美国国家公共电台 NPR--Travel the world without leaving your home with these 10 books

（单词翻译）

Travel the world without leaving your home with these 10 books

Transcript¹

After two years of being stuck at home during the pandemic, people are ready to get out into the world. You can grin and bear the high price of getting on an airplane these days — or transport yourself through the pages of a good book.

And for that, we have a whole lot of suggestions in the inaugural² summer edition of NPR's Books We Love project.

From the 167 book recommendations, we've selected 10 that transcend³ time and place: from the red-light district of Lahore, Pakistan, and streets of Mexico to the royal court of 18th century Korea and a dystopian future where Japan no longer exists.

It starts out as a crime novel. A murder. A cop. An investigation⁴. Then it evolves into so much more. This assured debut⁵ novel evokes⁶ an older Pakistan, with all the many complications of class, society, entitlement, entangled⁷ history. Anyone looking for a pat ending should leave this one alone. Instead, come for the evocative writing, the subtle characters and plot — some of which veered⁸ into completely unexpected territory.

— Nishant Dahiya, deputy supervising senior editor, NPR International Desk

Born in Gujarat, India, Mississippi chef Vishwesh Bhatt had me from hello with his genteelly defiant⁹ title, I Am From Here. Western India and the Southern U.S. share more culinary parallels than you'd think, from rice varietals and sesame to okra, shrimp¹⁰ and fresh tomatoes. Here, these ingredients explode in gleeful fusion¹¹, the torrid affair of a spice cabinet and a well-stocked pantry. Juicy shrimp pop beneath a crust of black pepper and coriander; pork shoulder melts in a sweet arból-guajillo chile paste. What about sourcing ingredients? After two years of lockdown, don't tell me you don't know how to mail-order dal!

— T. Susan Chang, food writer

Yinka has done everything her Nigerian-born mother expected — except find a husband, something her mother prays for loudly at their family gatherings¹². But Yinka has to figure out what she wants: from her career, in love and for herself on her own terms. Set in London, the novel depicts¹³ the challenge of navigating¹⁴ two cultures, both of which Yinka is a part of and apart from. In her commitment to being her whole self and true to her faith and ideals, Yinka writes a prayer for herself, a rallying cry to which we can all shout, "Amen!"

— Tayla Burney, director, NPR Network Programming & Production

Debut books don't get much stronger than this. Meron Hadero's remarkable¹⁵ stories explore a diverse cast of people doing their best to find acceptance or at least stability — a 10-year-old Ethiopian immigrant who befriends a German man in Iowa; a pair of refugees in New York determined¹⁶ to learn how to cook classic American food. Hadero is deeply perceptive¹⁷; her dialogue always rings true; and the regard she has for her characters is apparent. This isn't just an excellent first book, it's an excellent book, period.

— Michael Schaub, book critic

A palace nurse becomes entangled in a murder investigation when four women are found dead and her beloved mentor¹⁸ is accused of being the killer¹⁹. It soon becomes clear that the intrigue²⁰ runs far deeper than she could have anticipated and, in solving it, she may destroy the fragile balance that holds a royal dynasty in power. The Red Palace is an expertly choreographed²¹ mystery with a touch of romance and an emotionally satisfying conclusion that beautifully binds²² fiction to historical fact.

— Caitlyn Paxson, book critic

In this gender-bent retelling of The Three Musketeers, 16-year-old Tania de Batz has a chronic²³ illness that can incapacitate her — frustrating²⁴ for someone who wants to follow in the footsteps of her former Musketeer father. After her father's death, Tania is sent to Madame de Treville, who trains young women to be Musketeers. With Portia, Théa and Aria²⁵, Tania searches for evidence to uncover a plot to assassinate²⁶ King Louis XIV — and to find the identity of her father's murderer. But handsome ?tienne Verdon becomes an obstacle, because a Mousquetaire is not supposed to fall for her target.

— Alethea Kontis, author and book critic

If you've never heard of Edisto Island, Emily Meggett's cookbook is a great place to start learning. Meggett is the matriarch of the island, which is home to many Gullah Geechee people and the food they've made for generations. The recipes are fantastic: One of my absolute favorites is Meggett's Stuffed Fish with Parsley Rice and Roe²⁷, which is time-consuming but so worth the effort. You're going to want to make these dishes again and again — especially Meggett's Deviled Crab²⁸, Fried Okra, She Crab Soup, and Red Rice. And in doing so, you'll realize the impact that the Gullah Geechee community has had on American food history.

— Wynne Davis, editorial assistant, All Things Considered

Fernanda Melchor's Paradais, the follow-up to the Booker Prize-nominated Hurricane Season, is another grim and powerful indictment²⁹ of the depravity encouraged by Mexico's racist³⁰, sexist and classist societal structures. Translated by Sophie Hughes, Paradais stars a a luxury housing complex's beleaguered³¹ gardener, who's driven by one of its residents to follow his worst impulses. Melchor's prose is singular, with its fair share of page-long sentences that travel from the deepest psychic³² corners of her characters to the broadest panoramas³³ of Mexican life.

— Leland Cheuk, author and editor

In this absolutely gorgeous Korean folk tale retelling, 16-year-old Mina jumps into the sea and gives herself to the Sea God in place of the beautiful Shim Cheong. In a magical underwater land filled with spirits, demons³⁴, gods and creatures of legend (including the giant snake Imugi), the Red String of Fate binding³⁵ Mina to the Sea God is severed³⁶ by the handsome-but-coldhearted Lord Shin. But the Red String of Fate reappears, only this time attaching her to Lord Shin. Mina has a month to investigate the Sea God's curse and detach herself from Lord Shin before losing her mortality forever.

— Alethea Kontis, author and book critic

This dystopian novel is riveting³⁷, bizarre as can be, and like nothing else I've ever read. I'm terrified not enough people will read it. A refugee from a Japan that no longer exists, Hiruko is a teacher who travels through Europe speaking in her invented language that somehow just makes sense to everyone. The book's told in episodes and strange little spells of romance and precise world-building, which is incredibly fun in itself. But the real pull is Hiruko, one of the most charming and memorable³⁸ characters I've ever encountered. Forget Wordle: Hiroko has us doing word games in a dystopian world! What more could one ask for?

— Kamil Ahsan, biologist, historian and writer