Summerhouse, Later

　　Judith Hermann德國新生代女作家，生於柏林，當過酒吧女招待和記者。她於1998年出版短篇小說集《夏屋，以後……》，這是她迄今為止唯一的作品，卻深受讀者喜愛和專業人士的好評，並因此獲得2001年克萊斯特文學獎，這個獎項也是第一次授予一個隻出版過一本書的作家。

　　讀她的小說，不願說她在描寫心理，因為她是不著力的，不雕琢的，如手持一根看不見的線，引領讀者潛入人物本身仍然陌生的感情世界，不知不覺地為他們的迷惘而吸引，透過他們那荒誕行為的掩藏，若有若無地體會到他們熾烈的情感，為他們之間交流的阻隔而歎息。

　　本書是作者第一部作品，該書包括九個短篇，多描寫柏林普通青年人的日常生活，其中，藝術青年的生活更是她喜愛的主題，因為她原本也是他們當中的一個。他們疏離於擾攘的主流社會，沒有確定的生活目的和生活軌跡，也無法以常規來衡量他們的喜與悲，但他們並不是令人無法理解與接受的怪物。海爾曼以女性的細膩，大量描寫細碎的生活瑣事，然而那不是為了鋪墊或渲染，一個不經意的動作或姿態，似乎便可以使讀者產生驀然回首的感動，對這些藝術青年的情緒產生共鳴。

　　In nine luminous stories of love and loss, loneliness and hope, Judith Hermann's stunning debut collection paints a vivid and poignant picture of a generation ready and anxious to turn their back on the past, to risk uncertainty in search of a fresh, if fragile, equilibrium. An international bestseller and translated into twelve languages, Summerhouse, Later heralds the arrival of one of Germanys most arresting new literary talents.

　　A restless man hopes to find permanence in the purchase of a summerhouse outside Berlin. A young girl, trapped in a paralyzing web of family stories and secrets, finally manages to break free. A granddaughter struggles to lay her grandmother's ghosts to rest. A successful and simplistic artist becomes inexplicably obsessed with an elusive and strangely sinister young girl.

　　Against the backdrop of contemporary Berlin, possibly Europe's most vibrant and exhilarating city, Hermann's characters are as kaleidoscopic and extraordinary as their metropolis, united mostly in a furious and dogged pursuit of the elusive specter of "living in the moment." They're people who, in one way or another, constantly challenge the madness of the modern world and whose dreams of transcending the ordinary for that "narrow strip of sky over the rooftops" are deeply felt and perfectly rendered.