Primeval and Other Times

諾貝爾獎得主最接地氣也最空靈的佳作，展開一段穿梭於神話般的波蘭村莊、橫跨三代人生活的虛構旅程。

對於「太古」（Primeval）的居民而言，其田野與森林之外的世界不過是一場夢境。被排斥的「麥穗」（Cornspike）在森林的生靈與神靈之間撫養女兒。鄉紳波皮爾斯基（Popielski）失去了信仰，沉迷於一個只有夢到對的夢境才能前進的遊戲。非人類的生命——樹木、蘑菇和天使——也有屬於牠們的「時間」（Times），無生命之物亦然，甚至可能「對世界而言比人類更重要」。然而，在1914年戰爭將磨坊主米哈烏（Michał）從家人身邊帶走之後，牠們的故事或「時間」便受到了20世紀野蠻歷史的衝擊。流血、背叛和日常生活的起伏，標誌著「太古」微小世界與時間的誕生、生活與衰落，促使我們重新審視我們用來理解自己生活的故事。

《太古與其他時間》（Primeval and Other Times）洋溢著使朵卡萩（Tokarczuk）享譽國際的寬廣胸懷與想像力，對粉絲和新讀者而言，這絕對是又珍貴無比的文學寶藏。

The Nobel Prize winner at her earthiest and most ethereal, in a fictional journey through three generations in the life of a mythical Polish village

For the denizens of Primeval, the world beyond its fields and forests is but a dream. The outcast Cornspike raises her daughter among the creatures and spirits of the forest. The squire Popielski loses his faith and becomes obsessed with a game where progress is attained only by dreaming the right kind of dream. Nonhuman beings—trees and mushrooms and archangels—have their Times too, as do inanimate objects, which may be “more important for the world than people.” Yet their stories—or Times—are buffeted by the feral history of the twentieth century, after war carries Michał the miller away from his family in 1914. Bloodshed, betrayal, and the dramas of daily life mark the birth, life, and decline of Primeval’s little world and Times, making us consider afresh the stories by which we comprehend our own.

Rich with the capaciousness and imagination that have brought Tokarczuk to sustained international fame, Primeval and Other Times is yet another treasure for fans and new converts alike.