評論
打印
If you are a mature, well-educated, sophisticated adult, should you be embarrassed about reading books like Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, or Twilight — books intended for children and teenagers?
如果你是一個受過良好教育、心智成熟、閱歷豐富的成年人，你會為讀《哈利•波特》、《饑餓游戲》以及《暮光之城》這樣的小說而尷尬么？因為這些書原本是寫給小孩子與少男少女的。
A movie based on the bestselling young adult novel The Fault in Our Stars hit cinemas on June 6, earning $65 million (404.27 million yuan) worldwide on its opening weekend and trumping Tom Cruise’s latest sci-fi action movie Edge of Tomorrow, reported Bloomberg.
6月6日，根據暢銷青少年小說改編的同名電影《無比美妙的痛苦》上映，根據彭博的報道，初登大銀幕第一周，這部電影就在全球獲得了6500萬美元（4億427萬人民幣）的票房，一舉超越湯姆•克魯斯最新出演的科幻動作片《明日邊緣》。
Since its publication in 2012, The Fault in Our Stars, by US writer John Green, has won critical acclaim and appeared on several best-selling lists. It is a tragic love story between two teenage cancer patients. The New York Times’ review of the book called it “a blend of melancholy, sweet, philosophical and funny”.
《無比美妙的痛苦》由美國作家約翰•格林撰寫，這部小說自2012年出版以來一直頗受好評，榮登多項暢銷書榜單。該書講述了兩個十幾歲身患癌癥的病友之間凄美的愛情故事。《紐約時報》的書評更是稱這本書是集“憂郁、甜蜜、哲思與有趣”為一體。
But Ruth Graham, from Slate magazine, isn’t convinced by the novel. Citing statistics in the US, she points out that 55 percent of young adult (YA) books are purchased by those over 18. But grown-ups should grow out of their love for books intended for a younger readership, she says.
但是，來自美國《石板》雜志的路德•格林漢姆卻并不買賬。她援引來自美國的數據指出，55%的青少年讀物都被成年人收入囊中。在她看來，成年人的愛情觀應該成熟起來，而不是沉溺于那些為少男少女而寫的感情故事里。
For many adults, Graham says, the enjoyment of reading YA books has to do with “escapism, instant gratification, and nostalgia”.
格林漢姆認為，許多成年人對這些青少年讀物的喜愛，跟他們逃避現實、滿足當下和懷舊心理有關。
Great writers like Shakespeare and the Bronte sisters wrote about teenagers, and there is nothing wrong with that. But according to Graham, modern YA novels “present the teenage perspective in a fundamentally uncritical way”. The readers are not only asked to immerse themselves in a character’s emotional life, they are asked to abandon the mature insights they have acquired as grown-ups.
莎士比亞和布朗特姐妹等大作家也寫過關于青少年的主題，但是他們的作品卻無可非議。如格林漢姆所言，與他們相比，現代青少年小說“卻是用完全不加批判的態度，站在青少年的視角上書寫故事。”這些小說不僅要求讀者沉浸在人物的情感生活中，而且要求他們放棄作為成年人應有的成熟思維。
Unrealistic taste
不切實際的品味
Graham gave Eleanor & Park, another popular YA novel, as an example. When chapter after chapter ends with some version of “he loves her”, readers are expected to be moved. “But how can a grown-up, even one happy to be reminded of the shivers of first love, not also roll her eyes?” asks Graham.
格林漢姆以另一部暢銷青少年小說《埃莉諾與帕克》為例：在一章又一章的講述之后，故事終于以某種形式的“他愛她”結尾，并期待以此打動讀者。格林漢姆卻質疑道“作為一個成年人，即使很樂意回憶初戀的悸動，也不會輕易因此掉淚吧？”
Most importantly, YA books often have endings that cater to teenagers’ taste. These endings are uniformly satisfying, whether that satisfaction comes through weeping or cheering. These satisfying endings, says Graham, point to the fact that the emotional and moral ambiguity of the real world is nowhere to be found in YA fiction. For adults, enjoying endings like this is as shallow as reading only books with likable characters, says Graham.
更重要的是，青少年讀物的結局常常為了迎合少男少女的口味而設計，千篇一律不留遺憾，不論是落淚，還是歡笑，都力求圓滿。在格林漢姆看來，青少年小說這種過于大團圓的結局，跟情感與道德模糊的現實相脫離。對于成年人而言，沉溺于這種結局和只讀那些有討喜角色的小說一樣膚淺。
Life is so short, says Graham, and if grown-ups are substituting tear-jerking teen dramas for the complexity of great adult literature, then they are missing something.
在格林漢姆看來，人生短暫，如果成年人只愿讀那些賺眼淚的青少年讀物，而放棄艱深偉大的文學作品，那么他們一定會錯過很多。
