美国国家公共电台 NPR In 'Shtum,' A Portrait Of Autism Drawn From Real Life

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Shtum is a Yiddish word. It means silence. It is the name of a novel also narrated¹ by the father of a profoundly autistic son who cannot speak. And it parallels a personal story for the author. Jem Lester, the author of "Shtum" joins us now from London. Mr. Lester, thanks so much for being with us.

JEM LESTER: It is my pleasure, Scott.

SIMON: This is a very powerful book. To what degree is this the story of your father-son relationship?

LESTER: To no degree am I the same kind of father to my son that Benny is to Jonah, the main protagonist² of the book. But Jonah's story within the book mirrors to a certain degree my son. A lot of the behaviors and the feelings that he inspires in the book - Jonah - are very, very close to my feelings because I couldn't really see the point in reinventing an autistic character when I had one that was just so close to home.

SIMON: Well, tell us about Jonah. I've read in interviews, you don't like the way autistic people are often portrayed³ in popular culture.

LESTER: Well, Scott, I think things are improving. But certainly down the years, I think my first introduction to autism, really, along with a lot of people's, was Dustin Hoffman's portrayal⁴ in "Rain Man." And I think since then, there has been this perception that an autistic child has some kind of special gift.

And I know from my own personal experience that when I've met people - strangers - for the first time or acquaintances have discovered that I had an autistic child, that was the first question they asked. You know, is he really, really good at something? Is he - does he have a special skill in something? Well, that's just a tiny, tiny percentage of the thousands of millions of autistic people in the world. It doesn't, in any way, reflect the 30 percent of autistic people who have no language and sit in a very, very different place on what people like to describe as the autistic spectrum⁵.

SIMON: Tell us about Jonah. He's tough stuff.

LESTER: Jonah is 10 when we meet him in the book with no language. And because of that and because of the frustrations⁷, he can suffer from bouts⁸ of self-harm. He will bite down on his hand and has a big scar on the base of his thumb where he bites down through frustration⁶. He is doubly incontinent, which means he's a 10-year-old that has to wear nappies during the day and at night. And yet, there is such a level of innocence⁹ to him.

There is no anger in his face. There is something pure about the way that he looks and the sparkle in his eyes because he's unaware¹⁰ that he's different. And he doesn't suffer from the normal kinds of ills that the neurotypical population do. He doesn't suffer from greed or jealousy¹¹ or resentment¹². There isn't a malicious¹³ bone in his body. And on that basis, he's an extremely pure spirit.

SIMON: He can also be - I think it's fair to say this - frightening, can't he?

LESTER: Extremely. Yeah. He possesses, as a lot of autistic children do, he possesses an almost superhuman strength. And so when he does have a meltdown, he is virtually impossible to control.

SIMON: And this is something you know?

LESTER: This is something I know very well, yeah. And people have asked me questions about, did you really need to provide that much realism in detail? You know, was it really necessary? And I said, well, to be honest with you, I toned it down.

SIMON: Mr. Lester, did you wind up writing a novel about this, in part, to give a voice to your son?

LESTER: Interestingly, Scott, when I first took the project on, I spent a short while attempting to write the book from Jonah's point of view. And it didn't take me long to realize that it would just be a monumental task and one that would probably be unreadable. And I knew somewhere along the line within the book, I wanted him to be able to have that voice. And so there is a passage in the book where I take on writing in Jonah's voice.

SIMON: Let me ask you to read a section of that if you could.

LESTER: OK. (Reading) Apparently¹⁴, my name is Jonah Jewell. I know this because they repeat the sounds when looking at me and I'm off somewhere investigating. Light fascinates me a lot, especially when it splits into colors and when it reflects off a leaf close to my eye. I don't really know what time is. But when there is no light for me to investigate, I like to play with the water and bubbles and float in the warmth until he, Dad, he tells me it is time to get out.

Then he dries me and dresses me quickly so I can go downstairs for Marmite toast. And if there isn't any Marmite, I throw the plate across the kitchen because I have Marmite toast for breakfast. I jump up and down and pull at his hand because I have Marmite toast for breakfast. And then I grab at his face and hair because I have Marmite toast for breakfast.

And I won't let go, so he opens the back door and forces me outside into the garden where I skip round and round screaming because I had Marmite toast for breakfast. Then the door opens, and I run in. And there is Marmite toast on the table. So I sit and eat because it's what I have for breakfast. And he sits on the floor with his head in his hands.

SIMON: Mr. Lester, this is very tough to hear. But you've really written it so beautifully.

LESTER: Thank you very much. I really appreciate that.

SIMON: What does Jonah, in the novel, teach his parents? What has your son, Noah, taught you?

LESTER: My son Noah has taught me patience, compassion¹⁵. He's taught me to understand the things in life that really should be important to everyone. And they're the kind of life lessons that you only really learn by being around people that have no axe¹⁶ to grind.

So it's made me far, far more aware of just how many things in this world that have no bearing on my life and that should not in any way upset me or drive me mad just are worthless and pointless and not worth thinking about. And on that basis, I suppose, despite everything else, there is - I find a contentment in my own life that doesn't require me to, you know, search after goods and services and all the other things that maybe at some point when I was younger, I had been trying to fight for.

Now I understand. And that's through someone that actually has never told me that. He's never sat me down like a wise old man and given me the talk. He hasn't had to say anything. He's just had to be him. And I think that's a massive gift.

SIMON: Jem Lester, his novel "Shtum." Thanks so much for being with us.

LESTER: Thank you very much, Scott. It's been a privilege.

1 narrated   

v.故事( narrate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Some of the story was narrated in the film. 该电影叙述了这个故事的部分情节。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Defoe skilfully narrated the adventures of Robinson Crusoe on his desert island. 笛福生动地叙述了鲁滨逊·克鲁索在荒岛上的冒险故事。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 protagonist   

n.(思想观念的)倡导者；主角，主人公

参考例句：

• The protagonist reforms in the end and avoids his proper punishment.戏剧主角最后改过自新并避免了他应受的惩罚。
• He is the model for the protagonist in the play.剧本中的主人公就是以他为模特儿创作的！

3 portrayed   

v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• Throughout the trial, he portrayed himself as the victim. 在审讯过程中，他始终把自己说成是受害者。
• The author portrayed his father as a vicious drunkard. 作者把他父亲描绘成一个可恶的酒鬼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 portrayal   

n.饰演；描画

参考例句：

• His novel is a vivid portrayal of life in a mining community.他的小说生动地描绘了矿区的生活。
• The portrayal of the characters in the novel is lifelike.该书中的人物写得有血有肉。

5 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

6 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

7 frustrations   

挫折( frustration的名词复数 )； 失败； 挫败； 失意

参考例句：

• The temptation would grow to take out our frustrations on Saigon. 由于我们遭到挫折而要同西贡算帐的引诱力会增加。
• Aspirations will be raised, but so will frustrations. 人们会产生种种憧憬，但是种种挫折也会随之而来。

8 bouts   

n.拳击（或摔跤）比赛( bout的名词复数 )；一段（工作）；（尤指坏事的）一通；（疾病的）发作

参考例句：

• For much of his life he suffered from recurrent bouts of depression. 他的大半辈子反复发作抑郁症。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It was one of fistiana's most famous championship bouts. 这是拳击界最有名的冠军赛之一。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

9 innocence   

n.无罪；天真；无害

参考例句：

• There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
• The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。

10 unaware   

a.不知道的，未意识到的

参考例句：

• They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
• I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。

11 jealousy   

n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌

参考例句：

• Some women have a disposition to jealousy.有些女人生性爱妒忌。
• I can't support your jealousy any longer.我再也无法忍受你的嫉妒了。

12 resentment   

n.怨愤，忿恨

参考例句：

• All her feelings of resentment just came pouring out.她一股脑儿倾吐出所有的怨恨。
• She cherished a deep resentment under the rose towards her employer.她暗中对她的雇主怀恨在心。

13 malicious   

adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的

参考例句：

• You ought to kick back at such malicious slander. 你应当反击这种恶毒的污蔑。
• Their talk was slightly malicious.他们的谈话有点儿心怀不轨。

14 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

15 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

16 axe   

n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减

参考例句：

• Be careful with that sharp axe.那把斧子很锋利，你要当心。
• The edge of this axe has turned.这把斧子卷了刃了。