今夏出行，可以攜帶這7本佳作
Rachel King
2019-05-31
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不論是在機場等待晚點的航班的時候，還是在海邊享受陽光沙灘的時候，一本好書總是你消磨時光的好伙伴。一本引人入勝的好書，總能讓你身心愉快，讓你感覺時間沒有被虛度。 這不，我們已經為大家精心準備了一份小說書單，這幾本小說既妙趣橫生，又發人深省，涵蓋了從當代藝術到人工智能的多個主題，非常適合你出差或放暑假時打包帶到行李里。希望你閱讀愉快，順祝旅行平安。 《靜物》，作者：瑪莉亞·哈梅爾 本書去年也被美國女星瑞茜·威瑟斯彭的“你好陽光”讀書俱樂部列入了精選書單。這本懸疑小說透過一宗謀殺迷案，講述了一個（虛構的）洛杉磯的大型博物館的幕后故事。雖然小說的主線仍然是推理破案，不過作者也花時間闡述了為何女人在藝術和媒體中總是被描繪成一種“靜物”——特別是在媒體和普羅大眾的想象中，大家歷來喜歡把年輕女性當作謀殺案的受害者。（如果你不信的話，請看看Serial播客，再想想著名的“黑色大麗花”案已經有了多少藝術演繹——比如斯嘉麗·約翰遜主演的《艷尸案中案》，連昆汀·塔倫蒂諾即將上映的新片《好萊塢往事》也逃不出這個套路——它講的就是好萊塢女星莎朗·泰特被殺的故事。） 《機器愛上我》，作者：伊恩·麥克尤恩 這個架空故事的背景，設定在20世紀80年代的倫敦。它給人的感覺有點像電視劇《黑鏡》（Black Mirror）中讓觀眾掌控自己的命運的詭異的一集（《Bandersnatch》）。然而隨著兩個人類（一男一女）和一個男性“人造人”（你可以叫他機器人或者人工智能什么的）陷入一段三角戀，劇情走向變得愈發詭異了。當然，書里涉及到很多倫理問題——問題不僅僅在于愛上兩個人，而是在于愛上了一個人工智能——或者是說一個發展出了感情的人造物。 《9個完美陌生人》，作者：莉安·莫里亞提 本書是暢銷書《大小謊言》（Big Little Lies）作者的又一力作，故事的背景雖然發生在澳大利亞的一個度假村，實際上把它挪到任何一個瑜珈館、美容院這種地方也毫不違和。從書名中就可以猜出，故事里肯定有9名來客，不過度假村的經理和員工們也都是有故事的人。書中不時有類似美劇《迷失》（Lost）的閃回，同時又與度假村中當下發生的困境交織，不過這種情況本身也給讀者提供了一些愈療方法。像所有莫里亞提的小說一樣，這本書最吸引人的，還是書中人物鮮活的性格和滑稽的寫作風格，令人不忍釋卷。 《成功湖》，作者：加里·施特恩加特 對于很多美國人來說，看到一本時間線設定在2016年總統大選前后幾個月里的書，恐怕是很難有心情讀下去的。但如果你看到知名作家加里·施特恩加特的名字，最好還是耐心讀下去，因為他的作品從來沒有令人失望，他筆下的故事有時會讓人感到真實得可怕。本書的主要人物是一個為人不恥的理財顧問巴里·科恩，他與其說是主角，還不如說是個大反派。他的形象讓人不由聯想起紐約金融界和2008年金融危機中的很多著名人物。在書中，科恩為了逃避美國證券交易委員會的調查（要說為什么被調查，那就是劇透了），只得坐巴士穿越整個美國進行逃亡（一路上只能付現金）。白人男性的特權在他身上體現得淋漓盡致。他的表現經常令人失望，書中的其他角色也是這樣認為的（當然，這些配角們本身也并非多么討喜）。然而在作者筆下，科恩這樣一個人物依然有其人性的一面，只不過這些時候轉瞬即逝，因為總體上，科恩不值得任何人的同情。另一個不值得同情，但更有人性的角色，是科恩的妻子希瑪，她是一個自學成才的專業人士，也是在政治上站在她丈夫對立面的第一代美國人。通過她，讀者才能真正明白，很多像她一樣的人，為了獲得財富——特別是為了在紐約市獲得財富，要付出什么樣的代價。與此同時，她還要在這種代價與她的原生移民家庭之間達到平衡。 《萊斯》，作者：安德魯·肖恩·格里爾 本書榮獲2018年度普利策小說獎，本書講述了一個小說家的故事，書中并沒有人被殺（除非我真的忽略了什么），然而故事的真相卻直到最后一頁才被揭曉。如果你喜歡一邊旅行，一邊閱讀跟旅行有關的書籍，這本書再適合你不過了。你可以跟著主人公的腳步，從紐約旅行到墨西哥城、意大利、摩洛哥，最后再到日本。在閱讀本書的時候，你的思緒也會跟著主角——即將年滿50歲的亞瑟·萊斯（他從第一頁到最后一頁一直想著自己50歲生日的事），為他的遺憾和失敗所煩惱。不過格里爾不會一直讓他的主人公如此消沉，導致讀者對他失去希望的。你會不由自主地覺得，萊斯雖然是在逃跑，但他卻是在迎著某個我們任何人都無法看到的東西，直到我們到達那里時才能知道它是什么。 《像我一樣的騙子》，作者，芭芭拉·布蘭 6月18日上架 在《我死了再吃》（I’ll Eat When I’m Dead）一書中，作者芭芭拉·布蘭用有趣的筆觸尖銳批評了時尚界的奇葩生態，這次她又攜《像我一樣的騙子》卷土重來。本書依然以當代藝術界為背景（這次故事發生在紐約），主角是一位年輕的藝術家，企圖在沒有人把她當一回事的世界里打拼出一片天地——各行各業的女性估計都會對這一點有共鳴。劇情當然是要怎么虐怎么來——主角遭遇了一堆慘事，比如一把大火燒毀了她的房子和她所有的作品。大概是生怕她不夠慘，她居然還得去解決另一個年輕藝術家的死因。除了探案推理的因素，書中還探索了藝術行業的許多內幕，比如很多貧窮的年輕藝術家來到大城市討生活，夢想有朝一鳴驚人，結果卻只是被富商玩弄和剝削。而這些富人們則依舊過著奢侈糜爛的生活，同時維系著常人永遠無法逾越的貧富差距。 《胭脂》，作者：理查德·克什鮑姆 6月25日上架 《胭脂》這個名字起得恰如其分。故事講述了20世紀20年代，在當時美國社會總體較為壓抑的社會背景下，紐約的三位女性如何促進了現代美容和化妝行業的繁榮發展。故事的主人公是真實的歷史人物——伊麗莎白·雅頓和西西·洛佩茲。雅頓創辦了以自己名字命名的美容帝國，西西·洛佩茲是一名混血，她創辦了美國第一家專為黑人女性推出的直發膏品牌，成為美國歷史上第一名女性黑人百萬富翁。（當然，這里又發生了謀殺案，畢竟劇情要足夠虐才能吸引人看下去。）如果你覺得這個故事很有大片感，說明你很有眼光。好萊塢最知名的女性制片人、《穿普拉達的惡魔》和《阿甘正傳》的制片人溫蒂·費納爾曼已經準備翻拍它了。（財富中文網） 譯者：樸成奎 |
Whether it’s hours spent waiting in an airport terminal due to an unexpected (but really, expected) delay or hours under the sun (with sunscreen) on the beach, a good book is a welcome companion. And a page-turner at that is necessary to keep you entertained and pass the time enjoyably. Thus, here’s a list of fictional works you should consider for packing away while traveling for business or pleasure this summer, both fun and thought-provoking with themes spanning from the contemporary art world to artificial intelligence. Happy reading and safe travels. Still Lives by Maria Hummel A very satisfying page-turner and a selection last year for Reese Witherspoon‘s Hello Sunshine book club, Maria Hummel’s murder mystery novel shines a light on the behind-the-scenes workings of a (fictional) major art museum in Los Angeles. While the whodunnit keeps the plot moving, Hummel also takes time to illuminate how women are portrayed as stationary objects (still lives, if you will) in both art and the media—notably through the media and public’s fascination with young women as murder victims throughout history. (If you need more evidence, just look at the Serial podcast, any dramatization about the Black Dahlia, or even Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, once again dredging up the murder of Sharon Tate.) Machines Like Me by Ian McEwan With a setting in an “alternative 1980s London,” it already sparks similar feelings to Black Mirror’s wacky choose-your-own-adventure episode “Bandersnatch.” The eerie feelings don’t stop there and only continue through what is a bizarre if not tragic love triangle involving two humans (one male, one female) and a male-gendered “synthetic human.” (A robot, A.I., whatever you want to call it.) Naturally, there a number of questions of morality that come into play, not just about falling in love with two people or beings, but about falling in love with an artificial being—or the artificial being developing feelings itself. Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty The latest work from the highly-successful author of Big Little Lies takes place at a retreat resort that, while set in Australia, could be set at any familiar destination for yoga retreats or juice cleanses, whether it be Ojai or Tulum. As you guessed it, there are a nine guests involved, but you also get the backstory on the resort manager and employees as well, offering Lost-like flashbacks intermixed with the present predicament at the resort, which itself presents some healing methods that read like something you’d read (if not now, at least eventually) in a Goop newsletter. But like all of Moriarty’s novels, what keeps you reading is both her fleshed-out characters and droll writing style that just makes the pages fly by. Lake Success by Gary Shteyngart For many Americans, it might be hard to get yourself in the mindset to want to read a book set in the months leading up to and following the 2016 presidential election. In this case, come for the name of brilliant author “Gary Shteyngart” and stay because his work is always entertaining, if not downright scary in just how real it all feel. More of antagonist than protagonist, the book follows disgraced financier Barry Cohen, who seemingly evokes all sorts of notable figures from the New York finance world and the 2008 collapse. Basically on the run from an SEC investigation (to say what for would be a spoiler), Cohen ends upon a Greyhound trip (paid in cash) across America. He’s the definition of white male privilege, and he’s beyond frustrating at times (if not all times), and every other character in the book (most of whom aren’t much likable themselves) feel the same way. And yet, there are moments when Shteyngart demonstrates Cohen, as human as anyone else, does have a heart. Thankfully, these moments are fleeting because frankly Cohen does not deserve anyone’s pity. The other person who does not deserve pity, but does have much more heart, is his wife, Seema, a self-made professional and a first-generation American on the opposite side of the political aisle from her husband. It is through her that the reader really comes to understand the true price many of these people pay when they come into wealth—especially New York City wealth—while trying to balance that with her upbringing and immigrant family. Less by Andrew Sean Greer Winner of the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, there is no murder (unless I truly overlooked something) in Andrew Sean Greer’s charming novel about a novelist—but there is a mystery until the very last page. If you’re the type who likes to read about traveling while traveling, this is your opportunity to travel from New York to Mexico City to Italy to Morocco to Japan in a single sitting. Following soon-to-be-turning-50 Arthur Less (who ruminates his looming birthday from the first page to the last), you are stuck inside his head and stuck with his regrets and failures, Greer never leaves his protagonist down so long that the reader loses hope for him. You can’t help but think that Less is simultaneously running away, and yet somehow running toward something that none of us can quite see until we get there. Fake Like Me by Barbara Bourland Available June 18 In a follow-up to her wickedly fun but pointed critique of the fashion world in I’ll Eat When I’m Dead, author Barbara Bourland is back with Fake Like Me. Also set in the contemporary art world (this time in New York), the protagonist is a young artist trying to build a life for herself in a world that doesn’t take her seriously—a sentiment shared by women across every industry. Not everything is as immediately relatable (hopefully) as she suffers a number of major setbacks, namely a fire destroying her home and all of her work. And as if that weren’t enough, she sets out on a path to solve—you guessed it—the death of another young artist. Possible murder plot aside, there are a number of inner art industry workings examined here, including how many poor young artists come to the big city with the big art scene, only to be manipulated and exploited by wealthy patrons, living an exorbitant life of luxury while perpetuating a never-ending cycle of income disparity. Rouge: A Novel of Beauty and Rivalry by Richard Kirshenbaum Available June 25 Appropriately named Rouge, the story follows three women who catalyze the modern beauty and makeup industry in New York amid the roaring 1920s. in NYC despite the oppressive social standards of 1920s America. Among the historical characters that make appearances and push the plot forward are Elizabeth Arden, founder of her eponymous beauty empire, and CeeCee Lopez, the bi-racial founder of the first African American woman’s hair relaxer business and became the first female African American millionaire. (And yes, there’s a murder plot in there as well. This is a page-turner list, after all.) And if you’re guessing this sounds more like the treatment for a big budget movie, you’re right: Wendy Finerman—one of the top female producers in Hollywood, behind The Devil Wears Prada and Forrest Gump—already optioned it. |
