Man with the Compound Eyes

　　從簽下英文版權開始就被受國際媒體注目的文學作品
　　台灣首位華文作家與全球第一大出版社蘭登書屋首度合作！

　　「吳明益的《複眼人》可媲美村上春樹的《1Q84》、楊．馬泰爾的《少年Pi的奇幻漂流》及瑪格麗特．愛特伍的《洪水之年》（暫譯）。」，這不僅是關於台灣東海岸的故事，也是一位迷失的小男孩及其傷心欲絕的母親，在失落中找回愛及救贖的動人旅程。

　　我們曾經以為已然棄絕的記憶與物事，終將在海的某處默默聚集成島，重新隨著堅定的浪，擱淺在憂傷的海灘上。

　　《複眼人》，全書共分11章31節，多條敘事線分進合擊的情節鋪排、多層次的角色塑造，複眼式的立體觀照，呈現作家吳明益不同以往的寫作風格。複雜的敘述與視域交織成一部長篇的交響詩，在在發出對土地與生命的情感極強音；不變的是他對人類心靈掙扎與生態議題一貫溫潤、內斂的關懷，仍時隱時現地貫穿整個迷人的故事──

　　瓦憂瓦憂島，一座太平洋上的神秘小島，人們信奉海神卡邦，過著原始的漁獵採集生活，沒有文字，卻是擁有海的故事最多的地方。島上的少年阿特烈，在出生後第一百八十次月圓時，背負次子的宿命，展開有去無回的航海旅程。

　　而寓居臺灣東部的文學教授阿莉思，丈夫傑克森帶著十歲的兒子托托去登山，卻從此失去音訊，救難隊上山搜尋未果，讓阿莉思計畫尋死。

　　兩個尋死之人，與經營第七隻Sisid的阿美族人哈凡、開計程車的布農族人達赫、為一條貫穿山脈的道路而曾來過臺灣的德國人薄達夫，以及挪威海洋專家莎拉…….因緣際會在島嶼的東部相遇。

　　這是一部描寫人類心靈中的孤寂、掙扎，自然界的變動不居，人與環境的互動，地誌變化，手法既擬仿人類學，又揉合多種敘事筆法……難以歸類，卻絕非艱澀難讀的動人小說。也是投身自然書寫、小說創作的吳明益在寫作上的新嘗試。

　　On Wayo-wayo, a fictional island in the South Pacific, every second son has to sail into the wide sea as sacrifice to the Sea God on the day he turns fifteen. Atile’i is one such boy. Being the strongest swimmer and best sailor on the island, he sets out to defy destiny. His journey takes him across the ocean to a vast and strange island, one which is built of material he’s never seen before and devoid of any signs of life. Hungry and barely surviving, Atile’i believes that this is Hell.

　　In 2020, tourism and careless development have severely damaged Taiwan’s east coast, but a larger threat is coming. Alice, a literary professor who has lost her husband and son in a mountain accident, quietly contemplates committing suicide in her seaside home. Her plan is put on hold when news vans and helicopters from all over the world arrive on the beach to behold the catastrophe of the century: a trash vortex several times the size of Taiwan comes crashing on the shore. Amidst the chaos, Alice saves the unconscious Atile’i.

　　They escape into the mountain, taking shelter at a hunting lodge. An unusual bond is formed as they struggle to understand each other’s language and culture. Accompanied by Atile’i, Alice retraces her late husband’s footsteps, hoping to solve the mystery of her son’s disappearance.

　　The dark secret she discovers will force her to question everything she believes in.
　
　　★本書中文版《複眼人》由夏日出版社出版。

作者簡介

吳明益

　　現任國立東華大學華文文學系教授。有時候寫作、畫圖、攝影、旅行、談論文學，副業是文學研究。

　　作品曾獲亞洲周刊年度十大中文小說，並兩度獲中國時報開卷年度好書，金石堂年度最有影響力的書，誠品年度推薦書，聯合報小說大獎等等。

　　著有散文集《迷蝶誌》、《蝶道》、《家離水邊那麼近》，小說集《本日公休》、《虎爺》，長篇小說《睡眠的航線》；論文《以書寫解放自然》，編有《臺灣自然寫作選》、《濕地．石化．島嶼想像》。

　　曾兩度獲中國時報開卷年度好書、金石堂年度最有影響力的書、亞洲週刊年度中文十大小說、聯合報小說大獎等等。

　　Wu Ming-Yi (b.1971) is a Taiwanese writer, painter, designer, photographer, literary professor, butterfly scholar, environmental activist, traveler and blogger. His literary reputation was first established by his nature writing. His debut novel, Routes in the Dream (2007) re-imagines Taiwan’s complicated history as a Japanese colony and examines the relationship between fathers and sons, memory and dreams. Hailed as a groundbreaking work of literary historical fiction, it was nominated for every major award and was chosen as one of the ten best Chinese-language novels of the year by Asian Weekly magazine. Wu was the only Taiwanese writer on the list. The Man with the Compound Eyes is his second novel but the first to be translated into English.