The Top 10 Longreads of 2012
About This List
关于此列表
Thanks to everyone who has participated in the Longreads community this year, and to all of our guests who shared their favorite stories of 2012.
感谢今年参与 Longreads 社区的所有人，以及分享 2012 年他们最喜欢的故事的所有嘉宾。
The below list represents our editors’ favorite stories of the year, for both nonfiction and fiction.
下面的列表代表了我们的编辑今年最喜欢的故事，包括非小说类和小说类。
Longreads is edited by Mark Armstrong and Mike Dang, with Kjell Reigstad, Joyce King Thomas, Hakan Bakkalbasi, Jodi Ettenberg and Erika Kussmann.
Longreads 由 Mark Armstrong 和 Mike Dang 编辑，编辑还有 Kjell Reigstad、Joyce King Thomas、Hakan Bakkalbasi、Jodi Ettenberg 和 Erika Kussmann。
## 2012 Nonfiction Picks
## 2012 年非小说类精选
## 1.
## 1.
Grace in Broken Arrow
断箭中的恩典
Kiera Feldman | This Land Press | May 24, 2012 | 56 minutes (14,008 words)
基拉·费尔德曼 |这土地出版社| 2012 年 5 月 24 日 | 56 分钟（14,008 字）
The story of a sex abuse scandal inside a Tulsa Christian school, where church leaders were in denial and where the crimes shattered the lives of victims and their families:
塔尔萨一所基督教学校发生性虐待丑闻的故事，教会领袖对此予以否认，这些罪行摧毁了受害者及其家人的生活：
“No more sleepovers.
“不再过夜了。
No more babysitting, or car rides home.
不再需要照顾孩子，也不再需要开车回家。
No more being alone with children or ‘lingering hugs given to students (especially using your hands to stroke or fondle).’ Aaron Thompson—Coach Thompson to his PE students—sat in the principal’s office at Grace Fellowship Christian School as his bosses went through the four-page Corrective Action Plan point by point.
不再单独和孩子们在一起，也不再“对学生挥之不去的拥抱（尤其是用手抚摸或抚摸）。亚伦·汤普森（Aaron Thompson）——他的体育学生的教练——坐在格雷斯团契基督教学校的校长办公室里，他的老板们逐条审查了长达四页的纠正行动计划。
It was October of 2001, the same month Aaron added ‘Teacher of the Week’ to his resume.
那是 2001 年 10 月，同月亚伦在他的简历中添加了“本周最佳教师”。
“Grace’s leader, Bob Yandian—’Pastor Bob’ as everyone calls him—wasn’t there: no need, he had people for this kind of thing.
“格雷斯的领袖鲍勃·延迪（大家都这样称呼他‘鲍勃牧师’）不在场：没必要，他有人做这种事。
Pastor Bob’s time was better spent sequestered in his study, writing books and radio broadcasts.
鲍勃牧师的时间最好花在书房里，写书和广播。
His lieutenant, Associate Pastor Chip Olin, was a hardnosed guy, ‘ornery as heck,’ people said.
他的副手奇普·奥林副牧师是个顽固的人，人们说“脾气暴躁”。
Olin brought a USA Today article on the characteristics of child molesters to the meeting.
奥林在会上带来了《今日美国》一篇关于儿童猥亵者特征的文章。
At age 24, Olin explained, Aaron was acting immature and unprofessional, and someone might get the wrong idea.”
奥林解释说，24 岁的亚伦表现得不成熟、不专业，有人可能会产生错误的想法。
More stories from This Land Press
来自这片土地出版社的更多故事
## 2.
## 2.
State of the Species
物种状况
Charles C.
查尔斯·C.
Mann | Orion | October 25, 2012 | 32 minutes (8,232 words)
曼|猎户座 | 2012 年 10 月 25 日 | 32 分钟（8,232 个字）
A brief history of Homo sapiens—and a prognosis for our survival:
智人简史——以及我们生存的预测：
“Microorganisms have changed the face of the earth, crumbling stone and even giving rise to the oxygen we breathe.
“微生物改变了地球的面貌，破碎了石头，甚至产生了我们呼吸的氧气。
Compared to this power and diversity, Margulis liked to tell me, pandas and polar bears were biological epiphenomena—interesting and fun, perhaps, but not actually significant.
马古利斯喜欢告诉我，与这种力量和多样性相比，熊猫和北极熊是生物的副现象——也许很有趣，但实际上并不重要。
“Does that apply to human beings, too?
“这也适用于人类吗？
I once asked her, feeling like someone whining to Copernicus about why he couldn’t move the earth a little closer to the center of the universe.
有一次我问她，感觉就像有人向哥白尼抱怨为什么他不能让地球离宇宙中心更近一点。
Aren’t we special at all?
我们一点都不特别吗？
## See also: “The Art of Waiting” (Belle Boggs, April 2012)
## 另请参阅：“等待的艺术”（Belle Boggs，2012 年 4 月）
Books by Charles C.
查尔斯·C. 所著书籍
Mann on Amazon
亚马逊上的曼恩
## 3.
## 3.
The Yankee Comandante
洋基司令
David Grann | The New Yorker | May 21, 2012 | 88 minutes (22,146 words)
大卫·格兰 |纽约客 | 2012 年 5 月 21 日 | 88 分钟（22,146 字）
A story of love and revolution in Cuba.
古巴爱情与革命的故事。
William Morgan was a free-spirited American drawn to Cuba to help Castro fight, only to grow disenchanted with his embrace of communism:
威廉·摩根是一位自由奔放的美国人，他被吸引到古巴来帮助卡斯特罗战斗，却对他对共产主义的拥抱不再抱有幻想：
“One day in the spring of 1958, while Morgan was visiting a guerrilla camp for a meeting of the Second Front’s chiefs of staff, he encountered a rebel he had never seen before: small and slender, with a face shielded by a cap.
1958年春天的一天，摩根在参观游击队营地参加第二方面军参谋长会议时，遇到了一个他以前从未见过的叛乱分子：身材矮小、苗条，脸上戴着帽子。
Only up close was it evident that the rebel was a woman.
只有走近了才发现叛乱者是一名女性。
She was in her early twenties, with dark eyes and tawny skin, and, to conceal her identity, she had cut her curly light-brown hair short and dyed it black.
她二十岁出头，深色的眼睛和茶色的皮肤，为了隐藏自己的身份，她把一头浅棕色的卷发剪短了，染成了黑色。
Though she had a delicate beauty, she locked and loaded a gun with the ease of a bank robber.
虽然她有着精致的美貌，但她却像银行劫匪一样轻松地锁枪上膛。
Morgan later said of a pistol that she carried, ‘She knows how to use it.'”
摩根后来谈到她携带的手枪时说，“她知道如何使用它。”
See also: “The Caging of America” (Adam Gopnik, January 2012)
另请参阅：“美国的囚禁”（Adam Gopnik，2012 年 1 月）
Books by David Grann on Amazon
亚马逊上大卫·格兰 (David Grann) 的书籍
## 4.
## 4.
Snowfall: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek
降雪：隧道溪的雪崩
John Branch | The New York Times | December 20, 2012 | 70 minutes (17,639 words)
约翰·布兰奇 |纽约时报 | 2012 年 12 月 20 日 | 70 分钟（17,639 字）
The story of 16 world-class skiers and snowboarders who decided to go skiing together in Washington’s Cascades in February 2012, and what happened to them when an avalanche hit:
2012 年 2 月，16 位世界级滑雪运动员和单板滑雪运动员决定一起去华盛顿喀斯喀特滑雪，以及雪崩发生时他们的遭遇：
“‘Just as I had the thought about what I’m going to do, wondering if it was going to bury me, that’s right when I could feel it,’ Castillo said.
卡斯蒂略说：“正当我想到我要做什么，想知道它是否会埋葬我时，就在我能感觉到它的时候。”
‘It was like a wave.
‘这就像波浪一样。
Like when you’re in the ocean and the tide moves away from you.
就像当你在海洋中时，潮水会远离你。
You’re getting thrashed and you feel it pull out and you’re like, O.K., I can stand up now.’
你被殴打了，感觉它被拉出来了，你会想，好吧，我现在可以站起来了。
“Castillo saw daylight again.
“卡斯蒂略重见天日。
His camera captured snow sliding past his legs for another 13 seconds.
他的相机捕捉到了雪从他腿上滑过的画面，持续了 13 秒。
The forest sounded as if it were full of sickly frogs.
森林里听起来好像充满了生病的青蛙。
It was the trees, scrubbed of their fresh snow, still swaying and creaking around him.
那是那些被新雪擦掉的树木，仍在他周围摇晃、吱吱作响。
“Castillo turned to look back up the hill.
卡斯蒂略转身回头看向山上。
“‘Where there were three people, there was nobody,’ Castillo said.”
“‘那里有三个人，却没有人，’卡斯蒂略说。”
See also: “In China, Human Costs Are Built Into an iPad” (Charles Duhigg, David Barboza, January 2012)
另请参阅：“在中国，iPad 中内置了人力成本”（Charles Duhigg、David Barboza，2012 年 1 月）
## 5.
## 5.
The Innocent Man
无辜的人
Pamela Colloff | Texas Monthly | October 11, 2012 | 113 minutes (28,149 words)
帕梅拉·科洛夫 |德克萨斯月刊|十月 11, 2012 | 113 分钟（28,149 字）
A two-part series deconstructing the case against Michael Morton, who was convicted in 1987 of killing his wife but has maintained his innocence:
这部由两部分组成的系列节目解构了迈克尔·莫顿 (Michael Morton) 的案件，他于 1987 年因杀害妻子而被定罪，但坚称自己无罪：
“Michael was breathing hard.
“迈克尔呼吸困难。
‘Is my son okay?’ he asked.
“我儿子还好吗？”他问道。
“‘He’s fine,’ Boutwell said.
“‘他很好，’布特韦尔说。
‘He’s at the neighbors’.’
“他在邻居那里”。
“‘How about my wife?’
“‘我的妻子呢？’
“The sheriff was matter-of-fact.
“治安官是实事求是的。
‘She’s dead,’ he replied.
“她死了，”他回答道。
“Boutwell led Michael into the kitchen and introduced him to Sergeant Don Wood, the case’s lead investigator.
布特韦尔领着迈克尔走进厨房，把他介绍给了该案的首席调查员唐·伍德中士。
‘We have to ask you a few questions before we can get your son,’ Boutwell told him.
“在找到你的儿子之前，我们必须问你几个问题，”布特韦尔告诉他。
Dazed, Michael took a seat at the kitchen table.
迈克尔茫然地在餐桌旁坐下。
He had shown no reaction to the news of Christine’s death, and as he sat across from the two lawmen, he tried to make sense of what was happening around him.
他对克里斯汀去世的消息没有表现出任何反应，当他坐在两名执法人员对面时，他试图弄清楚周围发生的事情。
Sheriff’s deputies brushed past him, opening drawers and rifling through cabinets.
治安官的副手从他身边擦身而过，打开抽屉，翻箱倒柜。
He could see the light of a camera flash exploding again and again in the master bedroom as a police photographer documented what Michael realized must have been the place where Christine was killed.
他可以看到主卧室里相机闪光灯的光芒一次又一次地爆炸，一名警察摄影师记录下了迈克尔意识到的地方，这肯定是克里斯汀被杀的地方。
He could hear officers entering and exiting his house, exchanging small talk.
他能听到警察进出他的房子，并闲聊。
Someone dumped a bag of ice into the kitchen sink and stuck Cokes in it.
有人把一袋冰块倒进厨房的水槽里，然后把可乐塞进去。
Cigarette smoke hung in the air.”
空气中弥漫着香烟的烟雾。”
Read part two of “The Innocent Man”
读《无辜者》第二部
See also: “Portrait of the Artist as a Postman” (Jason Sheeler, September 2012)
另请参阅：“作为邮差的艺术家的肖像”（Jason Sheeler，2012 年 9 月）
## 6.
## 6.
‘I Just Want to Feel Everything’: Hiding Out with Fiona Apple, Musical Hermit
“我只想感受一切”：与音乐隐士 Fiona Apple 一起躲藏
Dan P.
丹·P。
Lee | New York magazine | June 17, 2012 | 29 minutes (7,287 words)
李 |纽约杂志 | 2012 年 6 月 17 日 | 29 分钟（7,287 个字）
A lost weekend, or several weeks, with Fiona Apple:
与 Fiona Apple 一起度过的一个失去的周末或几周：
“A week later, my phone beeped.
“一周后，我的手机响起了提示音。
It was a heavily pixelated video.
这是一个严重像素化的视频。
She was wearing glasses, looking straight at me:
她戴着眼镜，直视着我：
“‘Hi, Dan.
“‘嗨，丹。
It’s Fiona.
这是菲奥娜。
[She moves the camera to her dog.] This is Janet.
[她把镜头移到她的狗身上。] 这是珍妮特。
[She moves it back.] Um, are you coming out here tomorrow?
[她把它移了回来。] 嗯，你明天要来这里吗？
Um, I, I, I don’t know—I’m baffled at this thing that I just got, this e-mail shit, I don’t know what these people—are they trying to antagonize me so that I do shit like this, so that I start fights with them?
嗯，我，我，我不知道——我对我刚刚收到的东西感到困惑，这封电子邮件，我不知道这些人是什么——他们是不是想对抗我，让我做这样的事情，以便我和他们打架？
I don’t understand why there are pictures of models on a page about me.
我不明白为什么关于我的页面上有模特的照片。
Who the fuck are they?
他们到底是谁？
What?
什么？
What?’
什么？
“The text attached read: ‘And are you western-bound?
“随附的文字是：‘你要去西方吗？
And hi there!
你好！
F’
F’
“I had no idea what she was talking about.
“我不知道她在说什么。
Two days later, I landed at LAX.”
两天后，我抵达洛杉矶国际机场。”
See also: “A Life Worth Ending” (Michael Wolff, May 2012)
另请参阅：“A Life Worth Ending”（迈克尔·沃尔夫，2012 年 5 月）
## 7.
## 7.
The Queens of Montague Street
蒙塔古街皇后区
Nancy Rommelmann | January 1, 2012 | 41 minutes (10,299 words)
南希·隆梅尔曼 | 2012 年 1 月 1 日 | 41 分钟（10,299 字）
[Ebook, 99 cents] Memories of life as a truant teen in 1970s Brooklyn:
[电子书，99 美分] 20 世纪 70 年代布鲁克林逃学青少年的生活回忆：
“Most of the time we just hung out, in front of the newly opened Baskin-Robbins, on the corner of Montague and Henry Streets.
“大多数时候，我们只是在蒙塔古街和亨利街拐角处新开业的巴斯金罗宾斯店前闲逛。
This corner was the epicenter of Brooklyn Heights, a community unaccustomed to seeing its daughters straddling mailboxes and flicking cigarette butts into the street.
这个角落是布鲁克林高地的中心，这个社区不习惯看到女儿们跨坐在邮箱上，向街上扔烟头。
Nor were we used to fielding the looks we began to get: wary, unhappy, every father coming home from Wall Street and every mother on her way to Key Food shooting us stern, silent reprimands.
我们也不习惯面对我们开始看到的表情：警惕、不高兴，每一位从华尔街回家的父亲和每一位前往Key Food的母亲都向我们发出严厉、无声的斥责。
It made me squirm, but it also pissed me off: What was I doing that was so horrible?
这让我局促不安，但也让我生气：我做了什么如此可怕的事情？
And if they had something to say, why didn’t they say it?
如果他们有话要说，为什么不说呢？
While our little petri dish of a neighborhood evidently considered hanging out anathema, I was on the fence; my dad had grown up in Greenwich Village, an Italian kid playing stickball and rolling tires in the Hudson River.
虽然我们附近的小培养皿显然被认为是令人厌恶的，但我却持观望态度；我的父亲在格林威治村长大，是一个意大利孩子，在哈德逊河里玩棒球和滚动轮胎。
Isn’t this what teenagers did?”
这不是青少年干的事吗？”
See also: “The GOP and Me” (Rany Jazayerli, November 2012)
另请参阅：“共和党和我”（Rany Jazayerli，2012 年 11 月）
## 8.
## 8.
How A Career Ends: Nancy Hogshead-Makar, Olympic Swimming Gold Medalist
职业生涯如何结束：奥运会游泳金牌得主南希·霍格黑德·马卡尔
Rob Trucks | Deadspin | July 31, 2012 | 21 minutes (5,369 words)
罗布卡车|死旋 | 2012 年 7 月 31 日 | 21 分钟（5,369 字）
A first-person account of an Olympic career, a violent attack, and what happened next:
以第一人称的方式讲述了奥运生涯、暴力袭击以及接下来发生的事情：
“My coach calls me up and says, ‘Listen, If you want to keep your scholarship’—by the way, he’s totally devious here—he said, ‘If you want your scholarship, all you have to do is show up for the meets.
“我的教练打电话给我说，‘听着，如果你想保留你的奖学金’——顺便说一句，他在这里完全不诚实——他说，‘如果你想要获得奖学金，你所要做的就是参加比赛。
Don’t do anything else.
不要做任何其他事情。
Just show up.
只要出现。
You don’t have to come to a single practice.
你不必参加任何一次练习。
You don’t have to warm up.
你不必热身。
Just show up at the meet.’
只要出现在会议上即可。
“Well, I was unhappy with how the first warmup went.
“嗯，我对第一次热身的进展并不满意。
I didn’t think I was in good enough shape for the first warmup, but I won all my events, OK?
我认为我的状态对于第一次热身来说还不够好，但我赢得了所有的比赛，好吗？
And so before the second time I thought, I’ll just go to a few workouts, you know.
所以在第二次之前我想，我会去参加一些训练，你知道。
And then slowly, but surely…
然后慢慢地，但肯定地……
“He was just so spot on.
“他真是太到位了。
So then, sure enough, I’m now going to two workouts a day.
那么，果然，我现在每天要进行两次锻炼。
I’m lifting weights and I totally get the hunger in a big, big way and my time was the third-fastest in the country.
我正在举重，我完全感到饥饿，我的时间是全国第三快的。
It wasn’t like the end-of-the-year time, which would be much faster, but I was really psyched that I could go that fast and do that well with just the amount of training that I had had.”>
这不像年底的时间，那会快得多，但我真的很兴奋，我可以走得那么快，并且只需要我所接受的训练就可以做得很好。”>
See also: “What Happens When A 35-Year-Old Man Retakes The SAT?” (Drew Magary, March 2012)
另请参阅：“35 岁男子重考 SAT 时会发生什么？” （德鲁·马加里，2012 年 3 月）
Books by Rob Trucks on Amazon
亚马逊上 Rob Trucks 所著的书籍
## 9.
## 9.
The Most Amazing Bowling Story Ever
有史以来最精彩的保龄球故事
Michael J.
迈克尔·J。
Mooney | D Magazine | June 20, 2012 | 18 minutes (4,622 words)
穆尼 | D 杂志 | 2012 年 6 月 20 日 | 18 分钟（4,622 字）
It’s still remembered as “That Night”—when bowler Bill Fong stunned the crowd at the Plano Super Bowl:
人们仍然记得“那一夜”——当保龄球手比尔·方在普莱诺超级碗上震惊了观众时：
“Most people think perfection in bowling is a 300 game, but it isn’t.
“大多数人认为保龄球比赛的完美在于 300 场比赛，但事实并非如此。
Any reasonably good recreational bowler can get lucky one night and roll 12 consecutive strikes.
任何相当优秀的休闲投球手都可以在一晚幸运地连续投出 12 次全垒打。
If you count all the bowling alleys all over America, somebody somewhere bowls a 300 every night.
如果你算一下美国所有的保龄球馆，某个地方就会有人每晚打出 300 个保龄球。
But only a human robot can roll three 300s in a row—36 straight strikes—for what’s called a ‘perfect series.’ More than 95 million Americans go bowling, but, according to the United States Bowling Congress, there have been only 21 certified 900s since anyone started keeping track.
但只有人类机器人才能连续投出 300 球（36 次连续击中），形成所谓的“完美系列赛”。超过 9500 万美国人打保龄球，但根据美国保龄球大会的数据，自从有人开始追踪以来，只有 21 个经过认证的 900 球。
“Bill Fong’s run at perfection started as most of his nights do, with practice at around 5:30 pm.
“比尔·方（Bill Fong）的完美跑步和他大多数夜晚一样开始，在下午 5:30 左右进行练习。
He bowls in four active leagues and he rolls at least 20 games a week, every week.
他在四个活跃的联赛中打保龄球，每周至少打 20 场比赛。
That night, January 18, 2010, he wanted to focus on his timing.”
2010 年 1 月 18 日那天晚上，他想专注于自己的时机。”
See also: “The Honor System” (Chris Jones, Esquire)
另请参阅：“荣誉制度”（Chris Jones，Esquire）
## 10.
## 10.
Come On, Feel the Buzz
来吧，感受嗡嗡声
>Alex Pareene | The Baffler | November 5, 2012 | 26 minutes (6,530 words)
>亚历克斯·帕林 |挡板|十一月 5, 2012 | 26 分钟（6,530 字）
A critical look at the political newspaper and website Politico:
对政治报纸和网站 Politico 的批判性审视：
“One classic method of unleashing irresistible Drudge bait on the Internet is to boil another outlet’s story down to a couple salacious-sounding excerpts, or (failing an effective condensing strategy) to simply reinterpret the material to fit a Drudge-friendly narrative.
“在互联网上释放令人难以抗拒的苦役诱饵的一个经典方法是将另一个媒体的故事浓缩为几个听起来淫荡的摘录，或者（未能采取有效的压缩策略）简单地重新解释材料以适应苦役友好的叙述。
This past May, for example, Vanity Fair published an excerpt from Maraniss’s biography of Barack Obama.
例如，今年五月，《名利场》发表了马拉尼斯为巴拉克·奥巴马撰写的传记的摘录。
(The liberal media vetting blackout continued apace, in other words.) Politico’s Dylan Byers took the excerpt and turned it into a little micro-news story: Obama admitted to Maraniss that certain figures in his first memoir were ‘compressions’—i.e., composite characters.
（换句话说，自由派媒体的审查封锁仍在迅速进行。）Politico 的迪伦·拜尔斯 (Dylan Byers) 摘录了这段摘录，并将其变成了一个小微新闻故事：奥巴马向马拉尼斯承认，他的第一部回忆录中的某些人物是“压缩的”——即复合人物。
Byers completely missed that Obama explicitly said at the outset of his own book that some characters were composites, but Drudge didn’t care.
拜尔斯完全忽略了奥巴马在自己的书一开始就明确表示某些角色是合成的，但德拉奇并不在意。
‘Obama Admits Fabricating Girlfriend in Memoir,’ went his headline, with a link to Politico instead of Vanity Fair—and another false right-wing meme got its wings.”
他的标题是“奥巴马承认在回忆录中捏造了女朋友”，并附上了《政治》杂志而不是《名利场》的链接——另一个错误的右翼模因得到了发展。”
See also: “Dead End on Shakin’ Street” (Thomas Frank, July 2012)
另请参阅：“Shakin’ Street 的死胡同”（Thomas Frank，2012 年 7 月）
## 2012 Fiction Picks
## 2012 年小说精选
## 1.
## 1.
Cold Pastoral
冷田园
Marina Keegan | The New Yorker | October 5, 2012 | 28 minutes (7,023 words)
玛丽娜·基冈 |纽约客 | 2012 年 10 月 5 日 | 28 分钟（7,023 字）
A college student grapples with the death of her on-and-off boyfriend:
一名大学生正在努力应对她时断时续的男友的死亡：
“We were in the stage where we couldn’t make serious eye contact for fear of implying we were too invested.
“我们正处于无法进行认真眼神交流的阶段，因为担心暗示我们投入太多。
We used euphemisms like ‘I miss you’ and ‘I like you’ and smiled every time our noses got too close.
我们使用诸如“我想你”和“我喜欢你”之类的委婉说法，每次我们的鼻子靠得太近时，我们都会微笑。
I was staying over at his place two or three nights a week and met his parents at an awkward brunch in Burlington.
我每周在他家住两三个晚上，并在伯灵顿的一次尴尬的早午餐上见到了他的父母。
A lot of time was spent being consciously romantic: making sushi, walking places, waiting too long before responding to texts.
很多时间都花在有意识地浪漫上：做寿司、散步、在回复短信之前等待太久。
I fluctuated between adding songs to his playlist and wondering if I should stop hooking up with people I was eighty per cent into and finally spend some time alone.
我在向他的播放列表中添加歌曲和想知道我是否应该停止与我百分之八十喜欢的人交往并最终花一些时间独处之间摇摆不定。
(Read the books I was embarrassed I hadn’t read.) (Call my mother.) The thing is, I like being liked, and a lot of my friends had graduated and moved to cities.
（读那些我为自己没有读过而感到尴尬的书。）（给我妈妈打电话。）问题是，我喜欢被人喜欢，而且我的很多朋友都毕业并搬到了城市。
I’d thought about ending things but my roommate Charlotte advised me against it.
我曾想过结束这一切，但我的室友夏洛特建议我不要这样做。
Brian was handsome and smoked the same amount as me, and sometimes in the morning, I’d wake up and smile first thing because he made me feel safe.
布莱恩很英俊，抽烟的量和我一样，有时早上，我醒来的第一件事就是微笑，因为他让我感到安全。
“In March, he died.
“三月，他去世了。
I was microwaving instant Thai soup when I got a call from his best friend, asking if I knew which hospital he was at.
当我接到他最好的朋友的电话时，我正在用微波炉加热速溶泰式汤，问我是否知道他在哪家医院。
“‘Who?’ I said.
“‘谁？’我说。
‘Brian,’ he said.
“布莱恩，”他说。
‘You haven’t heard?'”
‘你没听说过吗？’”
## 2.
## 2.
Break All the Way Down
一路打破
Roxane Gay | Joyland | May 26, 2012 | 24 minutes (6,184 words)
罗克珊·盖伊 |欢乐乐园| 2012 年 5 月 26 日 | 24 分钟（6,184 字）
A baby’s arrival stirs up difficult memories:
婴儿的到来勾起了痛苦的回忆：
“I sat with the baby in the living room, setting her on a clean blanket.
“我和孩子坐在客厅里，把她放在干净的毯子上。
When I tired of watching her, I stretched out, resting my hand on her stomach.
当我厌倦了看她时，我伸了个懒腰，把手放在她的肚子上。
I fell asleep with the baby staring at me, her eyes wide open.
我睡着了，宝宝睁大眼睛盯着我。
“In the morning, my boyfriend kicked my foot with his heavy work boot.
“早上，我男朋友用他沉重的工作靴踢了我的脚。
‘What the fuck is this?’
“这他妈是什么？”
“I sat up quickly, holding a finger to my lips.
“我迅速坐起来，将一根手指放在嘴唇上。
I stood and pulled him into the bedroom.
我站起来，拉着他进了卧室。
‘Anna Lisa brought the baby last night.
“安娜丽莎昨晚带了孩子。
She can’t take care of her anymore.'”
她不能再照顾她了。”
Books by Roxane Gay on Amazon
罗克珊·盖伊 (Roxane Gay) 在亚马逊上出版的书籍
## 3.
## 3.
Miss Lora
劳拉小姐
Junot Díaz | The New Yorker | April 23, 2012 | 21 minutes (5,357 words)
朱诺·迪亚兹 | 朱诺·迪亚兹纽约客 | 2012 年 4 月 23 日 | 21 分钟（5,357 个字）
A teenager’s grief and its aftermath:
青少年的悲伤及其后果：
“Years later, you would wonder if it hadn’t been for your brother would you have done it?
“多年以后，你会想，如果没有你哥哥，你会这么做吗？
You’d remember how all the other guys had hated on her—how skinny she was, no culo, no titties, como un palito, but your brother didn’t care.
你会记得所有其他男人是多么讨厌她——她是多么瘦，没有屁股，没有奶子，como un palito，但你哥哥不在乎。
I’d fuck her.
我会操她。
“You’d fuck anything, someone jeered.
“你什么都可以操，有人嘲笑道。
“And he had given that someone the eye.
“他给了那个人眼睛。
You make that sound like it’s a bad thing.”
你说得好像这是一件坏事。”
Books by Junot Díaz on Amazon
亚马逊上朱诺·迪亚兹 (Junot Diaz) 的书籍
## 4.
## 4.
Hello Everybody
大家好
A.M.
上午
Homes | Electric Literature | September 12, 2012 | 27 minutes (6,868 words)
主页 |电气文献| 2012 年 9 月 12 日 | 27 分钟（6,868 字）
A grieving family’s privileged, plastic life:
一个悲伤的家庭过着特权的、可塑的生活：
“She hears his car grinding up the hill.
“她听到他的车在山上嘎吱作响。
At the edge of the driveway, the engine shudders, continuing on for a few seconds before falling silent.
在车道边缘，发动机颤抖着，持续了几秒钟，然后才安静下来。
Walter buzzes the front gate; Esmeralda, the housekeeper, lets him in.
沃尔特按响了前门；管家埃斯梅拉达让他进来。
The gate closes with a thick metallic click.
门随着一声厚重的金属咔嗒声关闭。
“‘Where are you?’ he calls out.
“‘你在哪里？’他喊道。
“‘I’m hiding,’ Cheryl yells from the backyard.
“‘我躲起来了，’谢丽尔在后院喊道。
“He enters the through the pool gate.
“他从泳池门进入。
“‘Shouldn’t that be locked?’ she asks.
“‘那不应该锁起来吗？’她问。
“‘I remembered the code,’ he says.
“‘我记住了密码，’他说。
“‘The pool boy’s code, 1234?’
“‘泳池男孩的密码，1234？’
“He nods.
” 他点点头。
‘Some things never change.'”
“有些事情永远不会改变。”
Books by A.M.
A.M. 的书籍
Homes on Amazon
亚马逊上的房屋
## 5.
## 5.
Ice Man
冰人
Elmore Leonard | The Atlantic | June 22, 2012 | 9 minutes (2,351 words)
埃尔莫尔·伦纳德 |大西洋 | 2012 年 6 月 22 日 | 9 分钟（2,351 字）
A run-in with an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer after a rodeo:
牛仔竞技表演后与移民和海关执法人员发生冲突：
“Victor saw Nachee and Billy Cosa looking toward the entrance and turned his head to see a Riverside County deputy talking to the manager.
“维克多看到纳奇和比利·科萨朝入口处望去，转头看到河滨县的一名副县长正在与经理交谈。
Some more law was outside.
还有更多的法律在外面。
They’d go around to the kitchen and check on Mexicans without any papers.
他们会去厨房检查没有任何证件的墨西哥人。
Victor saw the Riverside deputy look his way.
维克多看到河滨副警长朝他这边看。
No, he was looking at the white guy at the next table, the guy wearing a straw Stetson he’d fool with, raising the curled brim and setting it close on his eyes again.
不，他正在看着邻桌的白人，那个戴着草编斯泰森帽的家伙，他会拿它来玩弄，抬起卷曲的帽檐，再次把它戴在眼睛上。
Never changed his expression.
始终没有改变他的表情。
He had size, but looked ten years past herding cows.
他身材魁梧，但看起来却比放牛十年了。
It was the man’s U.S. Government jacket told Victor he was none of their business.”
那名男子的美国政府夹克告诉维克多，他不关他们的事。”
Books by Elmore Leonard on Amazon
埃尔莫·伦纳德 (Elmore Leonard) 在亚马逊上出版的书籍
## 6.
## 6.
Casino
赌场
Alix Ohlin | Guernica | May 1, 2012 | 16 minutes (4,225 words)
阿利克斯·奥林 |格尔尼卡 | 2012 年 5 月 1 日 | 16 分钟（4,225 字）
A sisters’ weekend and an unexpected encounter bring back memories:
姐妹们的周末和一次意外的邂逅勾起回忆：
“When Trisha comes to town we have to go out.
“当特丽莎进城时，我们就必须出去。
She’s the bitterest soccer mom of all time and as part of her escape from home she wants to get drunk and complain about her workaholic husband and over-scheduled, ungrateful children.
她是有史以来最痛苦的足球妈妈，作为逃离家庭的一部分，她想喝醉并抱怨她的工作狂丈夫和日程安排过多、忘恩负义的孩子。
No one appreciates how much she does for them.
没有人欣赏她为他们所做的一切。
All she does is give, give, give, without getting anything back, et cetera.
她所做的就是给予，给予，给予，没有任何回报，等等。
I don’t really mind—I enjoy a good martini, and while Trisha rants I don’t have to worry about getting sloppy, given that she’s always sloppier—except that even her complaints are part boast.
我真的不介意——我喜欢喝一杯好喝的马提尼酒，而当特丽莎咆哮时，我不必担心自己会变得马虎，因为她总是更马虎——只不过，即使是她的抱怨也有部分是自吹自擂。
She has to mention her busy husband and the two hundred thousand he rakes in a year.
她不得不提到她忙碌的丈夫和他一年赚的二十万。
Her children’s after-school activities for the gifted are just so freaking expensive and time-consuming.
她的孩子们为天才们举办的课后活动非常昂贵且耗时。
There’s a needle in every one of these remarks, pricking at my skin, saying See, Sherri?
这些话中的每一句话都像一根针刺在我的皮肤上，说看到了吗，雪莉？
See?”
看？”
Books by Alix Ohlin on Amazon
亚马逊上阿利克斯·奥林 (Alix Ohlin) 的书籍
## 7.
## 7.
Onward
前进
Emma Donoghue | The Atlantic | August 24, 2012 | 17 minutes (4,385 words)
艾玛·多诺霍 |大西洋 |八月 24, 2012 | 17 分钟（4,385 个字）
A close-knit family’s struggles in Dickens-era England:
狄更斯时代英国一个亲密家庭的挣扎：
“Caroline always prepares Fred’s breakfast herself.
“卡罗琳总是亲自为弗雷德准备早餐。
Her young brother’s looking sallow around the eyes.
她弟弟的眼睛周围看起来蜡黄。
‘We saved you the last of the kippers,’ she says, in a tone airy enough to give the impression that she and Pet had their fill of kippers before he came down this morning.
“我们救了你最后的腌鱼。”她说，语气轻快，给人一种印象，今天早上佩特下来之前，她和佩特已经吃饱了腌鱼。
“Mouth full, Fred sings to his niece in his surprising bass.
“弗雷德嘴里塞满了东西，用他令人惊讶的低音给他的侄女唱歌。
“His brow is wet with honest sweat,
“他的额头上沾满了诚实的汗水，
He earns whate’er he can,
他尽其所能地挣钱，
And looks the whole world in the face,
并正视整个世界，
For he owes not any man.
因为他不欠任何人。
“Pet giggles at the face he’s pulling.
“Pet 看着他拉着的脸咯咯地笑。
Caroline slides her last triangle of toast the child’s way.
卡罗琳把最后一块三角形的吐司递给孩子。
Pet’s worn that striped frock since spring.
佩特从春天起就穿那件条纹连衣裙。
Is she undersized, for two years old?
两岁了，她个子矮吗？
But then, girls are generally smaller.
但是，女孩普遍较小。
Are the children Caroline sees thronging the parks so twig-like, under their elaborate coats?
卡罗琳看到的公园里挤满的孩子们，穿着精致的外套，像树枝一样吗？
‘Where did you pick that one up?’ she asks Fred.
“你从哪里买来的？”她问弗雷德。
“‘A fellow at the office.’
“‘办公室里的一个同事。’
“‘Again, again,’ insists Pet: her new word this week.
“‘再一次，再一次，’佩特坚持说：这是她本周的新词。
“Caroline catches herself watching the clock.”
“卡罗琳发现自己在看钟。”
Books by Emma Donoghue on Amazon
亚马逊上艾玛·多诺霍 (Emma Donoghue) 的书籍
## 8.
## 8.
West of the Known
已知的西方
Chanelle Benz | The American Reader | October 1, 2012 | 20 minutes (5,136 words)
香奈儿·奔驰 |美国读者 | 2012 年 10 月 1 日 | 20 分钟（5,136 字）
Loyalty, betrayal and a final judgment for a brother-sister duo in the Old West:
旧西部一对兄妹的忠诚、背叛和最终审判：
“My brother was the first man to come for me.
“我哥哥是第一个来找我的人。
The first man I saw in the raw, profuse with liquor, outside a brothel in New Mexico Territory.
我在新墨西哥州的一家妓院外见到的第一个赤身裸体、喝得酩酊大醉的男人。
He was the first I know to make a promise then follow on through.
他是我认识的第一个做出承诺然后兑现承诺的人。
There is nothing to forgive.
没有什么可以原谅的。
For in the high violence of joy, is there not often a desire to swear devotion?
因为在欢乐的高度暴力中，不是常常有发誓效忠的愿望吗？
But what then?
但那又怎样呢？
When is it ever brung off to the letter?
什么时候才真正体现出来呢？
When they come for our blood, we will not end, but go on in an unworldly fever.
当他们来夺取我们的鲜血时，我们不会结束，而是继续处于超凡脱俗的狂热之中。
“I come here to collect, my brother said from the porch.
“我来这里收集，”我哥哥在门廊上说道。
If there was more I did not hear it for Uncle Bill and Aunt Josie stepped out and closed the door.
如果还有更多的话，我没有听到比尔叔叔和乔西阿姨走出去并关上了门。
I was in the kitchen canning tomatoes, standing over a row of mason jars, hands dripping a wat’ry red when in stepped a man inside a long buckskin coat.
我正在厨房里装西红柿罐头，站在一排玻璃罐前，手上滴着水红色的水，这时一个穿着长鹿皮大衣的男人走了进来。
“I’m your brother, Jackson, the man smiled, holding out his hand.”
“我是你的兄弟，杰克逊，”那人微笑着伸出了手。
## 9.
## 9.
The Semplica-Girl Diaries
森普利卡女孩日记
George Saunders | The New Yorker | October 8, 2012 | 35 minutes (8,979 words)
乔治·桑德斯 |纽约客 | 2012 年 10 月 8 日 | 35 分钟（8,979 字）
A father uses his lottery winnings for an extravagant birthday party for his teenage daughter:
一位父亲用他的彩票奖金为他十几岁的女儿举办了一场奢华的生日聚会：
“September 3rd: Having just turned forty, have resolved to embark on grand project of writing every day in this new black book just got at OfficeMax.
“9 月 3 日：刚刚四十岁的我，决定开始一项宏伟的计划，每天在 OfficeMax 刚拿到的这本新黑书中写作。
Exciting to think how in one year, at rate of one page/day, will have written three hundred and sixty-five pages, and what a picture of life and times then available for kids & grandkids, even greatgrandkids, whoever, all are welcome (!) to see how life really was/is now.
令人兴奋的是，在一年内，以每天一页的速度，将写出三百六十五页，对于孩子和孙子，甚至曾孙，无论是谁，都可以看到一幅多么美好的生活和时代图景，欢迎所有人（！）来看看生活到底是怎样的。
Because what do we know of other times really?
因为我们对其他时代到底了解多少？
How clothes smelled and carriages sounded?
衣服的气味和马车的声音如何？
Will future people know, for example, about sound of airplanes going over at night, since airplanes by that time passé?
例如，未来的人们会知道飞机在夜间飞过的声音吗？因为那时候飞机已经过时了？
Will future people know sometimes cats fought in night?
未来的人们会知道有时猫会在夜间打架吗？
Because by that time some chemical invented to make cats not fight?
因为那时发明了一些化学物质可以让猫不打架？
Last night dreamed of two demons having sex and found it was only two cats fighting outside window.
昨晚梦见两个恶魔交配，结果发现只是窗外两只猫在打架。
Will future people be aware of concept of ‘demons’?
未来的人会知道‘魔’这个概念吗？
Will they find our belief in ‘demons’ quaint?
他们会觉得我们对“恶魔”的信仰很奇怪吗？
Will ‘windows’ even exist?
“窗户”还会存在吗？
Interesting to future generations that even sophisticated college grad like me sometimes woke in cold sweat, thinking of demons, believing one possibly under bed?
对于后代来说，有趣的是，即使是像我这样成熟的大学毕业生，有时也会一身冷汗醒来，想到恶魔，相信床下可能有恶魔？
Anyway, what the heck, am not planning on writing encyclopedia, if any future person is reading this, if you want to know what a ‘demon’ was, go look it up, in something called an encyclopedia, if you even still have those!
不管怎样，我不打算写百科全书，如果以后有人读到这篇文章，如果你想知道‘恶魔’是什么，就去查一下，在叫百科全书的东西里，如果你还有的话！
“Am getting off track, due to tired, due to those fighting cats.”
“我偏离了轨道，因为累了，因为那些打架的猫。”
Books by George Saunders on Amazon
亚马逊上乔治·桑德斯的书籍
## 10.
## 10.
FrogsMo Yan | Granta | October 11, 2012 | 14 minutes (3,591 words)
青蛙莫言 |格兰塔 |十月 11, 2012 | 14 分钟（3,591 字）
An aunt recalls how she met her husband:
一位阿姨回忆起她是如何认识丈夫的：
“‘If you want to know why I married Hao Dashou, I have to start with the frogs.
“‘要知道我为什么嫁给郝大手，就得从青蛙说起。
Some old friends got together for dinner on the night I announced my retirement, and I wound up drunk – I hadn’t drunk much, less than a bowlful, but it was cheap liquor.
我宣布退休的那天晚上，一些老朋友聚在一起吃饭，结果我喝醉了——我没喝多少，不到一碗，但那是便宜的酒。
Xie Xiaoque, the son of the restaurant owner, Xie Baizhua, one of those sweet-potato kids of the ’63 famine, took out a bottle of ultra-strong Wuliangye – to honour me, he said – but it was counterfeit, and my head was reeling.
餐馆老板谢白抓的儿子谢小雀是63年饥荒中的红薯小孩之一，他拿出一瓶特浓五粮液——他说是为了纪念我——但那是假货，我头晕目眩。
Everyone at the table was wobbly, barely able to stand, and Xie Xiaoque himself foamed at the mouth till his eyes rolled up into his head.'”
桌上的人都摇摇欲坠，几乎站不住了，谢小缺自己也口吐白沫，翻白眼了。
Books by Mo Yan on Amazon
亚马逊上莫言的书籍