试论小说《烘焙在基加利》中的文化认知

Cultural Understanding of the Novel Baking Cakes in Kigali

基加利是卢旺达的首都。1994年卢旺达发生了大屠杀事件。小说《烘焙在基加利》描写了事件数年之后,一位善良的坦桑尼亚妇女安琪来到基加利,经营着自己蛋糕店的故事,她乐于助人,在与各国援助人员和当地卢旺达人交流的过程中,加深了对不同的文化的理解。小说层层递进,让安琪一次次直面语言选择、民族认识、历史遗留、文化传统等问题,描写了非洲视角下主人公自我文化认知的心理成熟过程,就像烘焙。

Kigali is the capital of Rwanda,where a massacre took place in 1994.The novel Baking Cakes in Kigali describes Angie,a Tanzanian woman who comes to Kigali several years after the massacre.In her own bakery,she meets local Rwandans and the aid workers from various countries.The kind-hearted angel has deepened her understanding of different cultures from her readiness to help others.With the development of the plot,Angie is alternately faced with such issues as code switching,national understanding,historical heritage and cultural tradition.It also describes the mental maturity of the protagonist’s self-cultural understanding from the perspective of Africa,just like the process of cake baking.