BBC評21世紀最偉大12本小說

BBC文化專欄作者Jane Ciabattari向幾十位書評家發出了問卷，請他們列出在他們心目中，新千年以來出版的最棒的英文小說。他們總共列出了156本小說，根據投票BBC選出了12本最優秀的小說。

1. Junot Díaz, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (2007)
朱諾·迪亞斯，《奧斯卡·瓦奧短暫而奇妙的一生》（2007年）

The winner in this BBC Culture critics' poll is Junot Diaz's first novel, about New Jersey ghetto-nerd Oscar, who dreams of being the Dominican-American Tolkien and finding love. It also was named as the number-one book by the most critics. "It is a big deal for me to fall in love with a book when its DNA is science fiction, fantasy and testosterone," says Elizabeth Taylor, The Chicago Tribune's literary editor-at-large. "This was only the second book by a Latino author to receive the Pulitzer Prize in fiction," notes critic and author Rigoberto Gonzalez. "Oscar Wao reaffirmed the strong connections Latinos maintain with their ancestral homeland's culture, language and history. It also re-energised these questions: Who is American? What is the American experience?" (Riverhead)
這次BBC文化欄目評選的最佳小說是朱諾·迪亞斯的處女作，該書主人公名叫奧斯卡，他是來自新澤西貧民窟的多米尼加裔美國宅男，他渴望與異性接觸，並夢想著成為美國的託爾金。大多數評論員將其列為書單中的第一名。《芝加哥論壇報》的文學特約編輯伊莉莎白·泰勒評價道：「我從未想過，我會如此鍾愛一本充滿白日夢和男性荷爾蒙的科幻小說。」評論家、作家裡戈伯特·岡薩雷斯表示：「迪亞斯是第二位榮獲普立茲獎的拉丁裔小說作家。」評論家、劇作家格雷格·巴裡奧斯同樣盛讚：「奧斯卡·瓦奧重新確認了拉丁美洲人與家鄉的文化、語言和歷史之間根深蒂固的聯繫。這也讓我們重新思考：什麼樣的人才是美國人？美國印象到底是什麼？」（Riverhead出版社）

2. Edward P Jones, The Known World (2003)
愛德華·P·瓊斯，《已知的世界》（2003年）

Set in 1855 on the plantation of Henry Townsend – born a slave, now a slave-owner – The Known World is a triumph of empathy, immersing readers in a complex moral time without making simple judgments. Facing an early death, Townsend ponders the future of his 50-acre Virginia plantation and the slaves he treats the way his former owner, now his mentor, taught him. "In my reading, The Known World is the best American novel published in the 21st Century – a stunning work about humans experiencing and surviving American slavery," notes critic Walton Muyumba, author of The Shadow and the Act. C Max Magee, founder and editor of The Millions writes, "Jones's novel has an epic, complex sweep and takes an unflinching and engrossing view of America's messy history." (Amistad)
故事發生在1855年的一個種植園，主人公亨利·湯森德生為奴隸，現為奴隸主。此書是激起共情的典範之作，面對複雜的道德情感，讀者感同身受，不會妄下定論。湯森德擁有弗尼吉亞州50英畝種植園和一些奴隸，他對待奴隸的方式與自己曾經的奴隸主如出一轍。面對早逝的命運，對於將來如何處置他的財產，湯森德總是諸多考量。《陰影和藝術》的作者沃爾頓·穆永巴評價說：「在我讀過的書中，《已知的世界》是21世紀出版的最優秀的美國小說——關於人生閱歷和美國奴隸生存的驚人之作。」電子雜誌《百萬》的創始人兼編輯C·馬克斯·麥基寫道：「《已知的世界》以史詩般的宏大視角，直面美國那段不堪回首的歷史，引人入勝。」（Amistad出版社）

3. Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall (2009)
希拉蕊·曼特爾，《狼廳》（2009年）

Mantel's boldly reimagined saga of 16th Century Europe, told from the perspective of Thomas Cromwell, won the Man Booker and National Book Critics Circle awards, was adapted to the stage and has been filmed as a new BBC miniseries. "The brilliance of retelling an oft-told tale is beautifully illustrated in Mantel's flawless examination of power through the rise of Thomas Cromwell," notes critic Karen R Long. Mary Ann Gwinn, Seattle Times book editor and co-host of Well Read TV, writes: "I have never felt so completely catapulted into a character's mind, not to mention a long ago and far away place." Mantel's sequel, Bring in the Bodies, also gathered votes. (Picador)
本書從託馬斯·克倫威爾的視角，大膽暢想，再現了16世紀歐洲傳奇，贏得了布克獎和美國國家圖書評論界獎，後來被改編成舞臺劇，還被BBC改編成了迷你劇。評論家凱倫·R·朗稱讚：「曼特爾用他的才華和智慧形象生動、天衣無縫地講述了這個老生常談的故事——託馬斯·克倫威爾的權臣之路。」《西雅圖時報》圖書編輯和《好好讀書》電視的搭檔主持瑪麗·安·格溫也寫道：「我從未如此深入一個人物的靈魂，更何況這個人物早已作古，離我很遙遠。」（Picador出版社）

4. Marilynne Robinson, Gilead (2004)
瑪麗琳·羅賓遜 ，《吉利德》（2004年）

The Rev John Ames, a small-town Iowa minister, describes his life and anti-slavery heritage to his young son in dazzling lyrical language in this first instalment of Robinson's trilogy (along with Home and Lila)."I can't think of a living novelist who writes more seriously and profoundly about religious faith," writes critic and author Dawn Raffel, who ranked Gilead first on her list. "Robinson is both an 'ideas' writer and an exquisite prose stylist, investigating the big questions within the intimate space of family and community. She is also a supremely good storyteller." Karen R Long, former book editor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer who now manages the Anisfield-Wolf book awards, adds, 「This multi-generational story inculcates a desire for transcendence, and makes a case for spiritual life in the 21st Century – its own kind of miracle. Gilead will be read in 100 years.」 (Picador)
這是羅賓遜三部曲中的第一部（另外兩部是《回家》和《萊拉》），小說中，約翰·艾姆斯是愛荷華州一個小鎮上的傳教士，他用令人印象深刻的抒情語言給小兒子講述了自己的一生以及他們這個家族為廢奴運動所做的努力。評論家、作家道恩·拉斐爾將《吉利德》列為其書單中的第一名，他這樣評價：「所有在世作家中，羅賓遜在宗教信仰題材的創作上最為嚴謹、立意最為深刻。」《克利夫蘭平原商報》前圖書編輯、安斯菲爾德·沃爾夫圖書獎現任負責人凱倫·R·朗也盛讚：「羅賓遜不僅是一個『有想法』的作家，同時也是一個優秀的散文家，擅於描寫家庭和社區私密空間中的重大問題。她非常擅長講故事。這個故事涉及好幾代人，反覆灌輸一種卓然超越的信仰，為21世紀的精神生活提供了一個範本——這本身就是一個奇蹟。《吉利德》將是百年不朽的著作。」（Picador出版社）