导语:Short story collections, personal essays, memoirs and historical fiction often move at a pace that allows for quiet contemplation.

  短篇故事集、个人散文、回忆录和历史小说的行文总是能让读者安静沉思。

  1. Honeydew by Edith Pearlman

  伊迪丝·皮尔曼的《蜜露》

  Pearlman writes quiet stories about the blips of tumult . She's been writing short stories -- and only short stories -- for decades, chronicling the lives of earnest blue collar workers and whimsical academics. Most of the stories are set in her native Massachusetts; all of them reveal something tender and universal about everyday life.

  皮尔曼安安静静的笔调下有些许动荡和喧嚣。她一直就在写短篇小说,而且数十年来只写短篇小说,记录着热忱勤勉的蓝领工人还有异想天开的学者们的生活。大部分的故事背景都设置在她的故土马萨诸塞州,每一则故事都展现了日常生活细小而普遍的一面。

  2. Fools by Joan Silber

  琼·西尔珀的《傻瓜》

  Each story in Fools confronts the question: What makes an action foolish, as opposed to brave? And when is it better to be foolish, as opposed to steadfast in our established beliefs?

  《傻瓜》中每一则故事都面临这样一个问题:比之勇敢,怎样的行为才算愚昧?与我们深信不疑的信念相对,何时做个傻瓜才是更好的选择?

  3. Single, Carefree, Mellow by Katherine Heiny

  凯瑟琳·海尼的《单身、随性、成熟》

  Katherine Heiny writes stories that quietly highlight the dramas of dating life, from teenagehood through adulthood. Heiny writes about both lovers growing estranged through social media, and young girls learning about the power of their own sexualities, with wry humor.

  凯瑟琳·海尼的故事不动声色地突出了约会的戏剧色彩,从豆蔻年华到成年时期,不一而足。海尼不单单写因社交媒体而逐渐疏离的情侣,也写年轻女孩认识到其声色的威力,笔调不乏揶揄嘲讽。

  4. When I Was a Child I Read Books by Marilynne Robinson

  玛丽莲·罗宾逊《小时候,我读书》

  Marilynne In When I Was a Child I Read Books, Robinson fluidly contemplates significance of community and the power of the individual. You don't have to be a religious thinker to find beauty in Robinson's poetic musings.

  《小时候,我读书》一书中,罗宾逊行文流畅,深思社区的重要性和个体的力量。读者即便不信奉宗教,也能发现罗宾逊富有诗意的哲思之美。

  5. The Double Life of Liliane by Lily Tuck

  莉莉·塔克《莉莲的双重生活》

  Lily Tuck's latest novel isn't exactly a memoir, but it sits somewhere between novel and autobiography, blurring the lines between related memory and imagined possible scenarios. Like Tuck, heroine Liliane's parents divorced when she was young, wreaking personal havoc that mirrored the tragedies unfolding in Europe at the same time.

  莉莉·塔克的最新小说确切说来不是回忆录,介于小说和自传间,模糊了记忆和想象场景的界限。和莉莉·塔克小时候一样,女主人翁莉莲年少父母离异,深受重创, 也映照出同期欧洲的悲剧。

  6. Neverhome by Laird Hunt

  拉瑞德·亨特《不归》

  Hunt tells his story about a woman disguised as a male solider through letters. The story is loosely based on a bundle of letters Hunt stumbled upon written by a real undercover female soldier and is a smart work of historical fiction that encourages contemplation.

  亨特通过书信形式讲述了一个女子伪装成男军人的故事。亨特偶然间撞见一捆信件,是一个真实的卧底女军人所写的,亨特的历史小说稍稍以此为参照,引人深思,是部智慧的作品。

  7. Infinite Home by Kathleen Alcott

  凯思琳·奥尔科特《无限的家园》

  Protagonist Edith has built a happy family of her own among her tenants -- until she gets slammed with potential eviction as her mind begins to worsen. The unsteady state of their home and their landlady forges an even closer bond between the housemates in this lyrical meditation on what really makes up a family.

  主人公伊蒂丝与其房客们建立了一个幸福的家庭,然而,随着记性变差,她或将被驱逐。家庭不稳定,女房东与房客们的关系更紧密了。这部抒情的沉思录引人思考究竟何为组成家庭的要素。

  8. Here by Richard McGuire

  里查德·麦奎尔《这儿》

  This book is a heartwarming time capsule, and fluid look at the way our interior lives have evolved, and how they've remained the same.

  这本书是温暖人心的时空胶囊,以温婉的视角看我们的内心演变以及又如何初心不变。

  9. The Folded Clock by Heidi Julavits

  海蒂·朱拉薇姿《折叠的时钟》

  The Folded Clock is a Diary, a collection of musings written offhandedly each day by its author. It's been scrubbed of identifying details, but otherwise remains a deeply personal collection of thoughts about motherhood, language, and what success really means.

  《折叠的时钟》是部日记,是作者每日随手写就的遐思集。书中隐去了透露身份的信息,但仍是身为人母的感想、对语言的思考和阐述成功之道的个人思想集。

  10. Can't and Won't by Lydia Davis

  莉迪娅·戴维斯《"不行"与"不能"》

  Davis' stories are quick, dreamy snapshots of a mood or a sentiment, and they take the shape of the idle thoughts that make up most of our days. Davis's spare language is comforting and digestible, but leaves ample room for contemplation and imagination, too.

  戴维斯的故事轻松宜人、直击人心。故事取材于我们日常生活七零八碎的心思想法。戴维斯平实简练的语言安抚人心、易于理解,但有给读者足够想象和沉思的空间。