The "best books of the year" list is a time-honored tradition among media outlets¹ and publishers, with selections rolling in just after Thanksgiving.

“年度最佳读物”是各媒体渠道和出版商历史悠久的传统，感恩节后便有候选书本蜂拥而来。

A range of novels were selected last week. Among them were Kazuo Ishiguro's strange fable-likefantasy, Alexandra Kleeman's satire², and, apparently³, Barack Obama's favorite book of the year: Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff.

上周选出了各类小说，其中有石黑一雄寓言式奇幻小说、亚历山德拉·卡里曼的讽刺作品，显然还有巴拉克·奥巴马的年度最爱：劳伦·格罗夫的《命运女神和复仇女神》。

It's a deeply personal story of marriage and secrets.

这则故事关婚姻和秘密，内容极其私密。

At first, the book seems an unconventional choice for the president. It's not political, and there's not a word in it about foreign relations.

期初，这本书对总统而言看起来是不合常规的选择。不是政论小说，对外交关系不着一字。

In fact, Groff's National Book Award-nominated story is deeply personal -- it's the story of a marriage from the secretive perspectives of both partners.

事实上，格罗夫获美国国家图书奖提名的故事非常个人化，从爱侣双方秘密的视角讲述了婚姻的故事。

But, Obama's been exploring literary territory even more than usual lately.

但近日奥巴马探寻文学领域比以往深入得多。

Earlier this year, he interviewed another National Book Award nominee⁴, Marilynne Robinson, about community, violence and othering in America.

年初，奥巴马就社区、暴力还有美国他者化问题采访了另一位被美国国家图书奖提名的作者玛丽莲·鲁滨逊。