2020年经济学人 《冰岛小姐》书评--美丽的线条(2)

One who doesn’t is her childhood friend Jon John, who gives her a room of her own in which to write. A gay man who wants to make theatre costumes but instead endures hard graft¹ and homophobia on fishing trawlers, he is one of several characters stuck in a rut. Another is Isey, a housewife who battles loneliness and domestic drudgery² in her basement flat while her husband is away. Determined³ to be different, and desperate to leave behind the leering and groping diners she serves in her waitressing job, Hekla redoubles her efforts to finish her manuscript and get published. Praise from her boyfriend, a less gifted writer, spurs her on: “You’re the glacier⁴ that sparkles, I’m just a molehill.”However, as a woman, she finds some avenues closed, and she and Jon John decide to cut their losses and search for freedom and artistic⁵ success farther afield.

而她童年时代的朋友乔恩·约翰却并不是这样想的，他为她提供了一个自己的写作空间。主人公的这位朋友是一位想制作戏剧服装的同性恋者，但却反而要忍受在拖网渔船上艰苦的工作以及他人的恐同，他是几个墨守成规的人物之一。 另一位墨守成规的人是伊西，她是一位家庭主妇，丈夫不在家时，她在地下室的公寓里与孤独和家务劳动作斗争。赫克拉决心要变得与众不同，她不顾一切地放弃了服务员的工作以及工作中认识的那些打情骂俏的食客们，她加倍努力完成她的手稿并出版。她的男朋友是一个不太有天赋的作家，他赞扬并且激励着她：“你是闪耀的冰川，我只是一个小鼹鼠。”然而，她发现作为一个女人，一些途径已经关闭，她和乔恩·约翰决定止损，前往更远的地方寻求自由和艺术成功。

In previous books, Ms Audur Ava Olafsdottir occasionally relied too much on eccentric foibles and hare-brained antics.In “Miss Iceland” she judiciously⁶ downplays the oddities, particularly when exploring weighty issues such as sexual harassment⁷ and discrimination. In other welcome changes, she incorporates world events and numerous references to Iceland’s rich literature. And yet this captivating novel’s finest component⁸ is its endearing heroine who, at her journey’s end, has learned to follow her dreams but know her limits.

在以前的书中，奥杜尔阿瓦奥拉夫斯多蒂尔女士偶尔会对古怪的缺点和愚蠢的滑稽动作着墨过多。在《冰岛小姐》一书中，她明智地淡化了这些古怪的描写，尤其是在探讨诸如性骚扰和歧视等重大问题时。她在描写这本书时还做出了一些很棒的改变，她引用了世界事件以及大量冰岛的丰富的文学作品。然而，这部引人入胜的小说最精彩的部分是文中可爱的女主人公，在旅程的终点，她学会了追随自己的梦想，但也了解自己的极限。

1 graft   

n.移植，嫁接，艰苦工作，贪污；v.移植，嫁接

参考例句：

• I am having a skin graft on my arm soon.我马上就要接受手臂的皮肤移植手术。
• The minister became rich through graft.这位部长透过贪污受贿致富。

2 drudgery   

n.苦工，重活，单调乏味的工作

参考例句：

• People want to get away from the drudgery of their everyday lives.人们想摆脱日常生活中单调乏味的工作。
• He spent his life in pointlessly tiresome drudgery.他的一生都在做毫无意义的烦人的苦差事。

3 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

4 glacier   

n.冰川，冰河

参考例句：

• The glacier calved a large iceberg.冰河崩解而形成一个大冰山。
• The upper surface of glacier is riven by crevasses.冰川的上表面已裂成冰隙。

5 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

6 judiciously   

adv.明断地，明智而审慎地

参考例句：

• Let's use these intelligence tests judiciously. 让我们好好利用这些智力测试题吧。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His ideas were quaint and fantastic. She brought him judiciously to earth. 他的看法荒廖古怪，她颇有见识地劝他面对现实。 来自辞典例句

7 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。

8 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。