The Land of Decoration

　　一個令人無法抗拒的小女孩，
　　她的故事，將改變你看待世界的方式。

　　10歲的小茱蒂絲和爸爸相依為命，她從未見過母親，只能從家中的舊物來想像媽媽的輪廓。爸爸信仰虔誠，卻拙於表達愛，他總是訴說著聖經故事，牽起茱蒂絲的小手，挨家挨戶地傳教。那是父女倆唯一親密的時刻，卻令茱蒂絲在學校飽受嘲弄、霸凌。她只有躲進自己的小房間，才能得到安慰。

　　她在房間裡創造了一個「應許之地」，用毛氈變出綠色田野、保鮮膜鋪成蜿蜒小河，把廢物全化作一個超脫現實的空間。夜晚，茱蒂絲記起學校裡殘酷的種種，忍不住想像：要是真實世界像房間裡的世界一樣下起大雪，或許就會停課吧！於是她用爸爸的刮鬍泡在應許之地造出一場美妙的雪，不久便沉沉睡去……

　　天亮了，打開窗，只見一片雪白。

　　茱蒂絲揉揉眼睛，赫然發現房裡的雪花和外頭的銀白大地連成一片。難道她的一雙小手，竟能創造奇蹟？

　　文壇新星麥可琳以不凡而勇敢的想像力，刻畫出一個平凡卻了不起的小女孩。雖然在困境中一步步孤身前行，茱蒂絲仍提醒了我們：無論現實多麼令人失望、無法信任，無論面對多麼巨大的憂傷，只要持續相信心中那份微小卻重要的力量，在每個人身旁，都藏著能扭轉一切的小奇蹟。

　　A mesmerizing debut about a young girl whose steadfast belief and imagination bring everything she once held dear into treacherous balance

　　In Grace McCleen's harrowing, powerful debut, she introduces an unforgettable heroine in ten-year-old Judith McPherson, a young believer who sees the world with the clear Eyes of Faith. Persecuted at school for her beliefs and struggling with her distant, devout father at home, young Judith finds solace and connection in a model in miniature of the Promised Land that she has constructed in her room from collected discarded scraps — the Land of Decoration. Where others might see rubbish, Judith sees possibility and divinity in even the strangest traces left behind. As ominous forces disrupt the peace in her and Father's modest lives — a strike threatens her father's factory job, and the taunting at school slips into dangerous territory — Judith makes a miracle in the Land of Decoration that solidifies her blossoming convictions. She is God's chosen instrument. But the heady consequences of her newfound power are difficult to control and may threaten the very foundations of her world.

　　With its intensely taut storytelling and crystalline prose, The Land of Decoration is a gripping, psychologically complex story of good and evil, belonging and isolation, which casts new and startling light on how far we'll go to protect the things we love most.

　　★本書中譯版《房間裡的小奇蹟》由寂寞出版。

作者簡介

葛蕾斯．麥可琳　Grace McCleen

　　麥可琳身兼作家、音樂人與藝術創作者，曾於英國牛津和約克大學主修文學，目前專事寫作。麥可琳生於信仰虔誠的家庭，成長在封閉的小鎮，十多歲之前幾乎從未與外界往來，直到一位老師鼓勵她離開家鄉，申請牛津大學。這巨大的一步，是她人生中相當困難且危險的決定，不僅帶她跨出了自幼熟悉的環境與價值觀，也讓她徹底地蛻變。

　　麥可琳取得學位後，曾有數年為疾病所苦，在這段期間，她面臨失去信仰的掙扎，更差一點永遠失去了聲音。她自言當時除了創作，幾乎無法做任何事，於是開始用留聲機錄下自己的歌聲，並提筆寫下感人至深的第一部小說《房間裡的小奇蹟》。她的才華立刻受到肯定，迅速與英國重量級出版社藍燈書屋簽訂出版合約，成為文壇備受矚目的新作家，亦獲各國書評媒體一致推崇。

　　麥可琳現居倫敦，當她失眠的時候，也和《房間裡的小奇蹟》主角茱蒂絲一樣，喜歡動手製作「小人兒」，主要材料是能放進烤箱加熱成型的陶土。她的第二本小說暫名為The Professor of Poetry，探索關於時間、靜止與音樂的故事，預定於2013年春季出版。麥可琳的個人創作站：www.gracemccleen.com

　　Grace McCleen studied English Literature at Oxford University and The University of York before becoming a full-time writer and musician. She lives in London. The Land of Decoration is her first novel.