Spent Bullets

林榮三小說獎得主、兩度入選九歌年度小說選，寺尾哲也以《子彈是餘生》寫下屬於天才世代的殞落之書。
以台灣與矽谷為背景，九篇相互連結的故事，拼湊出一位工程天才短暫而璀璨的生命，以及他死後依然無法散去的長長陰影。

《子彈是餘生》中的努力天才們，是菁英中的菁英——在台灣最頂尖的學府成長，前往美國科技巨擘立足，攀抵人人稱羨的職涯巔峰。
然而，在亮眼成就與無止境專注背後，藏著難以承受的黑暗代價。

在崇拜成功的時代，寺尾以冷冽的筆觸揭開極端競爭體制下的心理扭曲：在這裡，一個人的價值被等同於忍受痛苦的能力。
介恆就是這樣的典型。他能破解最複雜的邏輯，卻無法理解人與人之間的距離。他盡力迎合他人的期待，即便代價是逐漸放棄自我。
他努力融入，卻因旁人的恐懼、誤解、嫉妒與近乎病態的崇拜而愈走愈孤獨。
當介恆最終墜入虛無，他留下了一串無從解答的問題，以及一群同行者——他們將他的名字如同玻璃櫃裡的子彈般珍藏，永不褪色。

寺尾哲也以精準、節制、卻充滿力量的敘事，審視當代文化的荒謬：賺錢、變得更好、成為他人期待的模樣。
以冷靜而銳利的筆鋒，刺入當代競爭文化的核心，書寫那些「從不被允許失敗的菁英」如何在成功殿堂裡愈走愈孤絕。

什麼是成功？天才的命運，是恩賜，還是詛咒？
天才飛得越高，墜得越深
而留下來的人，又要帶著他們的光或黑暗走往何處？

譯自中文，譯者：王凱文（Kevin Wang）

Set in Taiwan and the Silicon Valley, a collection of linked stories that explore the meaning of success and the purpose of existence, centered on the short life and long shadow of an engineering genius who descends deeper into despair while rising higher on the professional ladder.

The hard-working geniuses of Spent Bullets are the crème de la crème of the meritocracy. Educated in the best schools in Taiwan, they move to lucrative positions in America’s big tech, reaching the pinnacle of career prestige. Yet there is a dark side to their relentless focus and achievements.

In an age that idolizes success, Terao Tetsuya’s piercing collection explores the grotesque contortions of psyches shaped by hyper-competitive systems, where the measure of one’s worth is a capacity for suffering—witnessed through the brief, shining life of Jie-Heng, a prodigy who can solve any logic problem—but not the problem of human relations. Jie-Heng mostly does what is expected of him, even if it means diminishing his individuality. A young man with no center to ground him, he tries to fit in, yet fails to connect because of other people’s fear, misunderstanding, resentment, and obsessive adoration.

His most vital deviation is a perverse, longstanding relationship with Wu Yi-Hsiang, a tormentor turned lover who offers a thin tether to reality. Wu Yi-Hsiang is fascinated by Jie-Heng’s intellect and, with his own anxious need to please, carefully tends to Jie-Heng's desire for debasement. When Jie-Heng’s yearning to embrace the void is tragically realized, he leaves behind a host of unanswered questions, complicated feelings, and cohorts who carry his memory like a bullet in a glass case that will never tarnish.

A searing look at our time and culture, Terao Tetsuya exposes the absurdity of striving: to make money, to be a better person, to be someone you're not. With cool, calculating precision, he illuminates the promise and peril of gifted young people who patiently bear the burdens of their fate.

Translated from Chinese by Kevin Wang