O Caledonia | 誠品線上

O Caledonia

內容簡介

內容簡介 Maggie O’Farrell寫序盛讚！當命運多舛、芳華早逝的少女珍奈特穿著她母親的黑色蕾絲洋裝，與最愛的寵物鳥一起入土時，故事才正要開始。珍奈特和她的家族注在北方遙遠且寒冷的蘇格蘭，但她並不因此為豪，她厭倦了小鎮心胸狹隘的人民目光和無聊的家族紛爭，於是將心靈投注於大自然與文學中，還有她的嬸嬸莉拉，在枯燥乏味且痛苦的生活中帶來一絲慰藉，透過珍奈特的目光與充滿自嘲的黑色幽默，作者Elspeth Barker勾勒出廣袤蘇格蘭大地上的憂愁與獨特性，結合哥特和擬古風格，帶來這本令人激賞的出道作。 In the tradition of Shirley Jackson’s We Have Always Lived in the Castle, a darkly humorous modern classic of Scottish literature about a doomed adolescent growing up in the mid-19th century—featuring a new introduction by Maggie O’Farrell, award-winning author of Hamnet. Janet lies murdered beneath the castle stairs, attired in her mother’s black lace wedding dress, lamented only by her pet jackdaw… ​Author Elspeth Barker masterfully evokes the harsh climate of Scotland in this atmospheric gothic tale that has been compared to the works of the Brontës, Edgar Allan Poe, and Edward Gorey. Immersed in a world of isolation and loneliness, Barker’s ill-fated young heroine Janet turns to literature, nature, and her Aunt Lila, who offers brief flashes of respite in an otherwise foreboding life. People, birds, and beasts move through the background in a tale that is as rich and atmospheric as it is witty and mordant. The family’s motto—Moriens sed Invictus (Dying but Unconquered)—is a well-suited epitaph for wild and courageous Janet, whose fierce determination to remain steadfastly herself makes her one of the most unforgettable protagonists in contemporary literature.

作者介紹

作者介紹 Elspeth BarkerIn her career as a novelist and journalist, Elspeth Barker wrote for The Independent, The Observer (London), The Sunday Times (London), London Review of Books, and many others. Elspeth also taught Latin at what she described as a naughty girls’ school on the Norfolk coast and worked as a tutor and lecturer in creative writing at the Norwich School of Art and Design. She published her first novel, O Caledonia, at the age of fifty-one. O Caledonia was awarded the Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize and was shortlisted for the Whitbread Prize. Elspeth was married to the poet George Barker and died in 2022.

商品規格

最佳賣點

最佳賣點 : 她的故事也是蘇格蘭的故事，有趣、哀傷卻不失幽默的黑色異作