Why should you read “Midnight’s Children”? - Iseult Gillespie

翻译人员: Carol Wang 校对人员: Harper Chang

It begins with a countdown.

故事开篇是倒计时场景。

On August 14th, 1947,

1947年8月14日的孟买，

a woman in Bombay goes into labor as the clock ticks towards midnight.

临近午夜，一个女人正在分娩。

Across India, people hold their breath for the declaration of independence

在被英国占领和统治近两个世纪后，

after nearly two centuries of British occupation and rule.

整个印度都屏住呼吸， 等待宣布独立的时刻。

And at the stroke of midnight,

午夜钟声敲响时分，

a squirming infant and two new nations are born in perfect synchronicity.

一名呱呱坠地的婴儿 和两个新国家同时诞生了。

These events form the foundation of "Midnight’s Children,"

这些事件构成了《午夜之子》的基础，

a dazzling novel by the British-Indian author Salman Rushdie.

英籍印度作家萨尔曼·鲁西迪 写就了这部引人入胜的小说。

The baby who is the exact same age as the nation is Saleem Sinai,

这个与印度同龄的婴儿，

就是小说的主角撒利姆·撒奈伊。

the novel’s protagonist.

His narrative stretches over 30 years of his life,

他的自述涵盖了他三十多年的生活，

jumping backwards and forwards in time to speculate on family secrets

以探寻家庭秘密和深层谜团为主线，

and deep-seated mysteries.

回忆和正叙穿插进行。

These include the greatest enigma of all: Saleem has magic powers,

这些秘密就包括最大的谜团： 撒利姆拥有神奇力量，

and they’re somehow related to the time of his birth.

这与他的出生时间有某种关联。

And he’s not the only one.

他并非唯一，

All children born in and around the stroke of midnight

所有午夜时分和接近午夜出生的孩子

are imbued with extraordinary powers;

都被赋予了非凡的能力。

like Parvati the Witch, a spectacular conjurer;

比如女巫帕瓦缇，超棒的魔术师；

and Saleem’s nemesis Shiva, a gifted warrior.

撒利姆的对手希瓦，天生的斗士。

With his powers of telepathy,

撒利姆借助心灵感应能力，

Saleem forges connections with a vast network of the children of midnight—

能与午夜之子的 庞大网络建立联系——

including a figure who can step through time and mirrors,

包括能穿越时间和镜面的人、

a child who changes their gender when immersed in water,

能在水中改变性别的人、

and multilingual conjoined twins.

和会多种语言的连体双胞胎。

Saleem acts as a delightful guide to magical happenings

撒利姆以亲和的解说者身份，

讲述了那些神奇事件 和当时的历史背景。

and historical context alike.

Although his birthday is a day of celebration,

虽然他的生日是举国庆祝日，

it also marks a turbulent period in Indian history.

但它同时也标志着 印度历史上的动荡时期。

In 1948, the leader of the Indian independence movement,

在 1948 年，

印度独立运动领袖圣雄甘地被暗杀。

Mahatma Gandhi, was assassinated.

Independence also coincided with Partition,

印巴分治日恰好与印度独立同日，

which divided British-controlled India

它将原来由英国控制的印度

into the two nations of India and Pakistan.

分为印度和巴基斯坦两个国家，

This contributed to the outbreak of the Indo-Pakistani Wars in 1965 and 1971.

这导致了 1965 和 1971 年 印巴战争的爆发。

Saleem touches on all this and more,

除此之外，撒利姆的讲述 延伸到了更广的时空，

tracing the establishment of Bangladesh in 1971

追溯到 1971 年孟加拉国的建立

and the emergency rule of Indira Gandhi.

和英迪拉·甘地的紧急统治。

This vast historical frame is one reason why "Midnight’s Children"

如此庞大的历史框架

使得《午夜之子》成为 有史以来最具启发性的

is considered one of the most illuminating works of postcolonial literature

ever written.

后殖民文学作品之一。

This genre typically addresses the experience of people living in colonized

这种题材通常聚焦于 殖民地和前殖民地国家的

and formerly colonized countries,

人民的生活经历，

and explores the fallout through themes like revolution, migration, and identity.

并通过革命、移民和身份等主题， 探讨其长远的社会后果。

Rushdie, who like Saleem was born in 1947, was educated in India and Britain,

和撒利姆一样，鲁西迪生于 1947 年， 曾在印度和英国接受教育，

and is renowned for his cross-continental histories, political commentary,

以其跨东西方的历史及政治评论

and magical realism.

和魔幻现实主义而闻名。

He enriches "Midnight’s Children" with a plethora of Indian

他用大量的印巴文化

充实了《午夜之子》的内容，

and Pakistani cultural references,

from family traditions to food, religion and folktales.

涵盖家庭传统、饮食、 宗教文化和民间故事。

Scribbling by night under the watchful eyes of his lover Padma,

在爱人帕德玛的密切注视下， 撒利姆利用夜间勤奋写作，

Saleem’s frame narrative echoes that of "1001 Nights,"

其故事的叙事结构 呼应了《一千零一夜》，

where a woman named Scheherazade tells her king a series of stories

其中一位叫山鲁佐德的女子 通过每夜给国王讲故事

to keep herself alive.

以活下来。

And as Saleem sees it,

正如撒利姆所理解的，

1001 is “the number of night, of magic, of alternative realities.”

1001 这个数字代表了 “黑夜、魔法、多重现实的数量”。

Over the course of the novel,

在小说的进展中，

Rushdie dazzles us with multiple versions of reality.

鲁西迪以多种版本的现实 令我们目不暇接；

Sometimes, this is like reading a rollercoaster.

有时，故事情节 就像过山车一样跌宕起伏。

Saleem narrates:

撒利姆叙述说：

“Who what am I? My answer:

“我是谁？我是什么呢？ 我的答案是：

I am everyone everything whose being-in- the-world affected was affected by mine.

我是在这个世界上受到 我的影响的每一个人，每一件事。

I am anything that happens after I’ve gone

我是我离开后发生的任何事，

which would not have happened if I had not come.

那些如果我不来 就不会发生的事。

Nor am I particularly exceptional in this matter;

在这件事上我也不例外；

each 'I,' every one of the now-six- hundred-million-plus of us,

每个“我”，和我们现在 六亿多人中的每一个一样，

contains a similar multitude.

都包含着类似的个体。

I repeat for the last time:

我最后一次重申：

to understand me, you’ll have to swallow a world.”

要想了解我， 必须要了解整个世界。”

Saleem’s narrative often has a breathless quality—

萨利姆的叙事方式 往往具有震撼人心的效果 ——

and even as Rushdie depicts the cosmological consequences of a life,

即使当鲁西迪在描绘 生命的宇宙学后果时，

he questions the idea that we can ever condense history into a single narrative.

他也在质疑将历史 浓缩成单一事件的可能性。

His mind-bending plot and shapeshifting characters

其离奇古怪的故事情节和变形人物

have garnered continuing fascination and praise.

获得了持续不断的关注和赞美。

Not only did "Midnight’s Children" win the prestigious Man Booker Prize

《午夜之子》出版当年，

即获享誉小说界的布克奖；

in its year of publication,

but in a 2008 competition that pitted all 39 winners against each other,

2008 年，在 39 位获胜者角逐 布克奖四十年来最重要的小说评比中，

it was named the best of all the winners.

《午夜之子》拔得头筹。

In a masterpiece of epic proportions,

在这部史诗般的杰作中，

Rushdie reveals that there are no singular truths—

鲁西迪揭示出， 没有单一的真理 ——

rather, it’s wiser to believe in several versions of reality at once,

相反，更为明智的做法是 同时相信几个版本的现实，

hold many lives in the palms of our hands,

用手握住多重生命，

and experience multiple moments in a single stroke of the clock.

在每次时间滴答声中， 体验多重的生命时刻。