2021年经济学人 你永远都无法叫醒一个装睡的人(1)（在线收听）

Books & arts

文艺版块

Book review

书评

Egyptian fiction

埃及小说

A general in his labyrinth

陷入迷途的将军

The Republic of False Truths. By Alaa Al Aswany

《虚假真理共和国》，作者：亚拉·阿斯万尼

In “the Yacoubian building” (2002), Alaa Al Aswany portrayed the corruption and discontent of Hosni Mubarak’s Egypt through the stories of one building’s denizens— a petty schemer, a gay writer, a doorman’s son. Illuminating and evocative, the book sold over 1m copies and was adapted for the screen. Mr Aswany’s new novel, “The Republic of False Truths”, again uses an ensemble of characters to capture his country’s contradictions and injustices.

在2002年出版的《亚库比恩公寓》中，亚拉·阿斯万尼通过居住在一栋公寓里的狭隘阴谋家、同性恋作家和看门人的儿子的故事描绘了胡斯尼·穆巴拉克统治下的埃及的腐败和怨声载道。《亚库比恩公寓》这本书发人深省、引人共鸣，销量超过100万册，后经改编被搬上了银幕。阿斯万尼的新小说《虚假真理共和国》再次使用了一组人物来捕捉他所在国家的矛盾和不公正。

This time the story is set around the revolution of 2011 when, sick of Mubarak’s 30-year rule, hundreds of thousands of Egyptians gathered in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. The cast includes young idealists, disgruntled factory workers—and others determined to stop the uprising. Some are simply caught in the middle. The result is an engaging, provocative and, ultimately, frustrating tour of the revolution, from its gestation to its bloody aftermath.

这一次的故事是围绕着2011年的埃及革命展开的，当时，数十万厌倦了穆巴拉克30年统治的埃及民众聚集在开罗的解放广场。主人公包括年轻的理想主义者、不满的工厂工人和其他决心阻止起义的人。有些人只是夹在中间，进退两难。此次集会引发了一场开端引人入胜、有煽动性、但结果血腥又令人沮丧的革命之旅。

Banned in Egypt and other Arab countries, the book opens with General Ahmad Alwany, a God-fearing Muslim who watches pornography, tortures suspects and is thoroughly corrupt. Most of this, he naturally believes, is justified by Islam. Just ask Sheikh Shamel, a preacher trained in Saudi Arabia. “He is said to have taken the virginity of 23 young girls, all in compliance with holy law,” writes Mr Aswany, whose dry tone accentuates the absurdity. Pious and patriotic, at least in their own minds, the pair and their allies resist the revolution— or, as they see it, the foreign conspiracy funded by America and Israel.

《虚假真理共和国》在埃及和其他阿拉伯国家被列为禁书。这本书开篇就讲述了艾哈迈德·阿尔瓦尼将军。阿尔瓦尼将军是一位敬畏上帝的穆斯林，他观看色情作品，折磨嫌疑人，而且腐败透顶。他理所当然地觉得自己的大部分行为都是符合伊斯兰教的。去问问在沙特阿拉伯受训的传教士谢赫·沙梅尔就知道了。阿斯万尼写道：“据说他夺走了23个年轻女孩的童贞，且所有行为都是遵照圣律的。”他冷漠的语气更加凸显了荒谬感。至少在他们自己的心目中，虔诚和爱国人士之流会抵制革命；或者，他们认为，这场革命是由美国和以色列资助的外国阴谋。