奧巴馬總統在讀什麼書

在奧巴馬的書單，為他的旅途一瞥奧巴馬總統在讀什麼書

華盛頓 - 美國總統奧巴馬從來沒有訪問過崎嶇的山地車臣，但如果他挖進他買了上周末的小說之一，「生命現象的一個星座，」他將被運往不懈的暴力和悲劇的土地，那裡的無辜被捲入戰爭經常為有罪。

維奧星座

Perhaps Mr. Obama is seeking a deeper understanding of the roots of the ethnic bloodletting after Chechnya vaulted back to the front pages this year with the Boston Marathon bombings. Or perhaps he is thinking about his troubled relationship with Russia.

或許，在今年波士頓馬拉松比賽現場的爆炸案讓車臣重返各大媒體的頭版位置後，奧巴馬正尋求更深入地了解族裔流血衝突的根源。也可能，他是在思索自己同俄羅斯的緊張關係。

Either way, the novel would give the president a more visceral feel for one of the world』s most brutal conflicts than the graphic intelligence papers that cross his desk.

不管怎樣，相比於辦公桌上那些滿是圖表的情報文件，這部小說能讓奧巴馬總統對世界上衝突最殘酷地區之一形成更為深切的感性認識。

「I imagine someone in his position gets a lot of facts and figures,」 Anthony Marra, the author of the book, mused the other day. 「But the novel is really about the experience, about the psyche and the soul.」

「我想，身處他這個位置的人總是會接收大量事實和數據，」該書作者安東尼·馬拉(Anthony Marra)沉思著說，「但這部小說是關於經歷、關於心理和靈魂的。」

A reading list offers a rare window into the presidential mind, a peek at what a commander in chief may be thinking about beyond the prosaic and repetitive briefings that dominate his days. The books on the White House night stand provide relief, escape or inspiration. At times they can influence a president』s approach to the crises and challenges he confronts.

閱讀清單打開了一扇通往總統內心世界的難得的窗戶，讓外界得以窺見，除了那些佔據了他白天大部分時間的重複而平淡的簡報外，這位總司令官可能還會想些什麼。白宮床頭柜上的書會讓總統放鬆心情、逃離煩心事或是得到靈感。有時，它們還能影響總統應對擺在面前的危機和挑戰的方式。

Many of the nearly two dozen volumes Mr. Obama picked up at Washington』s Politics and Prose bookstore will be gifts, and certainly children』s tales like 「Harold and the Purple Crayon」 offer few lessons for dealing with Tea Party congressmen. But even if they are given away, some of the books reflect what Mr. Obama has already read or would like to read. They are volumes about identity and reinvention, about what it means to be American, and about family, love, betrayal and redemption.

許多都會被用來作為禮物。當然，像《哈羅德和紫色蠟筆》(Harold and the Purple Crayon)這樣的童話書籍肯定不會對應對茶黨(Tea Party)國會議員起到什麼啟迪作用。但即便它們被送人，其中一些書也能反映出奧巴馬讀過哪些書，或想讀什麼書。這些書是關於身份認同和再造，關於身為美國人意味著什麼，關於家庭、愛、背叛和救贖的著作。

Unlike many of his predecessors, who devoured American history and biographies, Mr. Obama』s tastes lean toward the literary, in keeping with a man whose first memoir deeply explored issues of race and self. While Mr. Obama has read his share of Abraham Lincoln, he seems more intent on breaking out, mentally at least, from what Harry S. Truman once called the crown jewel of the American penal system.

以前的很多美國總統都飽覽美國歷史和人物傳記他，但與他們不同，奧巴馬的口味傾向於文學。這與他的第一本回憶錄深入探索種族和自我問題這一點相符。儘管奧巴馬也看了不少關於亞伯拉罕·林肯(Abraham Lincoln)的書，但他似乎更想擺脫——至少在精神上擺脫——哈里·S·杜魯門(Harry S. Truman)所稱的美國刑罰體系的明珠（指白宮——譯註）。

One of Mr. Obama』s more intriguing choices was Jhumpa Lahiri』s 「The Lowland,」 about two brothers from India, one who comes to build a new life in America and the other who becomes ensnared in politics back home. Ms. Lahiri said Mr. Obama may relate to his own conflicting paths as the son of a father from Kenya and a mother from Kansas.

奧巴馬比較耐人尋味的選擇之一是鍾芭·拉希莉(Jhumpa Lahiri)的《低地》(The Lowland)。這本書的主角是來自印度的兄弟倆，一個來美國開啟了全新的生活，另一個在祖國投身政治。拉希莉說，父親來自肯亞、母親來自堪薩斯州的奧巴馬，可能聯想到了自己頗為矛盾的歷程。

「He has a sort of double vision of America as I do, as many people do, many people who have been both brought up and bred within America but also have a different perspective of the country,」 Ms. Lahiri said. 「In a sense, part of him comes from outside America and he embodies both that contradiction and that richness.」

「他和我一樣，對美國懷有一種雙重看法，許多人都這樣，許多土生土長的美國人也對這個國家有一種不同的視角，」拉希莉說，「在某種意義上，他也有一部分來自美國以外，他既體現了那種矛盾，也體現了那種豐富。」

Another presidential choice, Julie Otsuka』s novel 「The Buddha in the Attic,」 explores issues of immigrants and America as she chronicles the tale of Japanese women brought to the United States as 「picture brides」 for migrant workers, only to have their families wind up in World War II internment camps.

總統選的另一本書是朱麗·大塚(Julie Otsuka)的《閣樓里的佛》(The Buddha in the Attic)。作者記述了日本女性作為移民工人的「照片新娘」被帶到美國、結果全家在二戰期間被定性為敵國僑民、身陷集中營的故事，探究了移民與美國的課題。

「If anyone knows what it』s like to be an outsider from very, very difficult circumstances and someone who had to go back and forth between cultures,」 it is Mr. Obama, Ms. Otsuka said.

朱麗·大塚說，「如果有什麼人知道來自非常艱難的處境的外來者有何感受，如果有什麼人必須與不同文化打交道，」那麼這個人就是奧巴馬。

The book choices of previous White House occupants offer similar looks into presidential thought.

同樣地，前白宮主人的書籍選擇，也讓外界得以窺見總統的思想。

A re-elected Richard M. Nixon was inspired to ask his cabinet to write letters of resignation after rereading Robert Blake』s biography of Benjamin Disraeli, said Tevi Troy, a former aide to George W. Bush, who has made a study of what presidents have consumed in popular culture. Bill Clinton consumed nonfiction, including biography, history and volumes about the emerging information economy of his era.

喬治·W·布希(George W. Bush)的前助手特維·特洛伊(Tevi Troy)說，當年再次當選的理查德·M·尼克松(Richard M. Nixon)在重讀了羅伯特·布萊克(Robert Blake)所著的本傑明·迪斯雷利(Benjamin Disraeli)的傳記後，受到啟發，要求他的內閣成員寫辭職信。特洛伊對歷屆總統在流行文化方面的消費習慣進行了研究。比爾·柯林頓喜歡看非小說的書，包括傳記、歷史作品，還有他那個時代出現的有關信息經濟的書籍。

Mr. Bush was more of a reader than many Americans imagined — he had reading contests with Karl Rove, his top political adviser, measured not just by the number of books finished, but the cumulative number of pages and even square inches of text. He was particularly drawn to Lincoln, reading 14 books about the Civil War president while in office.

布希比許多美國人想像的更喜歡讀書，他和自己的高級政治顧問卡爾·羅夫(Karl Rove)進行了閱讀競賽，競賽不只要衡量讀完的書冊數，還要衡量累計的頁數，甚至文字版面的平方英寸「面積」。他對林肯格外著迷，在任期間閱讀了14本關於這位南北戰爭(Civil War)時期的總統的書籍。

His reading at times had impact. Natan Sharansky』s book 「The Case for Democracy」 helped inform Mr. Bush』s second-term focus on spreading freedom around the world.

布希的閱讀有時產生了影響。比如，納坦·夏蘭斯基(Natan Sharansky)的著作《論民主》(The Case for Democracy)就啟發他在第二個任期專註於在全世界傳播自由。

And Alistair Horne』s history of the war in Algeria, 「A Savage War of Peace,」 taught Mr. Bush that more people died after the French withdrew — reinforcing his own reluctance to pull out of Iraq.

阿利斯泰爾·霍恩(Alistair Horne)描述阿爾及利亞戰爭史的書籍《野蠻的和平戰爭》(A Savage War of Peace)告訴布希，法國撤軍之後喪生的人更多，這一點強化了他不願從伊拉克撤軍的信念。

「Obama』s book selections have been harder to read,」 said Mr. Troy, the author of 「What Jefferson Read, Ike Watched, and Obama Tweeted.」

著有《傑斐遜讀的書、艾森奧威爾看的電視和奧巴馬推送的帖子》(What Jefferson Read, Ike Watched, and Obama Tweeted)一書的特洛伊說，「奧巴馬選擇的書更難讀。」

But as he prepares to pull most American troops out of Afghanistan next year, Mr. Obama picked up Khaled Hosseini』s 「The Kite Runner」 and James Salter』s evocative 「All That Is,」 a story of a World War II naval officer turned book editor searching for love.

不過，在奧巴馬準備明年撤回大部分駐阿富汗美軍之際，他挑選了卡勒德·胡賽尼(Khaled Hosseini)的《追風箏的人》(The Kite Runner)和詹姆斯·索爾特(James Salter)的回憶體小說《所有一切》(All That Is)，後者描述了一名由二戰海軍軍官轉變成圖書編輯的人搜尋愛情的故事。

Mr. Marra』s book was one of two Mr. Obama selected set in Russia, the other being Jason Matthews』s 「Red Sparrow,」 a spy thriller in Vladimir V. Putin』s Moscow.

奧巴馬選擇了兩本以俄羅斯為背景的圖書，馬拉的書《生命如不朽繁星》是其中之一，另一本是賈森·馬修斯(Jason Matthews)的《紅麻雀》(Red Sparrow)，這是以普京主政的莫斯科為背景的一部間諜驚悚小說。

「You』d think after he picks up the president』s daily briefing, the last thing he』d want to read is a spy novel,」 said Mr. Matthews, who spent 33 years in the C.I.A.

馬修斯曾在中情局工作33年。他說，「你肯定會以為，在每天看完為總統準備的內參後，他最不想讀的東西就是間諜小說了。」

Mr. Obama, who once joked that he had so little time for reading that 「I basically floss my teeth and watch 『SportsCenter,』 」 also bought Nicholas Dawidoff』s 「Collision Low Crossers,」 about life in the National Football League, and David Epstein』s 「The Sports Gene,」 about the science of athletic performance.

奧巴馬曾經開玩笑說，他沒時間讀書，「我基本上只是在用牙線清潔牙齒時有點時間看看SportsCenter（電視節目）」。他還買了尼古拉斯·達維多夫(Nicholas Dawidoff)的《合理衝撞》(Collision Low Crossers)——講的是他在全美橄欖球聯賽(National Football League)的生活經歷，以及大衛·愛潑斯坦(David Epstein)的《運動基因》(The Sports Gene)——講的是提高運動員成績的科學。

In selecting Cheryl Strayed』s 「Wild,」 her memoir of losing her mother, her marriage and almost herself until she takes a thousand-mile backpacking trip along the Pacific Crest Trail, Mr. Obama may identify with her interior journey.

在《荒野》(Wild)這部書中，謝莉爾·斯特爾德(Cheryl Strayed)回憶了她在失去母親、婚姻，甚至幾乎失去自己之後，投入沿著太平洋山脊徑(Pacific Crest Trail)的上千英里長途跋涉的經歷。奧巴馬選擇這本書，可能是認同她的這種精神之旅。

「I think President Obama has really searched his soul in the way that writers do,」 Ms. Strayed said. 「I certainly, like many people, identify with Obama』s journey. He』s really had a lot of people who loved him well, who had a lot of teachers. But he』s really a self-made man. So much of 『Wild』 is about how we ultimately have to make ourselves.」

斯特爾德說，「我覺得奧巴馬真的像作家們那樣，審視了自己的靈魂。當然，像許多人一樣，我也認同奧巴馬的經歷。真的有許多人喜愛他，他有很多良師。但他是一個靠自己的奮鬥成功的人。《荒野》中很大一部分內容都在告訴人們，最終我們都必須依靠自己。」