纽约时报 | 书荒的朋友们有福了
100 Notable Books of 2017
《纽约时报》2017年100本值得关注的书
The year's notable fiction, poetry and nonfiction, selected by the editors of The New York Times Book Review. This list represents books reviewed since Dec. 4, 2016, when we published our previous Notables list.
以下是《纽约时报》书评栏目编辑选出的今年最值得关注的小说、诗歌和非虚构作品。这份名单里包含的是我们自2016年12月4日发布上一份值得关注的书单之后评价过的书。
Fiction & Poetry
虚构和诗歌
AMERICAN WAR. By Omar El Akkad. (Knopf, $26.95.) This haunting debut[1] novel imagines the events that lead up to and follow the Second American Civil War at the turn of the 22nd century.
《美国战争》(American War)。奥马尔·埃尔阿卡德(Omar El Akkad)著(克诺夫出版社[Knopf],26.95美元)。这部令人难忘的小说处女作想像了在22世纪初发生的第二次美国内战前后的事件。
[1]debut:the first public appearance of an entertainer, sports player etc or of something new and important〔演员、运动员等的〕首次登台,初次亮相;〔新事物的〕问世
sb’s debut
He made his Major League debut as shortstop.
他以游击手的身份在联合会职业棒球赛上首次亮相。
debut album/CD/single etc
Their debut album was recorded in 1991.
他们的首张专辑是1991年录制的。
debut match/performance etc
He scored in his debut match for the club.
他第一次代表俱乐部上场比赛就进了球。
ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE. By Elizabeth Strout. (Random House, $27.) This audacious novel is about small-town characters struggling to make sense of past family traumas.
《一切皆有可能》(Anything Is Possible)。伊丽莎白·斯特劳特(Elizabeth Strout)著(兰登书屋[Random House],27美元)。这部大胆的小说讲述的是小镇上的人物努力理解以往家庭创伤的故事。
AUTUMN. By Ali Smith. (Pantheon, $24.95.) Smith's ingenious novel is about the friendship between a 101-year-old man and a 32-year-old woman in Britain after the Brexit vote.
《秋天》(Autumn)。阿里·史密斯(Ali Smith)著(万神殿出版社[Pantheon],24.95美元)。史密斯的这部巧妙的小说讲述的是一个101岁的男人和一个32岁的女人在英国脱欧公投后的友谊。
BAD DREAMS AND OTHER STORIES. By Tessa Hadley. (Harper/HarperCollins, $26.99.) Hadley serves up the bitter along with the deliciousin these 10 stories.
《噩梦和其他故事》(Bad Dreams and Other Stories)。特莎·哈德利(Tessa Hadley)著(哈珀/哈珀柯林斯出版社[Harper/HarperCollins],26.99美元)。哈德利在这十个故事中,把苦味和美味一起送到你面前。
BEAUTIFUL ANIMALS. By Lawrence Osborne. (Hogarth, $25.) On a Greek island, two wealthy young women encounter a handsome Syrian refugee, whom they endeavor to help, with disastrous results.
《美丽的动物》(Beautiful Animals)。劳伦斯·奥斯本(Lawrence Osborne)著(贺加斯出版社[Hogarth],25美元)。在希腊的一个岛上,两名富有的年轻女子遇到了一名英俊的叙利亚难民,她们努力帮助他,却发生了灾难性的后果。
THE BOOK OF JOAN. By Lidia Yuknavitch. (Harper/HarperCollins, $26.99.) In this brilliant novel, Earth, circa 2049, has been devastated by global warming and war.
《琼之书》(The Book of Joan)。莉迪娅·尤卡维奇(Lidia Yuknavitch)著(哈珀/哈珀柯林斯出版社,26.99美元)。在这部精彩的小说中,地球在2049年前后被全球变暖和战争毁灭。
A BOY IN WINTER. By Rachel Seiffert. (Pantheon, $25.95.)Seiffert's intricate novel probes the bonds and betrayals in a Ukrainian town as it succumbs[2]to Hitler.
《冬天里的一个男孩》(A Boy in Winter)。蕾切尔·塞弗特(Rachel Seiffert)著(万神殿出版社,25.95美元)。塞弗特的这部错综复杂的小说探究了一个乌克兰小镇在被希特勒征服后产生的纽带和背叛。
[2]succumb: to stop opposing someone or something that is stronger than you, and allow them to take control 屈服,屈从;不再抵抗
Succumbing to pressure from the chemical industry, Governor Blakely amended the regulations.
屈服于化工行业的压力,布莱克利州长修改了条例。
THE CHANGELING. By Victor LaValle. (Spiegel & Grau, $28.)LaValle’s novel, about Apollo Kagwa, a used-book dealer, blends social criticism with horror, while remaining steadfastly[坚定地,不动摇地] literary.
《换生灵》(The Changeling)。维克多·拉瓦列(Victor LaValle)著(Spiegel & Grau出版社,28美元)。拉瓦列的这部小说讲述的是二手书经销商阿波罗·卡格瓦的故事,它将社会批评与恐怖故事结合在一起,同时具有强烈的文学性。
CHRISTMAS DAYS: 12 Stories and 12 Feasts for 12 Days.By Jeanette Winterson. (Grove, $24.) A gift book from the British novelist, containing otherworldly and wickedly funny stories.
《圣诞节假期:12天,12个故事,12场盛宴》(Christmas Days: 12 Stories and 12 Feasts for 12 Days)。珍妮特·温特森(Jeanette Winterson)著(格罗夫出版社,24美元)。这位英国小说家的这本礼品书里包含着超脱世俗、分外有趣的故事。
DANCE OF THE JAKARANDA. By Peter Kimani. (Akashic, paper, $15.95.) This funny, perceptive and ambitious work of historical fiction by a Kenyan poet and novelist explores his country's colonial past.
《紫荆花之舞》(Dance of the Jakaranda)。彼得·基马尼(Peter Kimani)著(阿卡什出版社[Akashic],平装本,15.95美元)。肯尼亚诗人兼小说家的这部饶有趣味、富
有见地、雄心勃勃的历史小说探究了他的国家的殖民历史。
Nonfiction
非虚构
AGE OF ANGER: A History of the Present. By Pankaj Mishra. (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $27.) Mishra argues that broad swaths of the globe are reliving the traumas and violent dislocations that accompanied Europe's transition to modernity in the 18th and 19th centuries.
《愤怒的时代——当下的历史》(Age of Anger: A History of the Present)。潘卡杰·米什拉(Pankaj Mishra)著(法勒-斯特劳斯-吉鲁出版社,27美元)。米什拉认为,全世界的大多数地区正在经历18、19世纪欧洲向现代化过渡过程中的创伤和暴力混乱。
AMERICAN FIRE: Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land. By Monica Hesse. (Liveright, $26.95.) Hesse tells the story of 67 fires set in Virginia during a five-month arson spree, beginning in 2012, and the mystery of why a local auto mechanic was behind them.
《美国之火——爱,纵火,以及一片正在消失的土地上的生活》(American Fire: Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land)。莫妮卡·赫斯(Monica Hesse)著(利夫莱特出版社[Liveright],26.95美元)。赫斯讲述了弗吉尼亚州始于2012年的67起纵火事件,时间跨度长达五个月,以及为什么一个当地汽车技工是背后的主使者。
ANIMALS STRIKE CURIOUS POSES: Essays. By Elena Passarello. (Sarabande, $19.95.) Passarello presents biographies of famous animals, from an ancient mummified mammoth to Mr. Ed and Cecil the Lion.
《动物们摆出好奇的姿势——散文》(Animals Strike Curious Poses: Essays)。埃莱娜·帕萨雷洛(Elena Passarello)著(Sarabande出版社,19.95美元)。帕萨雷洛展示了一些著名动物的传记,从古老的变成干尸的猛犸象,会说话的马埃德(Mr. Ed),到狮子塞西尔(Cecil the Lion)。
THE BLOOD OF EMMETT TILL. By Timothy B. Tyson. (Simon & Schuster, $27.) Tyson's absorbing retelling of the events leading up to the horrific lynching in 1955 includes an admission from Till's accuser that some of her testimony was false.
《埃米特·蒂尔的血》(The Blood of Emmett Till)。蒂莫西·B·泰森(Timothy B. Tyson)著(西蒙与舒斯特出版社[Simon & Schuster],27美元)。泰森扣人心弦地重新讲述了导致1955年那起可怕私刑的事件,包括蒂尔的指控者承认自己的一些证词是假的。
BORN A CRIME: Stories From a South African Childhood.By Trevor Noah. (Spiegel & Grau, $28.) The host of "The Daily Show" writes about growing up in South Africa under apartheid, and about the country's rocky transition into the post-apartheid era in the 1990s.
《生而有罪——南非童年的故事》(Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood)特雷福·诺亚(Trevor Noah)著(斯皮格尔-格劳出版社[Spiegel & Grau],28美元)。《每日秀》(The Daily Show)主持人讲述在种族隔离时期的南非长大的故事,以及上世纪90年代该国进入后种族隔离时代的动荡过渡时期。
BUNK: The Rise of Hoaxes, Humbug, Plagiarists, Phonies, Post-Facts, and Fake News. By Kevin Young. (Graywolf, $30.)Young's enthralling[3] and essential history is both exhaustive and unapologetically subjective — not to mention timely. Again and again, he plumbs[4] the undercurrents[5] of a hoax[骗局] to discover the fearfulness and racism that often lurk inside.
《欺骗——骗局、诡计、剽窃者、假冒者、后事实和假新闻的兴起》(Bunk: The Rise of Hoaxes, Humbug, Plagiarists, Phonies, Post-Facts, and Fake News)。凯文·扬(Kevin Young)著(格雷沃尔夫出版社,30美元)。扬的历史陈述扣人心弦、至关重要,它既详尽,又有着毫不迟疑的主观性,而且非常及时。他一次又一次地探究骗局背后的故事,发现恐惧和种族主义常常藏身其中。
[3]enthralling: holding the attention completely; fascinating; spellbinding 引人入胜的; 迷人的
an enthralling experience 非常有趣的经历
[4]plumb: If you plumb something mysterious or difficult to understand, you succeed in understanding it. 探出究竟
She never abandoned her attempts to plumb my innermost emotions.
她从未放弃过洞悉我内心深处情感的努力。
[5]undercurrent: If there is an undercurrent of a feeling, you are hardly aware of the feeling, but it influences the way you think or behave. 潜在 (情感) 倾向
...the strong undercurrent of pro-business sentiment in Congress.
…国会中强烈亲商的潜在感情倾向。
CHURCHILL AND ORWELL: The Fight for Freedom. By Thomas E. Ricks. (Penguin Press, $28.) This enjoyable dual biography draws out the common causes of these 20th-century giants: two independent thinkers and opponents of totalitarianism whose influence remains pervasive today.
《丘吉尔和奥威尔——为自由而战》(Churchill and Orwell: The Fight for Freedom)。托马斯·E·里克斯(Thomas E. Ricks)著(企鹅出版社,28美元)。这本有趣的双重传记讲述了这两位20世纪巨人的共同事业:他们都是独立的思想家,都是极权主义的反对者,直至今日,他们依然具有普遍的影响力。
THE COLLECTED ESSAYS OF ELIZABETH HARDWICK.Selected and with an introduction by Darryl Pinckney. (New York Review Books, $19.95.) The landmark American critic surveys everything from the 1968 Democratic convention to the literature of New York City.
《伊丽莎白·哈德威克随笔集》(The Collected Essays of Elizabeth Hardwick)。达里尔·平克尼(Darryl Pinckney)挑选并作序(《纽约时报书评》,19.95美元)。这位具有里程碑意义的美国评论家探讨了很多问题,从1968年的民主党全国代表大会,到纽约市的文学。
A COLONY IN A NATION. By Chris Hayes. (Norton, $26.95.)Hayes paints a portrait of two "distinct regimes" in America — one for whites, which he calls the Nation; the other for blacks, which he calls the Colony.
《国家中的殖民地》(A Colony in a Nation)。克里斯·海斯(Chris Hayes)著(诺顿出版社[Norton],26.95美元)。海斯描绘了美国两个“截然不同的政权”——一个是给白人的,他称之为国家;另一个是给黑人的,他称之为殖民地。
THE COLOR OF LAW: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America. By Richard Rothstein. (Liveright, $27.95.) Going back to the late 19th century, the author uncovers a policy of de jure[法律上的;合法的] segregation in virtually every presidential administration.
《法律的颜色——一段被遗忘的历史,关于我们的政府如何分裂美国》(The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America)。理查德·罗思坦(Richard Rothstein)著(利夫莱特出版社,27.95美元)。作者回顾19世纪末的历史,揭露了几乎每届美国政府实际上都在实施种族隔离政策。
节选自《纽约时报》