J: A Novel

　
　　以《芬克勒問題》奪下2010年曼布克獎的霍華．傑可布森視為小說生涯顛峰力作！一改戲謔寫作風格，本作設定在大災難後的未來，在大膽的反烏托邦故事架構下，一對戀人的相遇，將為人類未來投下震撼彈！

　　在毀滅世界的「那件事」過後，人類生活產生了巨大改變，人們被迫改名換姓，且不能擁有傳家古物，但幾十年過去了，年輕人漸漸淡忘了「那件事」。

　　年屆四十歲的凱文是個木工，獨自生活的他有點害羞也有點神經質，而他這輩子都還沒談過戀愛，此外他也不明白，每當父親講到「J」開頭的那個字，父親總會豎起兩指放到嘴前，不願發出那個音。

　　有一天鎮上來了位神秘的女子艾琳伊，她的美貌和個性讓凱文迷魂顛倒，他們兩位就像命中註定的一對情侶，但這個「命中註定」看似並不單純，而在與艾琳伊一起搬來的友人艾斯米的眼中，這兩位絕對有在一起的必要，而凱文父母留下來的文件箱，其中竟藏有解開一切謎團的真相？（文／博客來編譯）

　　Man Booker Prize–winner Howard Jacobson’s brilliant and profound new novel, J, “invites comparison with George Orwell’s 1984 and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World” (Sunday Times, London). Set in a world where collective memory has vanished and the past is a dangerous country, not to be talked about or visited, J is a boldly inventive love story, both tender and terrifying.
     
　　Kevern Cohen doesn’t know why his father always drew two fingers across his lips when he said a word starting with a J. It wasn’t then, and isn’t now, the time or place to be asking questions. When the extravagantly beautiful Ailinn Solomons arrives in his village by a sea that laps no other shore, Kevern is instantly drawn to her. Although mistrustful by nature, the two become linked as if they were meant for each other. Together, they form a refuge from the commonplace brutality that is the legacy of a historic catastrophe shrouded in suspicion, denial, and apology, simply referred to as WHAT HAPPENED, IF IT HAPPENED. To Ailinn’s guardian, Esme Nussbaum, Ailinn and Kevern are fragile shoots of hopefulness. As this unusual pair’s actions draw them into ever-increasing danger, Esme is determined to keep them together—whatever the cost.
    
　　In this stunning, evocative, and terribly heartbreaking work, where one couple’s love affair could have shattering consequences for the human race, Howard Jacobson gathers his prodigious gifts for the crowning achievement of a remarkable career.

作者簡介

　　An author of fiction and non-fiction, Jacobson's previous novels include Man Booker-winner The Finkler Question, Zoo Time, and Kalooki Nights. Hogarth will also publish his forthcoming retelling of The Merchant of Venice as part of the Hogarth Shakespeare series. Jacobson is a columnist for The Independent and has worked as a professor and in television and radio broadcasting.