 accurately   

adv.准确地，精确地

参考例句：

• It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
• Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。

13 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

14 portraying   

v.画像( portray的现在分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• The artist has succeeded in portraying my father to the life. 那位画家把我的父亲画得惟妙惟肖。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ding Ling was good at portraying figures through careful and refined description of human psychology. 《莎菲女士的日记》是丁玲的成名作，曾引起强烈的社会反响。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

15 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。

16 dual   

adj.双的；二重的，二元的

参考例句：

• The people's Republic of China does not recognize dual nationality for any Chinese national.中华人民共和国不承认中国公民具有双重国籍。
• He has dual role as composer and conductor.他兼作曲家及指挥的双重身分。

17 lessen   

vt.减少，减轻；缩小

参考例句：

• Regular exercise can help to lessen the pain.经常运动有助于减轻痛感。
• They've made great effort to lessen the noise of planes.他们尽力减小飞机的噪音。

18 mitigate   

vt.（使）减轻，（使）缓和

参考例句：

• The government is trying to mitigate the effects of inflation.政府正试图缓和通货膨胀的影响。
• Governments should endeavour to mitigate distress.政府应努力缓解贫困问题。