美国国家公共电台 NPR 'We've Got More To Say About You': Olive Kitteridge Is Back, And Complex As Ever

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

It's been more than 10 years since "Olive Kitteridge" won the Pulitzer Prize. That novel by Elizabeth Strout spun¹ together 13 connected stories in the small town of Crosby, Maine that managed to encompass² a world of loss, love and being alone. Now Elizabeth Strout has returned to Crosby and Olive - her tart³, blunt, flinty, cranky and compelling character. Her new book is "Olive, Again."

Elizabeth Strout joins us from New York. Thanks so much for being with us.

ELIZABETH STROUT: Oh, well, thank you for having me. It's lovely. Thank you.

SIMON: I gather Olive appeared to you after many years apart in Norway. Yeah, it went well?

STROUT: She did. I never thought that she would, but she did. And being Olive, I had to pay attention to her because she shows up and, you know, she's Olive. She's got to be attended to.

SIMON: So you're in Norway, I don't know...

STROUT: Yeah.

SIMON: ...Sitting over a place with a plate of smoked fish or something. What happened?

STROUT: Well, I was in Norway. And I was there for some events, but I had the weekend free. So I went to a cafe nearby. And all of a sudden - I was just sitting there, and she just appeared very, very vividly⁴ driving into the marina. And then I saw her, you know, get out of the marina with her cane⁵. And I realized, oh, wow, I have to get this down. So I did. I started to type it on my computer at that very moment, which is interesting as well because I usually write by hand. But she was there, so I took her down. And that was the first story that I wrote from this new collection.

SIMON: Is the difference between writers and normal people the fact that you saw Olive and didn't say, I've got to seek professional help, but instead, you said, I've got to write?

STROUT: Exactly. I would say that is probably the definition of the difference between writers and other people.

SIMON: We, those of us who've followed Olive - she's been widowed. Her husband Henry, the pharmacist, died. She meets someone at the end...

STROUT: Yeah.

SIMON: ...of "Olive Kitteridge." It's more or less were things pick up, isn't it?

STROUT: That's right. I don't write in order. And so the first story, as I said, I wrote, though, was called "The Poet" - or the chapter or whatever. And in that story, I realized she had had a second marriage. So I thought, OK, let's go back and marry you up to Jack⁶ Kennison. So I did.

SIMON: Yeah. In the story called "Heart," she dies, kind of.

STROUT: Kind of, yeah.

SIMON: Set that scene for us, if you can.

STROUT: Yes. She wakes up in the hospital, and she's been somewhere that's very sunny and pleasant. And then she hears these voices talking to her. And she finally realizes that she's in the hospital. And the doctor says - you know, she said, I'd like to go back. And he said, you're not going to be going home for a while. You know, and he says, you had a heart attack. You had no pulse. You were dead. And her response is, really? Isn't that interesting? I think that's awfully⁷ interesting, which is very Olive, I thought.

SIMON: Yeah. The two nurses when all of goes home, Betty and Halima.

STROUT: Yeah.

SIMON: She doesn't like the way one treats the other, let me put it that way.

STROUT: Right.

SIMON: She doesn't like Betty - it's wonderful the way you don't mention what it is - just because she's got a bumper⁸ sticker on her car. And we're left to figure out what that is.

STROUT: That's right.

SIMON: Yeah. Halima is from overseas, without giving too much away. Betty, of course, is local.

STROUT: Yes.

SIMON: But Olive opens a crack in her heart for her, ultimately, doesn't she?

STROUT: Yes, she does. And that came to me as sort of a surprise. But I realized, no, this is actually who Olive is. She's continuing to grow. And I think that, you know, there's a myth that people reach a certain age and they don't continue to grow. But I think that people either - they do continue to grow, or they continue to diminish, but they've been on a pathway for a while. And so I realized Olive is actually continuing to grow and that the ending of that story would be truthful⁹ for who she is at that time.

SIMON: Yeah. Do you like her?

STROUT: I love Olive. I mean, I made her, so I love her. But I understand that many people don't. That's fine, but I do.

SIMON: Yeah. Can you separate the liking¹⁰ her - to what degree do you make her, to what degree does she - because she reappeared on her own. What degree...

STROUT: Yeah. She's...

SIMON: ...Does she drive herself? Yeah.

STROUT: She's pretty on her own. I mean, I'm perfectly¹¹ aware that she comes from my imagination. It's not like - I don't feel like I'm being, you know, channeled or am channeling her or anything like that. But she's from my imagination, yet she is very, very distinct. And therefore, my job to write about her accurately¹² is to make sure that I don't hold her back, you know? I let her behave as badly as I think she would.

But at the same time - one of the most pleasant things for me about writing is that I suspend judgment¹³ on all my characters. And it's so freeing. It's just a wonderfully freeing thing to realize I'm not there to judge them; I'm just there to report on what they're doing. And that's great because in real life, you know, we do tend to be judgmental. And - so it's very freeing, that part.

SIMON: People often want certitude from literature, you know, something that says something. Olive gives us complexities¹⁴.

STROUT: Yes, I hope so.

SIMON: Is that why people love her, respond to her?

STROUT: You know, I'm not exactly sure why people respond to her, but many people do. And I think it is because she's just so complicated. And I think, honestly, that many of us are complicated - maybe not as complicated as Olive, but there are enough complications within Olive for people to respond to her in a variety of ways and to recognize some piece of truthfulness¹⁵ that can touch them as well.

SIMON: Elizabeth Strout, her new novel, "Olive, Again," thank you so much for being with us.

STROUT: Thank you very much.

1 spun   

v.纺，杜撰，急转身

参考例句：

• His grandmother spun him a yarn at the fire.他奶奶在火炉边给他讲故事。
• Her skilful fingers spun the wool out to a fine thread.她那灵巧的手指把羊毛纺成了细毛线。

2 encompass   

vt.围绕，包围；包含，包括；完成

参考例句：

• The course will encompass physics,chemistry and biology.课程将包括物理、化学和生物学。
• The project will encompass rural and underdeveloped areas in China.这项工程将覆盖中国的农村和不发达地区。

3 tart   

adj.酸的；尖酸的，刻薄的；n.果馅饼；淫妇

参考例句：

• She was learning how to make a fruit tart in class.她正在课上学习如何制作水果馅饼。
• She replied in her usual tart and offhand way.她开口回答了，用她平常那种尖酸刻薄的声调随口说道。

4 vividly   

adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地

参考例句：

• The speaker pictured the suffering of the poor vividly.演讲者很生动地描述了穷人的生活。
• The characters in the book are vividly presented.这本书里的人物写得栩栩如生。

5 cane   

n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的

参考例句：

• This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
• English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。

6 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

7 awfully   

adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地

参考例句：

• Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。
• I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。

8 bumper   

n.(汽车上的)保险杠；adj.特大的，丰盛的

参考例句：

• The painting represents the scene of a bumper harvest.这幅画描绘了丰收的景象。
• This year we have a bumper harvest in grain.今年我们谷物丰收。

9 truthful   

adj.真实的，说实话的，诚实的

参考例句：

• You can count on him for a truthful report of the accident.你放心，他会对事故作出如实的报告的。
• I don't think you are being entirely truthful.我认为你并没全讲真话。

10 liking   

n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢

参考例句：

• The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
• I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。

11 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。

12 accurately   

adv.准确地，精确地

参考例句：

• It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
• Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。

13 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。

14 complexities   

复杂性(complexity的名词复数)； 复杂的事物

参考例句：

• The complexities of life bothered him. 生活的复杂使他困惑。
• The complexities of life bothered me. 生活的杂乱事儿使我心烦。

15 truthfulness   

n. 符合实际

参考例句：

• Among her many virtues are loyalty, courage, and truthfulness. 她有许多的美德，如忠诚、勇敢和诚实。
• I fired a hundred questions concerning the truthfulness of his statement. 我对他发言的真实性提出一连串质问。