2020年经济学人 英国小说书评--去布里克斯顿(1)

Books & arts

文艺板块

Book review

书评

British fiction

英国小说

Down to Brixton

去布里克斯顿

Pomeranski. By Gerald Jacobs.

波美兰斯基。作者：杰拉尔德·雅各布斯

Vincent Van Gogh once lived in Brixton, where the fledgling artist fell in love with his landlady’s daughter. Formerly¹ famous as a hub of post-war British Caribbean life, more recently a magnet for gentrifying hipsters, the south London neighbourhood boasts a rich cultural history. Until now, though, the area’s literary chroniclers have overlooked the Jewish families who settled in the place Gerald Jacobs calls a “dynamic urban village”.

文森特·梵高曾经住在布里克斯顿，在那里，这位初出茅庐的艺术家爱上了房东太太的女儿。布里克斯顿曾经作为战后英属加勒比海生活的中心而闻名，最近则是吸引贵族潮人们的磁石，它位于伦敦南部，拥有丰富的文化历史。然而，直到现在，该地区的文学编年史都忽略了定居在这里的犹太人家庭，杰拉尔德·雅各布斯称这个地方为“充满活力的城市村庄”。 

A long-serving literary editor of Britain’s Jewish Chronicle, Mr Jacobs has written a spirited and entertaining novel of Brixton in the mid-20th century, peopled with characters who balance on a knifeedge between “legit gesheft” (above-board business) and more rackety sorts of enterprise. At times, it reads almost like a lowkey, south-of-the-Thames version of “The Sopranos”, but with slices of Bakewell tart² in place of Sicilian cannoli.

作为英国犹太编年史的长期文学编辑，雅各布斯先生在20世纪中叶写了一本充满活力和娱乐性的关于布里克斯顿的小说，书中的人物性格在“合法的事业”（正大光明的业务）和更多的敲诈勒索的事业之间保持平衡。有时，它读起来几乎像是《黑道家族》发生在泰晤士河以南的一个低调版本，但用几片贝克韦尔馅饼代替西西里大炮。

After the death of Benny Pomeranski in 2000 his son Simon—who has swapped³ the retail⁴ hustles⁵ of his parents’ generation for the more genteel profession of drama lecturer— learns about the misadventures that shaped his father’s life. Benny, along with his pals⁶, migrated south from the warbattered streets of the East End (a more familiar stamping-ground for earlier Jewish novelists of London). In Brixton, Benny and his wife Bertha make a decent living from their dress shop, Pomeranski Gowns, but his heart lies with a group of friends who meet in the Astoria café.

本尼·波梅兰斯基2000年去世后，他的儿子西蒙——从父母那一代的闲散生活转变成了一个更为优雅的戏剧演讲者职业——了解了那些他父亲生活的种种不幸。 本尼和他的朋友们，从伦敦东区饱受战火蹂躏的街道向南迁移（伦敦早期犹太小说家更熟悉的地方）。在布里克斯顿，本尼和他的妻子伯莎靠他们的服装店波美兰斯基礼服过着体面的生活，但他的心却寄托在一群在阿斯托利亚咖啡馆见过的朋友身上。

1 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

2 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。

3 swapped   

交换（工作）( swap的过去式和过去分词 )； 用…替换，把…换成，掉换（过来）

参考例句：

• I liked her coat and she liked mine, so we swapped. 我喜欢她的外套，她喜欢我的外套，于是我们就交换了。
• At half-time the manager swapped some of the players around. 经理在半场时把几名队员换下了场。

4 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

5 hustles   

忙碌，奔忙( hustle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He often hustles on the streets to pay for drugs. 为弄到钱买毒品，他常在街上行骗。
• Ken ves bartender off and hustles Joe out of the bar. 肯恩走开挥舞酒保而且离开酒吧乱挤活动乔。

6 pals   

n.朋友( pal的名词复数 )；老兄；小子；（对男子的不友好的称呼）家伙

参考例句：

• We've been pals for years. 我们是多年的哥们儿了。
• CD 8 positive cells remarkably increased in PALS and RP(P CD8+细胞在再生脾PALS和RP内均明显增加(P 来自互联网