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Family Tree
《族谱》
New York Time's best selling author Barbara Delinsky joins us to discuss her explosive novel Family Tree, which delves into the hot-button issues of race and family.
纽约时报的畅销作家Barbara Delinsky加入我们讨论她那充满爆点的小说《族谱》，探究种族和家庭等敏感议题。
Barbara, welcome!
Barbara，欢迎!
Thank you, Michele. It's a pleasure.
谢谢，Michele。这是我的荣幸。
The couple in the novel, Dana and Hugh are white, but they give birth to a child who has African-American features. Is this even possible?
小说中的夫妻，Dana和Hugh是白人，但他们生出了一个拥有非裔美国人特征的孩子。这实际上是有可能的吗？
This is very definitely possible. Genetics is a very interesting field, and for the sake of this book, I did a lot of research. Certain traits can lie dormant for generations. Suddenly we can have a child who's got red hair, and we don't quite know where it came from. It can be a mix of different genes, or it can come from a family member from way back. The latest DNA tests are able to determine where we came from, literally, on four different levels: Asian, European, Native American and African. Now we can have a test and find out what percentage of each of these races we are. Racial purity is very very rare.
这是非常肯定有可能的。遗传学是个非常有趣的领域，为了这本书，我做了很多研究。某些特征能够潜伏数个世代。突然之间我们会有个长着红头发的孩子，而我们不大清楚它是从哪儿冒出来的。它可以是不同基因的混合，或者它可以从久远之前一位家族成员而来。最新的DNA检测能够判定我们打哪儿来，丝毫不夸张地，以四个不同的标准：亚洲人、欧洲人、美洲印地安人和非洲人。现在我们可以做个检测然后找出我们身上这些每个种族所佔的百分比。纯种是非常非常稀有的。
Authors often get the germ of a story from real life.
作家时常从真实生活中得到故事的楔子。
Maybe I read an article about Thomas Jefferson, because there was a lot of attention about the children and grandchildren and great grandchildren who he perhaps sired, and the racial element involved in that.
也许我读了一篇关于Thomas Jefferson(美国第三任总统)的文章，因为有许多目光集中在可能是他生出的孩子、孙子以及曾孙身上，以及牵扯在那其中的种族要素之上。
Dana and Hugh are so different, and yet so similar.
Dana和Hugh如此不同，然而又如此地相似。
Dana comes from a family that doesn't really know its history, much as mine does not. She doesn't even know who her father is, or was. She doesn't know anything about him. Dana becomes who so many of us are, who would, in some very human ways, like to know where she came from. But then again, it's a little bit frightened of knowing, because she's not sure if she's going to be pleased.
Dana来自一个不全然了解其历史的家族，就很像是我的家族一样不了解。她甚至不知道父亲是谁，是否健在。她不了解任何关于他的事情。Dana变成我们之中的很多人，愿意以一些非常人性的方式，想要知道她打哪儿来。但再者，知情是有点令人害怕地，因为她不确定是否会开心。
Hugh knows everything about his family and takes pride in his family tree.
Hugh知道他家族的所有事情，并以他的族谱而自豪。
I found that interesting that you use knitting and stitch work as a metaphor in your book. Why?
我发现那很有趣，在书里你用编织以及缝纫作为一种象征。为什么？
There's been a resurgence of interest in knitting in this country, and that is something that has been around for generations and generations, so knitting becomes a parallel legacy to all those that are discussed in Family Tree.
在这个国家，一直有个对编织的爱好的复生，而那是某个已经存在了一代又一代的事情，所以编织成为在《族谱》书里谈论到的所有那些人共同的遗产。
What is the most significant message that you want to relay to your readers?
你想传达给读者最有意义的讯息是什么？
I want them to think about the fact that things are not always as they seem, that people may look to be one thing, and not be that thing, and that there's often personal anguish involved in this.
我想要他们思考几件事实，眼见不一定为凭，人们也许期盼成为某个东西而无法达成，而且这其中通常有个人痛苦牵扯在内。
Barbara Delinsky's Family Tree is an utterly unforgettable novel that ask penetrating questions about race, family and the choices that people make in times of crisis.
Barbara Delinsky的《族谱》是本彻头彻尾令人无法忘怀的小说，针对种族、家庭以及紧要关头人们所做出的决定，提出犀利的问题。
