內容簡介
內容簡介 作者以處女作《A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius》(怪才的荒誕與憂傷)廣受歡迎,也為國內讀者所認識,之後他也曾出版其它小說作品,並編輯頗受好評的雜誌《McSweeney》,但讀者最念念不忘的還是他撰寫傳記的功力。本書由作者執筆寫下的非洲人Valentino Achak Deng的故事。這一切真實發生,但又極富戲劇性,出版後即引起極大的回響。 出生於在非洲蘇丹的小鎮上,居民生活自然簡樸;但在1938年內戰發生後,主角開始過著非人的生活,歷經一些讓人不忍卒讀的遭遇: 逃難過程中為了求生吃下一切能吃的食物、親手埋葬好友、親眼看著夥伴被獅子撕裂吞食、更痛苦的是人類之間的互相殘殺。但他為了一股求生意念,支撐他逃到埃塞俄比亞、卻又被迫再逃到肯亞的難民營,再輾轉踏上美國國境,而他在這個看似天堂的美國,卻又遭到歹徒毆打和搶劫…。有人認為作者改寫了故事,所以這是一本小說,而非真實傳記,但作者指出,人性所「創造」出來的遠遠超出他所寫下的故事。即便以小說的角度來看,作者也忠實傳達了一個苦痛人生的經歷,而引發讀者的低迴和省思。
作者介紹
作者介紹 Dave Eggers is the author of three previous books, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, You Shall Know Our Velocity!, and How We Are Hungry. He is the editor of McSweeney’s, a quarterly magazine and book-publishing company, and is cofounder of 826 Valencia, a network of nonprofit writing and tutoring centers for young people. His interest in oral history led to his 2004 cofounding of Voice of Witness, a nonprofit series of books that use oral history to illuminate human rights crises around the world. As a journalist, his work has appeared in The New Yorker, Esquire, and The Believer. He lives in the San Francisco Bay area with his wife and daughter.