美国国家公共电台 NPR 'Lesser Bohemians' Uses Playful Language For A Classic Love Story

'Lesser¹ Bohemians' Uses Playful Language For A Classic Love Story 

play pause stop mute unmute max volume 00:0006:28repeat repeat off Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser² to a recent version or update your Flash plugin. SCOTT SIMON, HOST: 

Eimear McBride's new novel, "The Lesser Bohemians," is an old story written in a new way, a May-December romance - or maybe more May-August - between Eily, an 18-year-old Irish drama student who comes to London of the mid-1990s and a devilish rake of an older man, an actor, of course, named Stephen.

The novel is filled with intricate, imaginative wordplay and sex that can be similarly characterized as crafted by one of the most admired young talents in fiction. Eimear McBride, author of the critically praised previous novel, "A Girl Is A Half-Formed Thing," joins us now from the studios of Radio Norfolk in Norwich, England.

Thanks so much for being with us.

EIMEAR MCBRIDE: Thank you for having me.

SIMON: Weren't you once an 18-year-old drama student in London?

MCBRIDE: Yes. I certainly was an 18-year-old drama student who came to London months myself in the middle of the '90s. And that was really the beginning of the novel for me - was remembering being a teenager coming to the big city.

SIMON: Well, let me get you to read that 'cause there is so much admiration³ for your intricate wordplay. Inevitably⁴, maybe, for an Irish writer, it's called Joycean. Could I get you to read a section when Eily first comes to London and to Kentish Town?

MCBRIDE: Certainly. (Reading) Worm in their wormholes - versts of stairs - new eyes battling posters and escalators, I find my way to Kentish Town wind-slapped in the face as the tiles lead round - up though, yes, and to the house.

Tall - taller than I knew. And an old Irish landlady⁵ with no T's by now - maybe, in time, that'll be you. No, maybe that'll be me. Her, on her top floor, rules - only one - absolutely no strange men. Show me no lies, and I'll ask you no questions. Oh, yes, of course.

But at the pad off of her slippers⁶, I rattle⁷ at my lock then turn about to open wide and touch the room on either side. 3-foot bed of freedom, beauty board walls of delight, streaked⁸ nets of the escapee, four floors below, a London street. Unpack⁹ knickers, and unpack tapes.

So the first weekend begins like this, here in the homesickless new. And later, under condensation¹⁰ drip from the wall, I still think here is for me, even when auld¹¹ langers row in the hall - even incandescent¹² piss on the toilet floor. Even so, here I am. And here is for me.

SIMON: Boy, that's beautiful.

(LAUGHTER)

MCBRIDE: Thank you.

SIMON: I'll call it Joycean.

MCBRIDE: (Laughter) I'll take that compliment.

SIMON: And it really cries out to be read aloud.

MCBRIDE: I think so. I mean, I certainly read it aloud a lot as I was writing it. And I know from readers' comments that if they get caught up in it at all, they find reading it aloud just helps them untangle the language.

SIMON: What draws these two together - the younger woman and the older man?

MCBRIDE: Well, you know, initially¹³, it's just sex. She's young and very keen to lose her virginity. And he's quite happy to help her out. And they begin a casual sexual relationship and then accidentally find themselves falling in love.

SIMON: Does becoming such a part of Stephen's life prevent this young woman who's come to London from exploring her own?

MCBRIDE: No. I think, actually, in some ways, he's a safety net. He's the thing that she falls back on whenever she gets scared. And he's constantly encouraging her to go off and do other things and not be serious about him right up until the moment that they both realize that they're completely serious about each other.

SIMON: Should we have sympathy for Stephen in the book?

MCBRIDE: I think so. I think, you know, it begins in quite a stereotypical¹⁴ way. He's the older man. She's the younger woman. But, actually, the story changes. And the relationship changes him.

SIMON: If I may, they almost wind up switching places emotionally.

MCBRIDE: Yeah. They absolutely do. And she becomes the person who pulls him back into life. So I think he's a complex character. And he has his faults. And he has done things in his life which he is very ashamed of. And that was, in a way, a point of the book - was trying to look at someone who felt themselves to be a failed human being and to see if there was a way for them to go forward.

SIMON: How long did it take you to write this novel?

MCBRIDE: Well, this one took me nine years from beginning to end, which is quite a difference to "Girl Is A Half-Formed Thing," which was six months to write and nine years to sell.

SIMON: What happened?

MCBRIDE: Well, with "Girl," there were a lot of publishers who liked the writing but were afraid to take a risk on something that they didn't know how to sell. When it came to "The Lesser Bohemians," it just took me a very long time to understand the intricacy of who these people were and how they related to each other and how to write about them best. Happily, the selling process was much quicker.

SIMON: What do you think people were, if I might put it this way - in the lit biz (ph) - were missing about your work, initially?

MCBRIDE: The publishing industry had become quite conservative. They felt that readers were more conservative, that they weren't willing to take a chance on writing that was trying to look at life in a different way. And that was a shame because that was a real underestimation of what readers are.

SIMON: Who do you write, Ms. McBride?

MCBRIDE: Well, for me, it's all about the reader. And I don't buy it when writers are told to write for themselves because, if that's the case, then you should just write a diary and put it under your pillow.

For me, it's always about trying to make a human connection. And what makes me most happy is when a reader says to me that they found something meaningful in my work. That's who I'm writing for. And that's whose judgment¹⁵ I most worry about.

SIMON: Are you done with Eily and Stephen now? Or are they still rattling¹⁶ around in your soul?

MCBRIDE: Well, you know, I only really finished doing the last corrections in May. And the book is still really alive in me. And those characters are really alive in me. So I think I'm going to continue to think about them, certainly, for a while.

SIMON: Eimear McBride - her novel, "The Lesser Bohemians." Thanks so much for being with us.

MCBRIDE: Thanks so much for having me on. I really appreciate it.

1 lesser   

adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地

参考例句：

• Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
• She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及，但程度较轻。

2 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

3 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。

4 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

5 landlady   

n.女房东，女地主

参考例句：

• I heard my landlady creeping stealthily up to my door.我听到我的女房东偷偷地来到我的门前。
• The landlady came over to serve me.女店主过来接待我。

6 slippers   

n. 拖鞋

参考例句：

• a pair of slippers 一双拖鞋
• He kicked his slippers off and dropped on to the bed. 他踢掉了拖鞋，倒在床上。

7 rattle   

v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓

参考例句：

• The baby only shook the rattle and laughed and crowed.孩子只是摇着拨浪鼓，笑着叫着。
• She could hear the rattle of the teacups.她听见茶具叮当响。

8 streaked   

adj.有条斑纹的，不安的v.快速移动( streak的过去式和过去分词 )；使布满条纹

参考例句：

• The children streaked off as fast as they could. 孩子们拔脚飞跑 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• His face was pale and streaked with dirt. 他脸色苍白，脸上有一道道的污痕。 来自辞典例句

9 unpack   

vt.打开包裹（或行李），卸货

参考例句：

• I must unpack before dinner.我得在饭前把行李打开。
• She said she would unpack the items later.她说以后再把箱子里的东西拿出来。

10 condensation   

n.压缩，浓缩；凝结的水珠

参考例句：

• A cloud is a condensation of water vapour in the atmosphere.云是由大气中的水蒸气凝结成的。
• He used his sleeve to wipe the condensation off the glass.他用袖子擦掉玻璃上凝结的水珠。

11 auld   

adj.老的，旧的

参考例句：

• Should auld acquaintance be forgot,and never brought to mind?怎能忘记旧日朋友，心中能不怀念？
• The party ended up with the singing of Auld Lang Sync.宴会以《友谊地久天长》的歌声而告终。

12 incandescent   

adj.遇热发光的， 白炽的，感情强烈的

参考例句：

• The incandescent lamp we use in daily life was invented by Edison.我们日常生活中用的白炽灯，是爱迪生发明的。
• The incandescent quality of his words illuminated the courage of his countrymen.他炽热的语言点燃了他本国同胞的勇气。

13 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

14 stereotypical   

n.常规

参考例句：

• Personas should be typical and believable, but not stereotypical. 人物角色应该是典型和可信赖的，但不是一成不变的。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Anything could be stereotypical, so I guess it could be criticism. 任何东西都可以变的老套，所以我猜那就是一种批评。 来自互联网

15 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

16 rattling   

adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词

参考例句：

• This book is a rattling good read. 这是一本非常好的读物。
• At that same instant,a deafening explosion set the windows rattling. 正在这时，一声震耳欲聋的爆炸突然袭来，把窗玻璃震得当当地响。