Juliet, Naked

　　安妮與鄧肯交往多年，兩人的關係自然得像兩片契合的拼圖，但鄧肯狂熱地著迷於塔可．克洛（一位二十年前突然自樂壇銷聲匿跡的搖滾歌手），他開口閉口都是塔可．克洛，使得安妮開始納悶，她是否虛擲了十五年的大好青春與一個爛對象交往？是否浪費了寶貴光陰在英格蘭東海岸一座荒涼小鎮裡，枯守一份無聊的工作？

　　就在這時，塔可過去所屬的唱片公司突然發行了一張塔可的新專輯，是塔可從前最知名專輯《茱麗葉》的試唱版錄音。這是二十年來塔可首度發片。安妮在歌迷網站貼了樂評之後，竟收到一個她作夢也沒想到的人的回應。

　　因為這張專輯，安妮、鄧肯與塔可的命運隨之改變，原本平靜的生活也掀起波瀾。

　　The New York Times bestselling novel of rock 'n roll, super fandom, and love, by the beloved author of About a Boy and High Fidelity.

　　Nick Hornby returns to his roots-music and messy relationships-in this funny and touching new novel which thoughtfully and sympathetically looks at how lives can be wasted but how they are never beyond redemption. Annie lives in a dull town on England's bleak east coast and is in a relationship with Duncan which mirrors the place; Tucker was once a brilliant songwriter and performer, who's gone into seclusion in rural America-or at least that's what his fans think. Duncan is obsessed with Tucker's work, to the point of derangement, and when Annie dares to go public on her dislike of his latest album, there are quite unexpected, life-changing consequences for all three.

　　Nick Hornby uses this intriguing canvas to explore why it is we so often let the early promise of relationships, ambition and indeed life evaporate. And he comes to some surprisingly optimistic conclusions about the struggle to live up to one's promise.

　　★本書中譯版《赤裸的茱麗葉》由馥林文化出版。

作者簡介

尼克．宏比　Nick Hornby

　　1957年出生，畢業於劍橋大學，成長並居住於北倫敦，曾經是教師與記者。他第一本暢銷書《足球熱》（Fever Pitch）是當年度最叫好叫座的書之一，獲得「威廉希爾年度運動好書」（William Hill Sporting Book of The Year）。而一九九五年的《失戀排行榜》(High Fidelity)、一九九八年的《非關男孩》（About A Boy），不僅讓宏比成為英國最受歡迎的小說家，也改編成好萊塢電影，讓宏比的名氣遠送全球。

　　宏比的最愛就是兵工廠足球隊與流行音樂！宏比的樂評跳脫了以往枯燥的分析，以獨特的碎碎唸風格深得樂迷們的心，更是許多喜愛搖滾樂的樂迷買CD之外的必配良品！集結碎碎唸樂評的《三十一首歌》在二○○二年更是跨越大西洋，入圍了「美國國家圖書獎」(National Book Critics Circle Award)。而專欄結集而成的《The Complete Polysyllabic Spree》，內容便是宏比所喜愛的各種讀物文章，以及相關。

　　Nick Hornby is the author of the novels How to Be Good, High Fidelity, About a Boy, and A Long Way Down, as well as the memoir Fever Pitch. He is also the author of Songbook, a finalist for a National Book Critics Circle Award, and the editor of the short story collection Speaking with the Angel. The recipient of the American Academy of Arts and Letters E. M. Forster Award for 1999 as well as the 2003 Orange Word International Writers’ London Award, he lives in North London.