经济学人55:醉生梦死的人

 　　Books and Arts; Book Review;New fiction from India；Lotus-eaters；

　　文艺；书评；印度新小说；醉生梦死的人；

　　Narcopolis. By Jeet Thayil.

　　《Narcopolis》，Jeet Thayil著。

　　The official history of Mumbai attributes the city's rise to its natural harbour and textile industry. But before cotton mills came to dominate the landscape, Mumbai's merchants grew fat exporting opium¹ to China. The city's main schools of art and architecture and its best public hospital are named for a pioneer of the trade, Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy, as is a 2.4km elevated road that cuts through the old city.

　　官方史记载孟买的崛起源于天然港口和纺织业。但在印度纺织厂占主导地位前，孟买的商人已经从向中国出口鸦片的贸易中获得丰厚利润。这座城市的艺术建筑设计学院和一流的公历医院就是以一个贸易先驱者詹姆塞特吉·吉吉博伊（Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy）的名字命名的，，他也出资修建一条2.4千米的高架道路，横穿这个古老的城市。

　　In the shadow of that viaduct lies Shuklaji Street, Mumbai's last connection with opium. “It wasn't much of a street,” notes Dom Ullis, the narrator of Jeet Thayil's debut² novel, “Narcopolis”, but it was the epicentre of vice³: prostitutes, drug dealers⁴ and petty criminals. Dom arrives here to partake in Mumbai's (Mr Thayil calls it Bombay) love affair with opium just as it is drawing to a close, some 150 years after it started.

　　Shuklaji街就座落在这座高架桥附近，它是孟买与鸦片的最后联系。“它不像一个街道” Jeet Thayil处女作《Narcopolis》的主人公说。因为这里是罪恶中心：嫖娼，毒品交易，小偷小摸盛行。Dom Ullis讲述孟买与毒品的渊源，仿佛置身于150年前孟买毒品伊始到结束的场景。

　　Dom drifts in and out of Rashid's, an old-fashioned opium den⁵ where pipewallahs prepare your smoke for you and serenity⁶ prevails. Rashid's is a clearing house for characters and stories. Dom meets Rumi, a wife-beater and failed businessman; he brings Xavier, an angry old artist; he befriends Dimple, a eunuch prostitute who in turn tells the story of Mr Lee, a Chinese exile. Then there is Rashid himself, who watches—and fruitlessly resists—as his graceful⁷ world of opium-eaters is rendered obsolete⁸ by the nightmare of low-grade heroin⁹. Mumbai forgets opium as those who loved it either die or burn out their brains.

　　Dom漫步在一个老式的鸦片窝点拉希德， 在那里有人为你准备好烟卷，寂静袭来。拉希德是各色人物进出和讲述众多故事的场所。Dom遇到鲁米，鲁米实施家庭暴力，曾经经商却一败涂地；DOM引荐了一个愤怒的老艺术家泽维尔；并和男妓 Dimple成了朋友，Dimple讲述一个遭流放的中国人李先生的故事。还有房子的主人拉西德——徒劳的抵抗——当看着自己优雅的鸦片世界被梦幻般劣质海洛因遗忘。那些吸食鸦片的人或者死亡或者冲昏了头脑，孟买也被鸦片遗忘。

　　A reformed addict¹⁰, Mr Thayil has had personal experience with the world he describes. But he is also a published poet, who wields¹¹ his words with care. His efforts are there to be seen. Admirably, Mr Thayil resists the urge to insert himself into the narrative¹². Dom Ullis is mostly absent, giving the reader nothing. The only way to keep track of the book's chronology is through the conversations. New cars, soft drinks and coffee shops indicate the passage of time as India's economy creaks open. Ugly, brutal¹³ references to Muslims mean that 1993, when the city erupted in religious riots, has left its scars. And if it's ecstasy¹⁴ and MDMA, it must be 21st-century Mumbai.

　　一个遭改造的毒枭Mr Thayil，用自己的亲身经历描述这个世界。他也是位有名望的诗人，小心翼翼的驾驭自己的文字。他的努力有目共睹。备受赞誉的是，Mr Thayil抑制着插进叙述着的欲望。因Dom大部分时间不在场 ，读者无法追溯时间。唯一可以晓知书中年代的是书中的谈话。随着印度经济开放，新车，饮料和咖啡店暗示时光的流逝。书中提及丑恶暴力的穆斯林时，意味着1993年爆发了宗教暴乱，并给穆斯林带来伤痕。而当书中提到迷幻药和摇头丸时，那一定是21世纪的孟买。

1 opium   

n.鸦片；adj.鸦片的

参考例句：

• That man gave her a dose of opium.那男人给了她一剂鸦片。
• Opium is classed under the head of narcotic.鸦片是归入麻醉剂一类的东西。

2 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

3 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

4 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。

5 den   

n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室

参考例句：

• There is a big fox den on the back hill.后山有一个很大的狐狸窝。
• The only way to catch tiger cubs is to go into tiger's den.不入虎穴焉得虎子。

6 serenity   

n.宁静，沉着，晴朗

参考例句：

• Her face,though sad,still evoked a feeling of serenity.她的脸色虽然悲伤，但仍使人感觉安详。
• She escaped to the comparative serenity of the kitchen.她逃到相对安静的厨房里。

7 graceful   

adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的

参考例句：

• His movements on the parallel bars were very graceful.他的双杠动作可帅了!
• The ballet dancer is so graceful.芭蕾舞演员的姿态是如此的优美。

8 obsolete   

adj.已废弃的，过时的

参考例句：

• These goods are obsolete and will not fetch much on the market.这些货品过时了，在市场上卖不了高价。
• They tried to hammer obsolete ideas into the young people's heads.他们竭力把陈旧思想灌输给青年。

9 heroin   

n.海洛因

参考例句：

• Customs have made their biggest ever seizure of heroin.海关查获了有史以来最大的一批海洛因。
• Heroin has been smuggled out by sea.海洛因已从海上偷运出境。

10 addict   

v.使沉溺；使上瘾；n.沉溺于不良嗜好的人

参考例句：

• He became gambling addict,and lost all his possessions.他习染上了赌博，最终输掉了全部家产。
• He assisted a drug addict to escape from drug but failed firstly.一开始他帮助一个吸毒者戒毒但失败了。

11 wields   

手持着使用（武器、工具等）( wield的第三人称单数 )； 具有； 运用（权力）； 施加（影响）

参考例句：

• She wields enormous power within the party. 她操纵着党内大权。
• He remains chairman, but wields little power at the company. 他还是主席，但在公司没有什么实权了。

12 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

13 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

14 ecstasy   

n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷

参考例句：

• He listened to the music with ecstasy.他听音乐听得入了神。
• Speechless with ecstasy,the little boys gazed at the toys.小孩注视着那些玩具，高兴得说不出话来。