《The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida》
by Shehan Karunatilaka
This is a work with strong magical realism elements.
这是一部带有浓厚魔幻主义色彩的作品。
Maali is a war photographer, gambler, and a gay with a dark past.
主人公Maali是位战地摄影师，赌徒，深柜荡男。
The story begins with his depiction of arriving at the reincarnation place in heaven after his death in 1990.
故事开篇，便是描写他于1990年死后来到天堂转世投胎处的情形。
At this point, he has only 7 days to find out the cause of his death.
此时，他只剩下七天时间来找出自己的死因。
And this process of exploration also exposes the bloody, terrifying, and complex civil war situation in Sri Lanka since 1983 to the world.
而这一探寻的过程，也将自1983年起，斯里兰卡血腥，可怖，错综复杂的内战情形揭露于世人眼前。
In the face of the many real characters, times, places, and parties mentioned in the book.
面对书中提及的许多真实的人物，时间，地点与党派。
I searched for their related information online again and again due to the limitation of my knowledge, but it is not a difficult work at all.
我一次次上网搜寻相关资料，知识上的局限性虽给阅读造成了一些的难度，但这并不是一本晦涩的作品。
The story is full of the protagonist's humorous self-ridicule and satire, the plot is designed with various whimsical ideas.
故事满含主人公幽默的自嘲与讽刺，情节设定上也是各种奇思妙想。
The deep exploration of the meaning of life, death, and the afterlife is contained in the text.
文内有对生命的意义，死亡及来世的深刻探讨。
The author portrays both the ugliest and dirtiest side of Sri Lanka and its serene and beautiful appearance,
作者笔下既有斯里兰卡最丑陋肮脏的一面，也有其恬静美好的模样。
which may be hidden in the nature unaffected by the war, or manifested in the companionship of the protagonist and his loved ones.
而后者或是隐藏在未被战乱影响的大自然里，或是显现于主人公与知己，挚爱相伴之时。
The ending of the story is unexpected but seems reasonable:
故事的结局既出人意料，又合情合理：
after experiencing a series of storms, Maali's soul is still an ordinary person, and Sri Lanka has not undergone earth-shattering changes due to his photographic works.
Maali的灵魂经历了一系列风波之后，也依然是个普通人，斯里兰卡并没有因他的摄影作品发生翻天覆地的变化。
Small Things Like These portrays a hero who is an ordinary person but determined to do something great.
《Small Things Like These》塑造了一位，虽千万人，吾往矣的小人物大英雄。
In this work, the real ending is the same as that of an ordinary person.
这部作品中，便是这样一位小人物的现实版结局。
But just like Maali, I feel not powerless or despair, but all the effort I've already made.
但我的内心和Maali一样，感受到的不是无力或绝望，而是付出一切的过程，就是收获。
