美国国家公共电台 NPR Megan Abbott's Latest Novel: 'You Will Know Me'

Megan Abbott's Latest Novel: 'You Will Know Me'

ELISE HU, HOST:

Megan Abbott is the queen of teenage noir, crime novels that center in the worlds of girls and their parents and extreme sports. Her latest, called "You Will Know Me," takes place in the glittery and mysterious world of competitive gymnastics, where a 13-year-old star and her family are pursuing Olympic dreams.

MEGAN ABBOTT: It's a tight-knit gymnastics community and everyone sort of has hitched¹ themselves to Devon, the central gymnast star. And she's about to go to the next stage of being elite² gymnastics when the coach - his niece's boyfriend is - dies in a hit-and-run accident. And it sort of rocks the community and sort of speculation³ abounds⁴. And like in any insular⁵ community, there's theories and rumors⁶, and it shakes everyone up just at this moment before this rather important competition.

HU: And insular is key. Gymnastics when we think of that world, we think insular. We think intense, cutthroat. Is this a natural for a mystery? What got you into this?

ABBOTT: I think it is. I mean, I'm always interested in sort of closed societies because, in some ways, it's like the classic crime story of the mob, right. It's the family that keeps everybody's secrets, and they protect one another. And they may harm one another, but they, you know, when there's an outsider they kind of close ranks. You know, it's true with a lot of different communities, not just the mob and gymnastics (laughter). But it's definitely true in this one. They all are focused on one goal, which is for their team to achieve and to advance. So, you know - and they all share this similar obsession⁷. They're just - they live and breathe gymnastics because it is so consuming, as you say.

HU: How did you make an atmosphere of doom⁸ really - or dread⁹ - out of one of the cheerier Olympic sports, when we think about it?

ABBOTT: Yes, I've ruined it.

(LAUGHTER)

ABBOTT: No. I think I was very interested in how it's a team sport essentially¹⁰, as we all see when we watch the Olympics. But it's also a very individual sport. Everyone wants to be the star in some way and to achieve on their own. And I think that, you know, creates an aura of suspicion automatically. And then you have the situation now where a lot of girls begin gymnastics at age 2, 3, 4, 5, so their parents become a part of it - very early age. There's a lot of inherent pressure on this sort of notion that parents are always watching. And then there's this a little bit of a power pull between the coach and the parents and the gymnasts and among the gymnasts. So I think it just becomes a natural pressure cooker.

HU: Let's talk about the child. Let's talk about the central gymnast here, Devon. She's a young gymnastics prodigy¹¹. But it's hard to come away from the book feeling like we understand who she is.

ABBOTT: Yeah.

HU: The few details that we get seem to be as she appears to other people, right. So was that distance intentional¹² for you?

ABBOTT: Yes. I wanted her to be the enigma¹³, the sort of, you know, the mask. Even when we watch, you know, these fabulous¹⁴ Olympic gymnasts this year, there is a mask that they have to wear. There's sort of an expectation of the gleaming smile of the gymnast. And that really interested me, and I think there's something about the gymnast and the prodigy, in this case, the gymnast prodigy, where so much of it is interior. So much of it is a mind game.

I've read a number of gymnasts' memoirs¹⁵ and talked to a few gymnasts who talk so much about how they have to literally¹⁶ will themselves to believe that they can do this thing that really, by the law of physics, they should not be able to do. So they figure out really early on how to kind of trick themselves. And I think that that's pretty mysterious to the rest of us. And I think that's particularly confusing when it's your own child, you know. And there's that moment that all parents have when you realize that you used to sort of recognize every facial expression, every gesture on your child. And then there's a certain age, you don't know what they're thinking at all. And I was really interested in that moment.

HU: Right. On some level, everyone in this book is sort of unknowable to one another, right. The parents, it is revealed, don't seem to know everything about one another. The parents don't feel like they know their children.

ABBOTT: Yes, right. Its sort of paranoia¹⁷ is rather intense because I think, you know, when everyone is invested in one goal, when all activities and all, you know - in this case with these parents, you know, there's two mortgages. And, you know, all their finances are all sort of hoisted¹⁸ into this effort. And I think when it's called into question, I mean, it does become this moment almost of paralysis¹⁹, the sort of stepping back and sort of saying, you know, what have we become moment?

HU: To turn to the crime novel part of this, there are lots of mysteries that are real procedurals - you know, a body, blood, a lot of law enforcement involved. This mystery actually feels highly domestic and self-contained, like we talked about. So I wonder if writing something that feels this way, that feels smaller is harder in some ways, but maybe also more relatable.

ABBOTT: Yeah, it does seem to be what they're calling now domestic suspense²⁰, is having a moment. And I love procedurals. But most of us aren't cops or detectives, you know. So they're often remote from our lives. And I think it's really both challenging and fascinating to write about a world that is closer to the world that most of us live in. It's about marriage. It's about parenting. It's about how power operates in a family. And I think we all identify with that in some way. So it gets stickier, you know. And I think that those books - I know I find as a reader they linger with me much longer for that reason.

HU: And this isn't the first book you've written in this closed society, like you talk about in the world of extremely competitive sports. What draws you to it?

ABBOTT: Were I to psychoanalyze myself, I would say it's because I lack any athletic²¹ ability at all (laughter). I could never even jump over the hurdle²² in track, you know. I was so sure that I would fall, and my brother was a supreme²³ athlete. So for me, it was always rather exotic. And so maybe there's some kind of wish fulfillment in imagining what it's like to feel like you have control over your body and can make it do these powerful things. I guess that's how I sort of - vicariously imagining what that must be like.

HU: Megan Abbott is the author of "You Will Know Me." Megan, thanks.

ABBOTT: Thank you so much.

1 hitched   

（免费）搭乘他人之车( hitch的过去式和过去分词 )； 搭便车； 攀上； 跃上

参考例句：

• They hitched a ride in a truck. 他们搭乘了一辆路过的货车。
• We hitched a ride in a truck yesterday. 我们昨天顺便搭乘了一辆卡车。

2 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

3 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

4 abounds   

v.大量存在，充满，富于( abound的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The place abounds with fruit, especially pears and peaches. 此地盛产水果，尤以梨桃著称。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• This country abounds with fruit. 这个国家盛产水果。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 insular   

adj.岛屿的，心胸狭窄的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• Having lived in one place all his life,his views are insular.他一辈子住在一个地方，所以思想狭隘。

6 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 obsession   

n.困扰，无法摆脱的思想(或情感)

参考例句：

• I was suffering from obsession that my career would be ended.那时的我陷入了我的事业有可能就此终止的困扰当中。
• She would try to forget her obsession with Christopher.她会努力忘记对克里斯托弗的迷恋。

8 doom   

n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定

参考例句：

• The report on our economic situation is full of doom and gloom.这份关于我们经济状况的报告充满了令人绝望和沮丧的调子。
• The dictator met his doom after ten years of rule.独裁者统治了十年终于完蛋了。

9 dread   

vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧

参考例句：

• We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
• Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。

10 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

11 prodigy   

n.惊人的事物，奇迹，神童，天才，预兆

参考例句：

• She was a child prodigy on the violin.她是神童小提琴手。
• He was always a Negro prodigy who played barbarously and wonderfully.他始终是一个黑人的奇才，这种奇才弹奏起来粗野而惊人。

12 intentional   

adj.故意的，有意（识）的

参考例句：

• Let me assure you that it was not intentional.我向你保证那不是故意的。
• His insult was intentional.他的侮辱是有意的。

13 enigma   

n.谜，谜一样的人或事

参考例句：

• I've known him for many years,but he remains something of an enigma to me.我与他相识多年，他仍然难以捉摸。
• Even after all the testimonies,the murder remained a enigma.即使听完了所有的证词，这件谋杀案仍然是一个谜。

14 fabulous   

adj.极好的；极为巨大的；寓言中的，传说中的

参考例句：

• We had a fabulous time at the party.我们在晚会上玩得很痛快。
• This is a fabulous sum of money.这是一笔巨款。

15 memoirs   

n.回忆录；回忆录传( mem,自oir的名词复数)

参考例句：

• Her memoirs were ghostwritten. 她的回忆录是由别人代写的。
• I watched a trailer for the screenplay of his memoirs. 我看过以他的回忆录改编成电影的预告片。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

17 paranoia   

n.妄想狂，偏执狂；多疑症

参考例句：

• Her passion for cleanliness borders on paranoia.她的洁癖近乎偏执。
• The push for reform is also motivated by political paranoia.竞选的改革运动也受到政治偏执狂症的推动。

18 hoisted   

把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He hoisted himself onto a high stool. 他抬身坐上了一张高凳子。
• The sailors hoisted the cargo onto the deck. 水手们把货物吊到甲板上。

19 paralysis   

n.麻痹(症)；瘫痪(症)

参考例句：

• The paralysis affects his right leg and he can only walk with difficulty.他右腿瘫痪步履维艰。
• The paralysis affects his right leg and he can only walk with difficulty.他右腿瘫痪步履维艰。

20 suspense   

n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑

参考例句：

• The suspense was unbearable.这样提心吊胆的状况实在叫人受不了。
• The director used ingenious devices to keep the audience in suspense.导演用巧妙手法引起观众的悬念。

21 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

22 hurdle   

n.跳栏，栏架；障碍，困难；vi.进行跨栏赛

参考例句：

• The weather will be the biggest hurdle so I have to be ready.天气将会是最大的障碍，所以我必须要作好准备。
• She clocked 11.6 seconds for the 80 metre hurdle.八十米跳栏赛跑她跑了十一秒六。

23 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。