評論
打印
J.K. Rowling will publish her first book in five years on Sept. 27. The Harry Potter author first announced the novel back in February, followed by the title – The Casual Vacancy – in April. Not much is known about The Casual Vacancy, which is protected by a strict non-disclosure agreement, but in anticipation of the book’s release, both The New Yorker and Britain’s The Guardian have written lengthy profiles on Rowling. While we recommend checking them both out, we’ve selected some of the most interesting facts from these profiles for you to enjoy here.
JK•羅琳將在五年之后的9月27日出版她的第一本書。《哈利•波特》的作者早在2月份宣布該小說，隨后標題《臨時空缺》在四月份公布。大家對《臨時空缺》知之甚少，它被一個嚴格的保密協議所保護，但由于對這本書發行的期待， 《紐約客》和英國《衛報》都寫了很長的羅琳專訪。盡管我們建議您閱讀這兩個版本，但我們還是從中選擇了一些最有趣的事實，讓您在這里欣賞。
1. The Casual Vacancy is not Harry Potter: Words featured in Rowling’s post-Potter effort include “cleavage,” “balls” and “vagina.”
1. 《臨時空缺》不是《哈利•波特》：羅琳以前形容哈利波特的努力的有特色詞語包括“cleavage”、 “balls””和“vagina”。
2. The original title of The Casual Vacancy was Responsible: Rowling tells The New Yorker that “this is a book about responsibility” — both in a minor and a macro sense. However, she came across the real title when she got her hands on a copy of the standard British handbook for local administrators. “I needed it to check certain abstruse points. And in there I came across the phrase ‘a casual vacancy.’ Meaning, when a seat falls vacant through death or scandal. And immediately I knew that that was the title.”
2. 《臨時空缺》原標題是《責任》：羅琳告訴《紐約客》不論是在微觀還是宏觀層面這都是一本關于責任的書。然而，當她接觸到一本英國當地管理員標準手冊時她想到了真正的標題，“我需要用它來檢查某些深奧點。在那里，我看到了詞組“臨時空缺”，意為在死亡或丑聞時，職位空缺。我馬上知道這就是標題。”
3. In 2003, Rowling’s father auctioned off a signed copy of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire that he received for Father’s Day: It read “Lots of love from your first born,” and featured a drawing of a hand reaching for a gnome. The edition fetched $48,000. Rowling has not spoken to him since.
3. 2003年，羅琳父親拍賣了他在父親節上收到的《哈利波特與火焰杯》的簽名本：書上面寫著“來自你第一個孩子的很多愛”以及一張侏儒手形的特色圖片。該版本賣了4萬8千美元。自那之后羅琳沒和他說過話。
4. Dudley has two children: Rowling knows a lot about the Harry Potter world that was never published in the books.
4. Dudley有兩個孩子：關于哈利波特的世界羅琳知道很多從來沒有出版在書中的東西。
5. She has no interest in her business empire: “It’s a real bore,” she tells The Guardian. ”Should I be more diplomatic? Oh, I don’t care. No, there is literally nothing on the business side that I wouldn’t sacrifice in a heartbeat to have an extra couple of hours’ writing.”
5. 她對她的商業帝國沒有一點興趣：“這真煩人，”她告訴《衛報》。 “我應該更有社交策略？哦，我不在乎。生意上的事幾乎沒有值得我浪費生命中額外幾小時的寫作時間的。”
6. Ian Rankin’s new novel was pushed back to avoid The Casual Vacancy: But he’s just as excited about the new Rowling book as anyone else.
6. 伊恩•蘭金的新小說被推遲以避免和《臨時空缺》沖突：但他和其他人一樣興奮羅琳的新書。
7. Rowling has used a disguise in public only once: When she went to buy her wedding dress. “I just wanted to be able to get married to Neil without any rubbish happening,” she tells The Guardian. But Rowling refuses to reveal what this disguise was in case she needs to use it again.
7. 羅琳只有一次在公共場合喬裝過：當她去買婚紗時， “我只是想在嫁給尼爾時沒有任何亂七八糟的事發生，”她告訴《衛報》。但是羅琳拒絕透露當時她喬裝成什么樣子以防她再次需要喬裝。
8. She is forbidden from reading E L James’ Fifty Shades of Grey: Rowling says she promised her editor that she wouldn’t. However, she insists that she doesn’t feel like she’s missing out.
8. 她被禁止閱讀EL詹姆斯的《50度灰》：羅琳說她答應了她的編輯她不會讀的。不過，她堅持認為她不覺得自己錯過了。
9. She considered using a pseudonym to release her new book: “But in some ways I think it’s braver to do it like this,” she tells The Guardian. “And, to an extent, you know what? The worst that can happen is that everyone says, ‘Well, that was dreadful, she should have stuck to writing for kids’ and I can take that. So, yeah, I’ll put it out there, and if everyone says, ‘Well, that’s shockingly bad — back to wizards with you’, then obviously I won’t be throwing a party. But I will live. I will live.”
9. 她考慮過用化名出版她的新書：“但是，在某些方面我認為這樣做是更加勇敢的，”她告訴《衛報》。 “而且，在一定程度上，你知道是什么嗎？最糟的情況是每個人都說：“嗯，那太可怕了，她應該堅持為孩子們寫作”，我可以接受。所以，是的，我會把它寫在這，如果大家都說，'好吧，這是令人震驚的糟糕——精靈與你同在”，那么很明顯我不會開派對慶祝。但我會挺過來。我會挺過來。”
10. She doesn’t care what the critics think of The Casual Vacancy: “I just needed to write this book. I like it a lot, I’m proud of it, and that counts for me.”
10. 她不在乎批評家如何評價《臨時空缺》：“我只是需要去寫這本書。我很喜歡它，我對它很驕傲，對我來說那才是最重要的。”
11. Rowling credits her first daughter with helping her finish Harry Potter when she was depressed: “It was Jessica — I have to credit her with so much — that gave me the impetus to go and say to a doctor, ‘I think I’m not quite right, and I need some help here.’ Having done that made a massive difference.”
11. 羅琳把功勞歸于她的第一個女兒，因為在她抑郁時幫助她完成《哈利波特》：“是杰西卡——我不得不把功勞歸于她——她給了我動力去看醫生，‘我覺得我不一定對，這里我需要一些幫助’，做完心理治療之后才會有如此大的不同。”
12. Rowling is adamant that sex and unicorns don’t mix: “The thing about fantasy — there are certain things you just don’t do in fantasy. You don’t have sex near unicorns. It’s an ironclad rule. It’s tacky.” After years of fantasy, she was ready for a little sex.
12. 羅琳堅持性和獨角獸不要混為一談：“關于幻想——有一些確定的事情你在想象時你只是不會去做。你不會在獨角獸旁邊做愛。這是一個鐵的規律。這很俗。”在多年的童話之后，她準備好寫一點點性愛了。
