美国国家公共电台 NPR Lawrence Osborne Doesn't Care If You Like His Characters In 'Beautiful Animals'

 

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

Lawrence Osborne is a writer whose life and work are deeply connected to places. He has set books in Morocco, Cambodia and France, and he has lived in half a dozen countries all over the world. He joined me from a studio in Bangkok, which is his home base now. As he was getting settled, he shouted a few words of Thai to the audio engineer.

LAWRENCE OSBORNE: Hello. (Speaking Thai) - yes.

SHAPIRO: When he sat back down, I asked if he learns the language of every country he lives in. He said, bits and pieces.

OSBORNE: You know, learning language is actually quite amusing. I think if you're a writer, it's actually very interesting to learn languages because you're exploring how a language ticks, how it works, what its architecture is.

SHAPIRO: His latest novel, "Beautiful Animals," is set on an idyllic¹ Greek island, Hydra². And there's a phrase in Greek that comes up again and again. It's a toast.

OSBORNE: (Speaking Greek).

SHAPIRO: Death to death, as in may death die.

OSBORNE: My pronunciation in Greek is probably terrible. But I'm sure that's sort of more or less (speaking Greek). And charos (ph) is, of course - charos is where we get the word Charon, the guy who takes you across the river Styx when you die, right?

SHAPIRO: Oh, right, the boatman...

OSBORNE: It's I assume - yeah, the boatman. So it's like death to charos, basically.

SHAPIRO: It's darker than most toasts, and also totally unattainable.

OSBORNE: It's pretty dark, isn't it? It's pretty dark (laughter).

SHAPIRO: "Beautiful Animals" is a sun-drenched summer novel with that shadow of death hanging over it. Early on, Lawrence Osborne describes the island of Hydra in passages that sound like they could come from a travelogue³.

OSBORNE: (Reading) Even by 6:30, butterflies dance around the crooked⁴ fence poles, bumbling across slopes of gleaming hot and tart⁵ figs⁶ and disappearing into thin air when they felt like it. Like primitive⁷ armor, prickly pears grew along the low walls, and the paddles were finely robed with tiny cobwebs. It was hushed even near the houses. They could smell fresh hay and coffee. And from the coves⁸ came the ghostly repetitions of little waves.

SHAPIRO: It's so idyllic, and at the same time they're walking towards the Four Seasons resort (laughter).

OSBORNE: Yeah, well, that's Europe now, you know? You know, I haven't written about Europe for a very long time, if ever, really, because my books have been set in more far-flung places. So it's a sort of homecoming for me in a way. And these landscapes I know from my childhood. I know them very well. And there's a sort of emotion to even writing these very short descriptions of these landscapes that surprised me when I wrote them. They meant a lot to me when I was writing them. They were sort of - memories came up from deeper places, which I hadn't expected.

SHAPIRO: So you've created this world that is familiar to you as a young person that is a kind of homecoming to Europe. And then you introduce an outsider, somebody who washes ashore⁹, this mysterious character. What did you want to bring in there?

OSBORNE: You know, I wasn't - I didn't want to have some sort of political program with having a Syrian refugee. I didn't want to go too heavy on that. But this is something which is happening in the eastern Mediterranean¹⁰, so I thought it was perhaps an opportune¹¹ moment to explore this phenomenon that has arrived in the last two or three years.

SHAPIRO: This character is the only refugee we meet in the book, the only Arab person we meet in the book. And I wonder whether you felt any pressure to make him in some way representative of the millions of people who have gone through this - you know, whether he's a good person or a bad person, whether he's fleeing war and tragedy or plotting to harm people in the West.

OSBORNE: Well, there is pressure to do that. And I think that's a pressure that has to be resisted. So I thought the most - in a way, the most subversive¹² thing to do would just to be - make him - to make him normal. So I thought to myself, I'll make him as much like me as I can, in a way.

SHAPIRO: There is a scene where your character Naomi, who is a sort of spoiled teenage girl spending the summer on this Greek island, she's deciding whether or not to help the man she's discovered on the beach. Will you read this passage?

OSBORNE: Yeah. (Reading) She was the savior, and she relished¹⁴ the role. It made her vital in a new way. To save another person, it wasn't nothing. It wasn't exactly an achievement, but it was a small shift in the balance of power towards the weak. Such shifts were the substance of one's moral life. They made the intolerable tolerable.

SHAPIRO: Do you think that is generally true of philanthropy and good deeds, that, you know, you do it so that you can relish¹³ the role? You do it for self-interested reasons, almost?

OSBORNE: Yes. Oh, for sure. Yeah, I think so. I think that's just human nature. It's not to say that they don't have - such people don't have other altruistic¹⁵ motives¹⁶. Of course they do. Human beings are complex. But there's a certain amount of grandstanding as well. I think that's just - it's in the human way, isn't it?

SHAPIRO: Well, part of the story of this book is something that is intended as an act of good goes awry¹⁷.

OSBORNE: Yes. And I think that's what attracted me to that story because at the beginning I thought, what if this character was just out to rip off her parents and using the refugee as a kind of pawn¹⁸ in doing that? And that was my original premise¹⁹. So it was quite a sort of dark premise. But then I thought, no, a person might have mixed motives. They might have that at the back of their minds but not at the forefront of their minds.

That's the way human beings work. There might be guilt²⁰, atonement, white guilt, all kinds of things that are going on in this - in the mind of someone like that. So I wanted a complex character. I didn't want a person who was just doing something evil all the time or doing something good all the time. The two things are intertwined at every moment.

SHAPIRO: She's complex, but I didn't find her especially likeable, I have to be honest (laughter).

OSBORNE: Well, she wasn't supposed to be likeable, no. I've got everything against likeable characters. I think likeable characters are usually completely forgettable and we don't really care. I think we love villains²¹ and we like unlikeable characters precisely²² because they show us these disturbing complexities²³ that I don't think nice characters do.

SHAPIRO: This book weaves in themes from Homer's "The Odyssey²⁴." And at one point, a character even explicitly²⁵ says, isn't Odysseus just like the refugees today, tossed on the stormy waves, destroying himself on the barren sea, the foiled journey home? And then the same character says, it makes you think about how it's all the same. Nothing ever changes. Is that your point of view?

OSBORNE: In a way, yes. I think humans are migratory²⁶ animals. "The Odyssey" is a great poem to refugeedom (ph), if you like. Odysseus is not entirely²⁷ a refugee in one sense, obviously, but he's somebody who's blown off course. And the entire book is an exploration of that theme.

SHAPIRO: He's so heroic.

OSBORNE: Yeah. Well, "The Odyssey's" a very strange book in many ways. You know, it's a much more - I read - you know, I reread it every year.

SHAPIRO: Really?

OSBORNE: I don't think - that's not as surprising as it sounds because it's a rip-roaring book to read. It's a rip-roaring story.

SHAPIRO: If you read "The Odyssey" every year, was it inevitable²⁸ that someday you would write a novel about somebody who washes up on a Greek island?

OSBORNE: Yeah, because I think that probably goes into your subconscious²⁹ year after year. It's amazing to think in Greece - and this is something that's always surprised me about that country. I'll tell you, I was asked to go to write a piece about the house of Patrick Leigh Fermor, the great British travel writer, in Mani, in the Peloponnesus a few years ago. And he positioned his house so that he could look over towards Pylos, where - he wanted the most Homeric landscape he could possibly find in the 20th century.

And what's amazing when you sit in the garden of that house and you look out over the sea is you realize the landscape hasn't changed one molecule³⁰ since - well, it has obviously changed a little bit, but it hasn't changed very much in 3,000 years. So there is something haunting to me in the idea that this story could recur³¹ in the same landscape.

SHAPIRO: Well, Lawrence Osborne, it's been a pleasure talking to you. Thank you so much.

OSBORNE: My pleasure.

SHAPIRO: The new novel is "Beautiful Animals."

(SOUNDBITE OF NATE SMITH'S "BOUNCE: PTS I/II")

1 idyllic   

adj.质朴宜人的，田园风光的

参考例句：

• These scenes had an idyllic air.这种情景多少有点田园气氛。
• Many people living in big cities yearn for an idyllic country life.现在的很多都市人向往那种田园化的生活。

2 hydra   

n.水螅；难于根除的祸患

参考例句：

• Let's knock down those hydras and drive them to the sea!让我们铲除祸根，把他们赶到大海去！
• We may be facing a hydra that defies any easy solution.我们也许正面临一个无法轻易解决的难题。

3 travelogue   

n.游记；旅行见闻

参考例句：

• Marco Polo's travelogue mentions that Kublai Khan sent envoys to Malgache.马可·波罗游记中提到忽必烈曾派使节到马尔加什。
• The book adds up to a readable,sociopolitical travelogue of America.总的看，这是一部尚可一读的描述美国社会和政治的游记。

4 crooked   

adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He crooked a finger to tell us to go over to him.他弯了弯手指，示意我们到他那儿去。
• You have to drive slowly on these crooked country roads.在这些弯弯曲曲的乡间小路上你得慢慢开车。

5 tart   

adj.酸的；尖酸的，刻薄的；n.果馅饼；淫妇

参考例句：

• She was learning how to make a fruit tart in class.她正在课上学习如何制作水果馅饼。
• She replied in her usual tart and offhand way.她开口回答了，用她平常那种尖酸刻薄的声调随口说道。

6 figs   

figures 数字，图形，外形

参考例句：

• The effect of ring dyeing is shown in Figs 10 and 11. 环形染色的影响如图10和图11所示。
• The results in Figs. 4 and 5 show the excellent agreement between simulation and experiment. 图4和图5的结果都表明模拟和实验是相当吻合的。

7 primitive   

adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物

参考例句：

• It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
• His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。

8 coves   

n.小海湾( cove的名词复数 )；家伙

参考例句：

• Grenada's unique layout includes many finger-like coves, making the island a popular destination. 格林纳达独特的地形布局包括许多手指状的洞穴，使得这个岛屿成为一个受人欢迎的航海地。 来自互联网

9 ashore   

adv.在(向)岸上，上岸

参考例句：

• The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
• He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

10 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

11 opportune   

adj.合适的，适当的

参考例句：

• Her arrival was very opportune.她来得非常及时。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

12 subversive   

adj.颠覆性的，破坏性的；n.破坏份子，危险份子

参考例句：

• She was seen as a potentially subversive within the party.她被看成党内潜在的颠覆分子。
• The police is investigating subversive group in the student organization.警方正调查学生组织中的搞颠覆阴谋的集团。

13 relish   

n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味

参考例句：

• I have no relish for pop music.我对流行音乐不感兴趣。
• I relish the challenge of doing jobs that others turn down.我喜欢挑战别人拒绝做的工作。

14 relished   

v.欣赏( relish的过去式和过去分词 )；从…获得乐趣；渴望

参考例句：

• The chaplain relished the privacy and isolation of his verdant surroundings. 牧师十分欣赏他那苍翠的环境所具有的幽雅恬静，与世隔绝的气氛。 来自辞典例句
• Dalleson relished the first portion of the work before him. 达尔生对眼前这工作的前半部分满有兴趣。 来自辞典例句

15 altruistic   

adj.无私的，为他人着想的

参考例句：

• It is superficial to be altruistic without feeling compassion.无慈悲之心却说利他，是为表面。
• Altruistic spirit should be cultivated by us vigorously.利他的精神是我们应该努力培养的。

16 motives   

n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to impeach sb's motives 怀疑某人的动机
• His motives are unclear. 他的用意不明。

17 awry   

adj.扭曲的，错的

参考例句：

• She was in a fury over a plan that had gone awry. 计划出了问题，她很愤怒。
• Something has gone awry in our plans.我们的计划出差错了。

18 pawn   

n.典当，抵押，小人物，走卒；v.典当，抵押

参考例句：

• He is contemplating pawning his watch.他正在考虑抵押他的手表。
• It looks as though he is being used as a political pawn by the President.看起来他似乎被总统当作了政治卒子。

19 premise   

n.前提；v.提论，预述

参考例句：

• Let me premise my argument with a bit of history.让我引述一些史实作为我立论的前提。
• We can deduce a conclusion from the premise.我们可以从这个前提推出结论。

20 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。

21 villains   

n.恶棍( villain的名词复数 )；罪犯；（小说、戏剧等中的）反面人物；淘气鬼

参考例句：

• The impression of villains was inescapable. 留下恶棍的印象是不可避免的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some villains robbed the widow of the savings. 有几个歹徒将寡妇的积蓄劫走了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

22 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

23 complexities   

复杂性(complexity的名词复数)； 复杂的事物

参考例句：

• The complexities of life bothered him. 生活的复杂使他困惑。
• The complexities of life bothered me. 生活的杂乱事儿使我心烦。

24 odyssey   

n.长途冒险旅行；一连串的冒险

参考例句：

• The march to Travnik was the final stretch of a 16-hour odyssey.去特拉夫尼克的这段路是长达16小时艰险旅行的最后一程。
• His odyssey of passion, friendship,love,and revenge was now finished.他的热情、友谊、爱情和复仇的漫长历程，到此结束了。

25 explicitly   

ad.明确地，显然地

参考例句：

• The plan does not explicitly endorse the private ownership of land. 该计划没有明确地支持土地私有制。
• SARA amended section 113 to provide explicitly for a right to contribution. 《最高基金修正与再授权法案》修正了第123条，清楚地规定了分配权。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

26 migratory   

n.候鸟，迁移

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• This does not negate the idea of migratory aptitude.这并没有否定迁移能力这一概念。

27 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

28 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

29 subconscious   

n./adj.潜意识(的)，下意识(的)

参考例句：

• Nail biting is often a subconscious reaction to tension.咬指甲通常是紧张时的下意识反映。
• My answer seemed to come from the subconscious.我的回答似乎出自下意识。

30 molecule   

n.分子，克分子

参考例句：

• A molecule of water is made up of two atoms of hygrogen and one atom of oxygen.一个水分子是由P妈̬f婘̬ 妈̬成的。
• This gives us the structural formula of the molecule.这种方式给出了分子的结构式。

31 recur   

vi.复发，重现，再发生

参考例句：

• Economic crises recur periodically.经济危机周期性地发生。
• Of course,many problems recur at various periods.当然，有许多问题会在不同的时期反复提出。