美国国家公共电台 NPR In 'Catnip,' Love And Loss Sketched Out In Cat Cartoons

In 'Catnip,' Love And Loss Sketched¹ Out In Cat Cartoons

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

"Catnip: A Love Story" by Michael Korda is a book drawn² from scribbles³ that amused in a time of anxiety. Michael Korda's wife, Margaret Korda, was diagnosed with a malignant⁴ brain tumor⁵. She went riding most days of what turned out to be the last year of her life. And each day, Michael Korda sketched cartoons of their cats on the back of old manuscripts in the tack⁶ room - cats cooking and dining, cats in cowboy hats and book clubs, cats playing musical instruments and dancing the cat-can. Margaret shared photos of those cartoons drawn in love and intended to distract and delight, and they're now this book.

Michael Korda, the best-selling author of several histories and former editor-in-chief of Simon and Schuster, joins us now from Fishkill, N.Y. Michael, thanks so much for being with us.

MICHAEL KORDA: Thank you so much for having me, Scott.

SIMON: A lot of love in these cartoons - for these cats and for you and Margaret.

KORDA: (Speaking in foreign language). Absolutely. I should make it clear - and to be perfectly⁷ honest - that I'm fond of cats, but I'm not a natural cat person. Cats were introduced into my life when I married Margaret because she always had a cat - or more than one cat once we moved up to the country. And I've gotten used to cats and even been very fond of some of the cats, though they were...

SIMON: (Laughter).

KORDA: ...Not always fond of me. And so when it came time to find something that would amuse her, I decided⁸ to do little cat cartoons.

SIMON: Let me ask you about some of the characters. Kit⁹ Kat, George, Ruby¹⁰ 9-11 - what can you tell us about Ruby?

KORDA: I can tell you that Ruby 9-11 ate breakfast today because I observed that myself. But Ruby 9-11 was named because she appeared on our doorstep on 9-1 and is the most gentle and kind of cats. Margaret had a big bruiser of a male cat called Mr. McT., who was boss of all cats. And when he fell ill, Ruby literally¹¹ nursed him and would lie with her front paws around him keeping him company. Kit Kat was always a cat hostile to me - not because I (laughter) did anything in particular but just because she was passionately¹² devoted¹³ to Margaret and resented anybody coming between herself and Margaret.

SIMON: Did the cats help you get through this tough period - help Margaret get through this tough period?

KORDA: Oh, I think so. Margaret, once the first two brain surgeries had failed to halt the advance of the brain tumor, elected - very strongly desired - to die at home in her own bedroom and in her own bed. And I made that possible, supported that decision. And the cats knew she was dying, and they absolutely were supportive of her 24/7. There would always be one of them lying next to her in the bed, even though most of them resented the presence of a 24/7 nurse. But one of them always stayed close to her to the very end.

And I was very impressed by that because, you know, you don't necessarily always think of cats as being warm and sympathetic, and cats do tend to be aloof¹⁴ in character. But Margaret's were not. And I wanted to somehow convey in this short book the feeling that was going on between the cats and Margaret.

SIMON: I remember when my late stepfather reached the final stages of his illness and was very frustrated¹⁵ by the fact that everything seemed to be breaking down. His cat, Ulysses, didn't ask for him to be anything other than just, you know, a warm lump in the bed (laughter).

KORDA: Yes. (Laughter) Ulysses is a wonderful name. Is he not named, by any chance, after Ulysses S. Grant? I wrote a biography...

SIMON: No, absolutely. Yes, I know. That's why I mentioned it to you.

KORDA: (Laughter).

SIMON: My stepfather owned the Abraham Lincoln Book Shop in Chicago and definitely...

KORDA: Oh, how wonderful.

SIMON: ...Named his cat Ulysses. Yeah.

KORDA: How wonderful. How wonderful. And you wrote a wonderful book about your mother's death, I believe.

SIMON: I did the best I could. Thank you. Yes.

KORDA: Well, it's difficult, I think, to write a book about the death of somebody you love, and it's difficult to do that without being either grim or lachrymose¹⁶. And I think "Catnip" tries to avoid both those things. It's - you know, it's not possible to write a funny book about death, but it is possible to write a book about death that in some way pays tribute to the living and to life, even if it's through cats. It's a tricky¹⁷ thing to do, and I think the book is one that Margaret herself would've appreciated. And she would've gotten, I think, a big kick from seeing the drawings in the book on a daily basis.

SIMON: Michael, may I ask how you're doing?

KORDA: I'm doing OK. But it's been very difficult, as I don't need to tell you. I'm not sure I will ever adjust to the loss of Margaret. And I'm trying to do the things that would have pleased her or that I know she would have wanted, like look after her horses and look after her cats the way she would've wanted them looked after.

SIMON: And I must ask, how are the cats doing?

KORDA: The cats are doing just fine. But, you know, it's very interesting. They know Margaret is gone, and they miss Margaret. Ruby, for example, always liked to sit next to Margaret in the bathroom in the mornings while Margaret put on her makeup¹⁸. And she'll go and sit in that exact place every morning at exactly the time Margaret put on her makeup and wait. You know, you can't ascribe to animals feelings they don't have, but clearly she knows that Margaret is gone, and she misses her, and she goes to that place. You know, I think cats know more than we think they do.

SIMON: Michael Korda's book "Catnip: A Love Story." Thanks so much for being with us.

KORDA: Thank you so much for having me.

(SOUNDBITE OF GENERAL FUZZ'S "THOUGHT PARTNER")

1 sketched   

v.草拟（sketch的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The historical article sketched the major events of the decade. 这篇有关历史的文章概述了这十年中的重大事件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He sketched the situation in a few vivid words. 他用几句生动的语言简述了局势。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

3 scribbles   

n.潦草的书写( scribble的名词复数 )；乱画；草草地写；匆匆记下v.潦草的书写( scribble的第三人称单数 )；乱画；草草地写；匆匆记下

参考例句：

• The scribbles on the wall must be the work of those children. 墙壁上的涂鸦准是那几个孩子画的。 来自辞典例句
• There are scribbles on the wall. 墙上有胡乱涂写的字迹。 来自辞典例句

4 malignant   

adj.恶性的，致命的；恶意的，恶毒的

参考例句：

• Alexander got a malignant slander.亚历山大受到恶意的诽谤。
• He started to his feet with a malignant glance at Winston.他爬了起来，不高兴地看了温斯顿一眼。

5 tumor   

n.（肿）瘤，肿块(英)tumour

参考例句：

• He was died of a malignant tumor.他死于恶性肿瘤。
• The surgeons irradiated the tumor.外科医生用X射线照射那个肿瘤。

6 tack   

n.大头钉；假缝，粗缝

参考例句：

• He is hammering a tack into the wall to hang a picture.他正往墙上钉一枚平头钉用来挂画。
• We are going to tack the map on the wall.我们打算把这张地图钉在墙上。

7 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 kit   

n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物

参考例句：

• The kit consisted of about twenty cosmetic items.整套工具包括大约20种化妆用品。
• The captain wants to inspect your kit.船长想检查你的行装。

10 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

11 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。

12 passionately   

ad.热烈地，激烈地

参考例句：

• She could hate as passionately as she could love. 她能恨得咬牙切齿，也能爱得一往情深。
• He was passionately addicted to pop music. 他酷爱流行音乐。

13 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

14 aloof   

adj.远离的；冷淡的，漠不关心的

参考例句：

• Never stand aloof from the masses.千万不可脱离群众。
• On the evening the girl kept herself timidly aloof from the crowd.这小女孩在晚会上一直胆怯地远离人群。

15 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 lachrymose   

adj.好流泪的，引人落泪的；adv.眼泪地，哭泣地

参考例句：

• She waxed lachrymose.她伤心起来了。
• Maybe if you moved away from Lake Lachrymose you might feel better.也许搬离这悲哀之湖会让你好受一些。

17 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

18 makeup   

n.组织；性格；化装品

参考例句：

• Those who failed the exam take a makeup exam.这次考试不及格的人必须参加补考。
• Do you think her beauty could makeup for her stupidity?你认为她的美丽能弥补她的愚蠢吗？