Books and Arts; Book Review; Death and mourning; The end of the line;
文艺；书评；死亡与哀悼;生命的终点站;
“In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes,” mused Benjamin Franklin. With death, at least, humans have devised myriad ways to deal with the inevitable, from the practicalities of disposing the body to the grief of losing a loved one. In her new book “Making an Exit”, Sarah Murray, a contributor to the Financial Times, travels the globe to discover how different cultures conduct funeral rites and honour the dead.
本杰明·富兰克林曾沉思，“在这个世界上，除了死亡和税收，没有什么是确定无疑的”。面对死亡，人类至少已经想过无数种方式来应对这一无法回避的现实，从安置尸体的实际操作到失去所爱的悲痛之心。金融时报撰稿人Sarah Murray曾游历世界各地，在她的新书《退出》中探索了不同文化背景的人们是如何举行葬礼以纪念逝者。

A morbid subject, perhaps. But as Ms Murray's book reveals, it is a peculiarly British habit to quarantine death with “pragmatism, etiquette and control”. Other cultures have a more comfortable relationship with the deceased, and even commune with the spirits of ancestors. Funerals are not always solemn affairs.
这或许是个有点病态的话题。但是正如Murray女士在书中所呈现的，习惯将死亡和“实用主义、礼节规矩、和镇定自若”这些词隔离开只是一种英国独有的怪癖。相比之下，在其他的文化信仰中，人们对待逝者则要轻松许多，甚至会和祖先的灵魂有所交流。葬礼不总是件严肃庄重的事情。

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