英語視頻暢談歐美人文風(fēng)情93：《族譜》

New York Time's best selling author Barbara Delinsky joins us to discuss her explosive novel Family Tree, which delves into the hot-button issues of race and family.

紐約時報的暢銷作家Barbara Delinsky加入我們討論她那充滿爆點的小說《族譜》，探究種族和家庭等敏感議題。

Barbara, welcome!

Barbara，歡迎!

Thank you, Michele. It's a pleasure.

謝謝，Michele。這是我的榮幸。

The couple in the novel, Dana and Hugh are white, but they give birth to a child who has African-American features. Is this even possible?

小說中的夫妻，Dana和Hugh是白人，但他們生出了一個擁有非裔美國人特征的孩子。這實際上是有可能的嗎?

This is very definitely possible. Genetics is a very interesting field, and for the sake of this book, I did a lot of research. Certain traits can lie dormant for generations. Suddenly we can have a child who's got red hair, and we don't quite know where it came from. It can be a mix of different genes, or it can come from a family member from way back. The latest DNA tests are able to determine where we came from, literally, on four different levels: Asian, European, Native American and African. Now we can have a test and find out what percentage of each of these races we are. Racial purity is very very rare.

這是非常肯定有可能的。遺傳學(xué)是個非常有趣的領(lǐng)域，為了這本書，我做了很多研究。某些特征能夠潛伏數(shù)個世代。突然之間我們會有個長著紅頭發(fā)的孩子，而我們不大清楚它是從哪兒冒出來的。它可以是不同基因的混合，或者它可以從久遠之前一位家族成員而來。最新的DNA檢測能夠判定我們打哪兒來，絲毫不夸張地，以四個不同的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)：亞洲人、歐洲人、美洲印地安人和非洲人?，F(xiàn)在我們可以做個檢測然后找出我們身上這些每個種族所佔的百分比。純種是非常非常稀有的。

Authors often get the germ of a story from real life.

作家時常從真實生活中得到故事的楔子。

Maybe I read an article about Thomas Jefferson, because there was a lot of attention about the children and grandchildren and great grandchildren who he perhaps sired, and the racial element involved in that.

也許我讀了一篇關(guān)于Thomas Jefferson(美國第三任總統(tǒng))的文章，因為有許多目光集中在可能是他生出的孩子、孫子以及曾孫身上，以及牽扯在那其中的種族要素之上。

Dana and Hugh are so different, and yet so similar.

Dana和Hugh如此不同，然而又如此地相似。

Dana comes from a family that doesn't really know its history, much as mine does not. She doesn't even know who her father is, or was. She doesn't know anything about him. Dana becomes who so many of us are, who would, in some very human ways, like to know where she came from. But then again, it's a little bit frightened of knowing, because she's not sure if she's going to be pleased.

Dana來自一個不全然了解其歷史的家族，就很像是我的家族一樣不了解。她甚至不知道父親是誰，是否健在。她不了解任何關(guān)于他的事情。Dana變成我們之中的很多人，愿意以一些非常人性的方式，想要知道她打哪兒來。但再者，知情是有點令人害怕地，因為她不確定是否會開心。

Hugh knows everything about his family and takes pride in his family tree.

Hugh知道他家族的所有事情，并以他的族譜而自豪。

I found that interesting that you use knitting and stitch work as a metaphor in your book. Why?

我發(fā)現(xiàn)那很有趣，在書里你用編織以及縫紉作為一種象征。為什么?

There's been a resurgence of interest in knitting in this country, and that is something that has been around for generations and generations, so knitting becomes a parallel legacy to all those that are discussed in Family Tree.

在這個國家，一直有個對編織的愛好的復(fù)生，而那是某個已經(jīng)存在了一代又一代的事情，所以編織成為在《族譜》書里談?wù)摰降乃心切┤斯餐倪z產(chǎn)。

What is the most significant message that you want to relay to your readers?

你想傳達給讀者最有意義的訊息是什么?

I want them to think about the fact that things are not always as they seem, that people may look to be one thing, and not be that thing, and that there's often personal anguish involved in this.

我想要他們思考幾件事實，眼見不一定為憑，人們也許期盼成為某個東西而無法達成，而且這其中通常有個人痛苦牽扯在內(nèi)。

Barbara Delinsky's Family Tree is an utterly unforgettable novel that ask penetrating questions about race, family and the choices that people make in times of crisis.

Barbara Delinsky的《族譜》是本徹頭徹尾令人無法忘懷的小說，針對種族、家庭以及緊要關(guān)頭人們所做出的決定，提出犀利的問題。