美国国家公共电台 NPR Herman Wouk, 'The Jackie Robinson Of Jewish-American Fiction,' Dies At 103

 

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Herman Wouk has died. He was famous for sprawling¹ novels about World War II, like "The Winds Of War" and "War And Remembrance." He'll also be remembered for his portrayals² of Jewish Americans. Wouk died today, just 10 days shy of his 104th birthday, and he was working on a new book. NPR's Rose Friedman has this appreciation³.

ROSE FRIEDMAN, BYLINE⁴: Many people might remember Herman Wouk for a certain incident involving strawberries.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE CAINE MUTINY")

HUMPHREY BOGART: (As Lt. Cmdr. Philip Francis Queeg) Ah, but the strawberries, that's where I had them. They laughed at me and made jokes. But I proved beyond the shadow of a doubt and with geometric logic⁵ that a duplicate key to the wardroom icebox did exist.

FRIEDMAN: That's Humphrey Bogart in the 1954 adaptation of Wouk's novel "The Caine Mutiny." Bogart played the tyrannical Captain Queeg, who has a breakdown⁶ at sea. He accuses the crew of stealing a quart of strawberries and becomes obsessed⁷ with finding the culprit. Bogart wasn't exactly what the author had in mind for Captain Queeg, as he told NPR in 2004.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

HERMAN WOUK: My image of Captain Queeg was not Humphrey Bogart, but now Captain Queeg is Humphrey Bogart. And there's nothing you're going to do about it. And I'm perfectly⁸ content with - that was one of the great performances, I think, of his career.

FRIEDMAN: Wouk described Queeg as a small man with strands⁹ of sandy hair across an almost bald head - not exactly Humphrey Bogart. "The Caine Mutiny" was his most celebrated¹⁰ book, but Wouk had a substantial career both before and after it. He got his start in writing years earlier in comedy.

(SOUNDBITE OF RADIO SHOW, "THE FRED ALLEN SHOW")

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: The Ford¹¹ dealers¹² of America present "The Fred Allen Show."

FRIEDMAN: For five years starting in 1936, Wouk wrote jokes and sketches¹³ for the popular radio host Fred Allen. But after Pearl Harbor, the 26-year-old enlisted¹⁴ in the Navy and served in the Pacific. In his off-duty hours, he began to write a novel. "Aurora¹⁵ Dawn" got mixed reviews. His second book, "City Boy," did worse. But "The Caine Mutiny" put him on the map. It won a Pulitzer Prize. It was a bestseller and became a play and a movie.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

WOUK: When I finished "The Caine Mutiny," I wrote in my diary - or my work journal, which I keep - I said, unless I'm mistaken, this is a good book but is not yet the war novel I mean to write.

FRIEDMAN: It was the first in a run of ambitious books that included "The Winds Of War" and "War And Remembrance," each about a thousand pages long. But war wasn't Wouk's only subject. He wrote about the publishing world, a fictional¹⁶ Caribbean island, and he tapped into his own heritage. He was born in New York City to Jewish immigrant parents. Out of that upbringing came "Marjorie Morningstar," about a young girl trying to break into show business.

JONATHAN KARP: He really was the Jackie Robinson of Jewish American fiction.

FRIEDMAN: That's Jonathan Karp. He's the president and publisher of Simon & Schuster and editor of Wouk's last book.

KARP: He was on the cover of Time Magazine for his novel "Marjorie Morningstar." And he popularized a lot of themes that other writers like Bellow¹⁷ and Roth and Malamud would deal with in their novels.

FRIEDMAN: Karp says that one of the reasons Wouk appealed to readers for so many years was the variety in his novels.

KARP: He really did not want to write the same novel twice. The writers who he admired were the greats. They were the Victorian novelists. They were writers like Hardy¹⁸. He wanted to write big novels about complicated lives and the culture in which they took place.

FRIEDMAN: Despite his popularity with readers, Wouk didn't always get a good critical response. The New York Times called "The Winds of War" long, mildly interesting with an indifference¹⁹ to quality and a reliance on cliches. But publisher Jonathan Karp says many of the critics missed the point.

KARP: One of the reasons why he didn't get the kind of stellar reviews that writers like Saul Bellow got was because he was accessible.

FRIEDMAN: But Karp says Wouk did express serious ideas in his fiction. Here's the author reading a section about the Holocaust²⁰ from his novel "War And Remembrance" at the Library of Congress in 2000.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

WOUK: (Reading) The accounts I have heard of what the Germans are doing in camps like Auschwitz exceed all human experience. Words break down as a means of inscribing²¹ them. So in writing what I have heard, I put down the plainest possible words that come to mind. The Thucydides who will tell this story so that the world can picture and believe and remember may not be born for centuries. Or if he lives now, I am not he.

FRIEDMAN: But ultimately, publisher Jonathan Karp says Wouk was the writer to tell these stories.

KARP: I think he aimed high. And I think he also had large ambitions for reaching a lot of readers, and he entertained millions of them.

FRIEDMAN: And with all of his major work still in print, chances are in the years to come, Herman Wouk will entertain millions more. Rose Friedman, NPR News.

1 sprawling   

adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着）

参考例句：

• He was sprawling in an armchair in front of the TV. 他伸开手脚坐在电视机前的一张扶手椅上。
• a modern sprawling town 一座杂乱无序拓展的现代城镇

2 portrayals   

n.画像( portrayal的名词复数 )；描述；描写；描摹

参考例句：

• And painters alluded to her eroticism in their bare breasted portrayals of the dying queen. 画家们把她描绘为裸胸垂死的贪欲的女王。 来自互联网

3 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 logic   

n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性

参考例句：

• What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
• I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。

6 breakdown   

n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌

参考例句：

• She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
• The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障，但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。

7 obsessed   

adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的

参考例句：

• He's obsessed by computers. 他迷上了电脑。
• The fear of death obsessed him throughout his old life. 他晚年一直受着死亡恐惧的困扰。

8 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

9 strands   

n.（线、绳、金属线、毛发等的）股( strand的名词复数 )；缕；海洋、湖或河的)岸；（观点、计划、故事等的）部份v.使滞留，使搁浅( strand的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Twist a length of rope from strands of hemp. 用几股麻搓成了一段绳子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She laced strands into a braid. 她把几股线编织成一根穗带。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

11 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

12 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

13 sketches   

n.草图( sketch的名词复数 )；素描；速写；梗概

参考例句：

• The artist is making sketches for his next painting. 画家正为他的下一幅作品画素描。
• You have to admit that these sketches are true to life. 你得承认这些素描很逼真。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 enlisted   

adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持）

参考例句：

• enlisted men and women 男兵和女兵
• He enlisted with the air force to fight against the enemy. 他应募加入空军对敌作战。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

15 aurora   

n.极光

参考例句：

• The aurora is one of nature's most awesome spectacles.极光是自然界最可畏的奇观之一。
• Over the polar regions we should see aurora.在极地高空,我们会看到极光。

16 fictional   

adj.小说的，虚构的

参考例句：

• The names of the shops are entirely fictional.那些商店的名字完全是虚构的。
• The two authors represent the opposite poles of fictional genius.这两位作者代表了天才小说家两个极端。

17 bellow   

v.吼叫，怒吼；大声发出，大声喝道

参考例句：

• The music is so loud that we have to bellow at each other to be heard.音乐的声音实在太大，我们只有彼此大声喊叫才能把话听清。
• After a while,the bull began to bellow in pain.过了一会儿公牛开始痛苦地吼叫。

18 hardy   

adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的

参考例句：

• The kind of plant is a hardy annual.这种植物是耐寒的一年生植物。
• He is a hardy person.他是一个能吃苦耐劳的人。

19 indifference   

n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎

参考例句：

• I was disappointed by his indifference more than somewhat.他的漠不关心使我很失望。
• He feigned indifference to criticism of his work.他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。

20 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

21 inscribing   

v.写，刻( inscribe的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Some galleries commemorate donors by inscribing their names on the walls. 一些美术馆把捐赠者的姓名镌刻在墙上以示纪念。 来自辞典例句
• They kept records by inscribing words on those materials. 他们在这些材料上刻字来记录信息。 来自互联网