評(píng)論
打印
JK Rowling's new novel arrives with the high drama and state secrecy of a royal birth. Its due date is announced in February, and in April the disclosure of its title, The Casual Vacancy, makes international news. The release of the cover image in July commands headlines again, and Fleet Street commissions a "design guru" to deconstruct its inscrutable aesthetic, in search of clues as to what might lie within. Waterstones predicts the novel will be "the bestselling fiction title this year". Literary critics begin to publish preliminary reviews, revealing what they think they will think about a book they have not yet even read.
JK羅琳的新小說(shuō)帶著有如皇室出生般的國(guó)家機(jī)密以及很高的戲劇性面世。其截稿日期在2月宣布，并于4月書名曝光。 《臨時(shí)空缺》成為了國(guó)際新聞，7月的封面再次把它作為頭條新聞發(fā)布，艦隊(duì)街（英國(guó)媒體）委托某“設(shè)計(jì)權(quán)威”去解構(gòu)其高深莫測(cè)的藝術(shù)性，挖掘小說(shuō)哪些地方有可能撒謊的線索。水石（英國(guó)連鎖書店）預(yù)測(cè)該書將成為“今年最暢銷的虛幻小說(shuō)”。文學(xué)批評(píng)家開(kāi)始發(fā)表初步評(píng)論，揭示他們將如何看待一本他們甚至還沒(méi)讀過(guò)的書的看法。
I am required to sign more legal documents than would typically be involved in buying a house before I am allowed to read The Casual Vacancy, under tight security in the London offices of Little, Brown. Even the publishers have been forbidden to read it, and they relinquish the manuscript gingerly, reverently, as though handling a priceless Ming vase. Afterwards, I am instructed never to disclose the address of Rowling's Edinburgh office where the interview will take place.
在我被允許閱讀《臨時(shí)空缺》之前，我需要在布朗倫敦辦事處的嚴(yán)密安全監(jiān)控下簽署比買房子牽涉得還要多的法律文件。即便出版商已被禁止閱讀，他們還是小心翼翼、恭恭敬敬地交出手稿，就像捧著一個(gè)無(wú)價(jià)的明代花瓶。后來(lái)，我被告知決不能透露采訪進(jìn)行的地址，即羅琳的愛(ài)丁堡工作室。
In the 15 years since she published her first Harry Potter, Rowling has become both universally known and almost unrecognisable. The scruffy redhead who used to write in the cafes of Leith has slowly transformed into a glossy couture blonde, unknowable behind an impregnable sheen of wealth and control. Once a penniless single mother, she became the first person on earth to make $1bn by writing books, but her rare public appearances suggested a faint ice maiden quality.
自她出版了第一部《哈利波特》以來(lái)的15年，羅琳既是舉世聞名的又幾乎是無(wú)法辨認(rèn)的。那個(gè)經(jīng)常在利斯咖啡屋寫作的紅發(fā)散亂的女子，已經(jīng)慢慢轉(zhuǎn)變?yōu)橐粋€(gè)穿著高級(jí)訂制服的光彩照人的金發(fā)女郎，在堅(jiān)不可摧的財(cái)富和控制力背后無(wú)法辨認(rèn)。盡管一個(gè)身無(wú)分文的單身母親成為了第一個(gè)通過(guò)寫作掙得10億美元的人，但她罕見(jiàn)的公開(kāi)露面暗示了她淡淡的冰美人氣質(zhì)。
Rowling is completely relaxed about this arrangement. Warm and animated, quick to laugh, she chatters so freely that her publicist gets jumpy and tells her to lower her voice. "Am I speaking too loud?" She doesn't look a bit concerned. "Well, I can't get passionate and whisper!" When I tell her I loved the book, her arms shoot up in celebration. "Oh my God! I'm so happy! That's so amazing to hear. Thank you so much! You've made me incredibly happy. Oh my God!" Anyone listening would take her for a debut author, meeting her first ever fan.
羅琳對(duì)這樣的安排完全放松。她溫暖且充滿活力，很快地笑，隨心所欲地談話，以至于她的公關(guān)變得緊張兮兮，告訴她要降低音調(diào)。“我說(shuō)話太大聲嗎？”她看上去一點(diǎn)都不困擾。“嗯，我不能得到熱情和呢喃！”當(dāng)我告訴她我喜歡這本書，她拍手慶祝。 “噢，天哪，我太高興了！聽(tīng)到這太棒了。太感謝你了，你讓我高興極了。噢，天哪！”任何人聽(tīng)到這些話都會(huì)把她當(dāng)做一個(gè)第一次出版書籍的作者在會(huì)見(jiàn)她的第一個(gè)粉絲。
In a way, that's what she is. Rowling has written seven Harry Potter books, and sold more than 450m copies, but her first novel for adults is unlike them in every respect. "Obviously I need to be in some form of vehicle to have a decent idea," she laughs. Having dreamed up Potter on a train, "This time I was on a plane. And I thought: local election! And I just knew. I had that totally physical response you get to an idea that you know will work. It's a rush of adrenaline, it's chemical. I had it with Harry Potter and I had it with this. So that's how I know."
某種程度上，這就是她。羅琳寫了七部《哈利•波特》系列叢書，售出四億五千多冊(cè)，但她的第一部成人小說(shuō)在任何方面都不像 《哈利波特》系列。“很顯然，我需要某種形式的載體以獲得一個(gè)不錯(cuò)的想法，”她笑著說(shuō)。曾經(jīng)夢(mèng)見(jiàn)波特在火車上，“這次我是在飛機(jī)上。于是我想到：地方選舉！我只知道，對(duì)于某個(gè)你知道會(huì)奏效的想法我是完全身體上的反應(yīng)。這是腎上腺素的一次應(yīng)激，它是化學(xué)反應(yīng)，我曾與《哈利•波特》有過(guò)化學(xué)反應(yīng)，我與這本書也有。所以這就是我所知道的。”
