美国国家公共电台 NPR--Elisa Albert's newest book explores the dark side of the fertility industrial complex

Elisa Albert's newest book explores the dark side of the fertility industrial complex

Transcript¹

NPR's Rachel Martin speaks with Elisa Albert about her new novel, "Human Blues²."

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Aviva Rosner wants a baby. She wants a baby so much that she wrote her newest album about it. And Aviva hates the fertility industrial complex set up for people who can afford it, the fertility treatments and the doctors who make a lot of money providing them. But she submits to some of it anyway. At this point, I should let you know that Aviva is the fictional³ character at the center of a new novel by Elisa Albert. It's called "Human Blues." And in it, we watch this force of a woman go around and around in her head about her own desires and how far she's willing to go to satisfy them. I asked Elisa Albert what's inspired Aviva's deep need for children.

ELISA ALBERT: You know, equal parts cultural programming and epigenetic programming and ancestral voices and, you know, all of it in a big, complicated stew⁴ in her head. I think part of it is physical. She just feels that desire. She wants to bring forth⁵ a new person from her body.

MARTIN: But she also bristles⁶ against all this societal pressure that she feels, right?

ALBERT: Right. She's questioning everything, everywhere she goes, everywhere she turns. It's a hard place to live, but I hope it's a fun place to read.

MARTIN: I mean, I will say that that part of the book really resonated with me. I was 38 when I had my first kid, and I remember someone once told me when I was pregnant for the first time that now I would really know what it's like to be a woman, like before, I was just a failed version of a woman, but now, now you're going to get it.

ALBERT: That's so toxic⁷.

MARTIN: It definitely is.

ALBERT: Those messages are everywhere. Those messages come from every direction.

MARTIN: So Aviva has this desire, and she does what people with the ability and privilege do in her position. She goes down the road of infertility⁸ treatments because, we should just point out, she's tried for a long time with her husband, and it's not working. But Aviva is so angry about it.

ALBERT: She - yeah, she hates it. I mean, she dips her toe in. She prevaricates⁹ for a long time, like, do I want to do this? And she kind of feels like, no, I don't like this, but she kind of dips her toe in anyway because she's also confused by her own reactions, like, what's wrong with me? Why is everybody else fine with this? But I'm not. It must be me. I must be flawed.

MARTIN: But what's she so mad about? I mean, infertility treatment helps a lot of people become parents.

ALBERT: But at what cost, is the question. And I don't see a lot of diversity in the way that we relate to infertility in this culture. And Aviva's voice just nagged¹⁰ at me, you know? Like. She's constitutionally resistant¹¹ to doing, quote-unquote, "what everyone else does." And that's just a fantastic jumping-off point for a novel, you know? What if you're someone who very much wants a child but can't get pregnant, and what if you find when you search your soul that you can't in good faith engage with this industrial complex? You know, what if you're fluent in all the ways historically that the medical industrial complex has enacted¹² a lot of harm, especially with regard to the, quote-unquote, "female body" and especially with regard to the female reproductive body? And what if you're someone who's willing to try and kind of connect those dots for yourself? That's where Aviva's coming from.

MARTIN: The book is the first I've ever read in which time is measured in menstrual cycles, which is crazy when you think about it, because why aren't more books written this way, because for people who menstruate, a lot of us, this is the clock that we're born with? I mean, it's the most fundamental you can get. And yet I picked this up, and I was like, oh, this is revolutionary. Was it fun to just sit there and be like, oh, yeah, I'm going to write about all the things - menstruation, ovulation, all the testing, like, the nitty and the gritty of what it means to try and try and try to have a baby this particular way?

ALBERT: Totally, totally because also in this culture, what I see most of the time when I'm looking around is a denial of all this and just a kind of glossing¹³ over - you know, this kind of, like, oh, no one really wants to know about this. Let's just silence ourselves because, like, this is unspeakable. And that's a really weird¹⁴ dynamic to me. So, yeah, it was great to say we're going there.

MARTIN: Can I just ask a really personal question, and you can not answer it? If you know people who are trying to get pregnant, all of us have either experienced infertility ourselves or have a friend or a family member who's gone through this. Was there someone in particular who went through infertility who inspired this particular part of the story for you?

ALBERT: OK, how can I answer this? I had a very, quote-unquote, "easy time" getting pregnant the first time and then no more. And I wanted very much to have a large family, but when I thought about it, which I did for a long time, I found that I wasn't willing to submit myself to the system, to the industry, to sort of make my will a reality or try. You know, God knows it doesn't always work. In fact, it doesn't work a lot of the time. And we don't hear those stories enough either.

MARTIN: Right, right.

ALBERT: And there's a lot of suffering and pain. So Aviva just sort of burst into my consciousness, and it was kind of like what if you are somebody who desperately¹⁵ wants to be a parent, and it's elusive¹⁶? Do you insist, and how do you insist, and what are the implications of that for you, for the people around you, for, like, the human being that you're insisting upon? What does that all mean? And I just became obsessed¹⁷ with those questions. And she was a really beautiful vehicle for thinking it through.

MARTIN: Why make her a musician?

ALBERT: Because I wish I was a musician.

MARTIN: (Laughter).

ALBERT: And I was obsessing¹⁸ with Amy Winehouse at the same time. And as a writer, you don't choose your obsessions¹⁹. You make use of what's there. You look around, and you say, OK, this is what I can't stop thinking about. This is - the story is laid out in front of me. I can't escape it. I have no choice.

MARTIN: You've written before about motherhood and the challenges of all this. So clearly, this is something that is inside you in this deep way, that you want to keep writing about. Did this satisfy that for you?

ALBERT: I doubt it. I think once you've been through the looking glass, there's no going back. And I'm forever obsessed with informed consent and the body and the ways that we choose to or are conscripted to interact with science and technology and the way that science and technology help and/or hurt us. You know, I'm obsessed with our checkered²⁰ past when it comes to responsibly using technology. And, you know, I expect I'll have a lot to say about menopause.

MARTIN: It has been such a pleasure to talk with you. Elisa Albert - the new book is called "Human Blues." Thank you so much.

ALBERT: Thank you, Rachel.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

3 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。

4 stew   

n.炖汤，焖，烦恼；v.炖汤，焖，忧虑

参考例句：

• The stew must be boiled up before serving.炖肉必须煮熟才能上桌。
• There's no need to get in a stew.没有必要烦恼。

5 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

6 bristles   

短而硬的毛发，刷子毛( bristle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the bristles on his chin 他下巴上的胡楂子
• This job bristles with difficulties. 这项工作困难重重。

7 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

8 infertility   

n.不肥沃，不毛；不育

参考例句：

• It is the Geneva, Switzerland-based Biotech Company's second recombinant infertility drug. 它是瑞士生物技术公司在日内瓦的公司生产的第二种重组治疗不孕症的药。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术制药疫苗
• Endometritis is a cause of infertility. 子宫内膜炎是不育的原子。 来自辞典例句

9 prevaricates   

v.支吾( prevaricate的第三人称单数 )；搪塞；说谎

参考例句：

10 nagged   

adj.经常遭责怪的；被压制的；感到厌烦的；被激怒的v.不断地挑剔或批评（某人）( nag的过去式和过去分词 )；不断地烦扰或伤害（某人）；无休止地抱怨；不断指责

参考例句：

• The old woman nagged (at) her daughter-in-law all day long. 那老太婆一天到晚地挑剔儿媳妇的不是。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She nagged him all day long. 她一天到晚地说他。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 resistant   

adj.(to)抵抗的，有抵抗力的

参考例句：

• Many pests are resistant to the insecticide.许多害虫对这种杀虫剂有抵抗力。
• They imposed their government by force on the resistant population.他们以武力把自己的统治强加在持反抗态度的人民头上。

12 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

13 glossing   

v.注解( gloss的现在分词 )；掩饰（错误）；粉饰；把…搪塞过去

参考例句：

• The rights and wrongs in any controversy should be clarified without compromise or glossing over. 有争论的问题，要把是非弄明白，不要调和敷衍。 来自互联网

14 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

15 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

16 elusive   

adj.难以表达(捉摸)的；令人困惑的；逃避的

参考例句：

• Try to catch the elusive charm of the original in translation.翻译时设法把握住原文中难以捉摸的风韵。
• Interpol have searched all the corners of the earth for the elusive hijackers.国际刑警组织已在世界各地搜查在逃的飞机劫持者。

17 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。

18 obsessing   

v.时刻困扰( obsess的现在分词 )；缠住；使痴迷；使迷恋

参考例句：

• Why is everyone obsessing over system specs right now? 为啥现在人人都对系统配置情有独钟？ 来自互联网
• A nitpicker, obsessing over dimes, is too stiff to place orders. 一个连一毛钱都舍不得亏的人，因太过拘谨而不能下单。 来自互联网

19 obsessions   

n.使人痴迷的人（或物）( obsession的名词复数 )；着魔；困扰

参考例句：

• 95% of patients know their obsessions are irrational. 95％的病人都知道他们的痴迷是不理智的。 来自辞典例句
• Too often you get caught in your own obsessions. 所以你时常会沉迷在某个电影里。 来自互联网

20 checkered   

adj.有方格图案的

参考例句：

• The ground under the trees was checkered with sunlight and shade.林地光影交错。
• He’d had a checkered past in the government.他过去在政界浮沉。