The Beginner’s Goodbye

　　普立茲獎得主安．泰勒溫柔書寫人性脆弱，睿智面對生命得失
　　失去至親至愛的人，究竟需要多少時間才能真正與亡者告別？

　　從小，右手與右腳都不甚靈活的Aaron花費許多力氣在克服殘疾帶來的不便與應付過度關心的家人，長大後遇見說話直來直往、個性獨立的女孩Dorothy，便深深為其所吸引。

　　婚後，Aaron與Dorothy兩人過著只羨鴛鴦不羨仙的幸福生活，直到一棵大樹把房子壓垮，將Dorothy毫不留情地從這世間帶走，悲慟逾恆的Aaron自此一蹶不振。過了幾個月後，Dorothy回來了！在她的陪伴下，他漸漸地走出喪妻之痛的陰影，學習重新擁抱與善待身邊的人事物。

　　Dorothy是真的死而復生？她能留在Aaron身邊多久？Aaron要如何告別已逝的摯愛，認真地珍惜當下的擁有？(文/博客來編譯)

　　Anne Tyler gives us a wise, haunting, and deeply moving new novel in which she explores how a middle-aged man, ripped apart by the death of his wife, is gradually restored by her frequent appearances—in their house, on the roadway, in the market.
 
　　Crippled in his right arm and leg, Aaron spent his childhood fending off a sister who wants to manage him. So when he meets Dorothy, a plain, outspoken, self-dependent young woman, she is like a breath of fresh air. Unhesitatingly he marries her, and they have a relatively happy, unremarkable marriage. But when a tree crashes into their house and Dorothy is killed, Aaron feels as though he has been erased forever. Only Dorothy’s unexpected appearances from the dead help him to live in the moment and to find some peace.
 
　　Gradually he discovers, as he works in the family’s vanity-publishing business, turning out titles that presume to guide beginners through the trials of life, that maybe for this beginner there is a way of saying goodbye.
 
　　A beautiful, subtle exploration of loss and recovery, pierced throughout with Anne Tyler’s humor, wisdom, and always penetrating look at human foibles.