The High Mountains of Portugal

　　A novel that explores questions of loss and faith that hearkens back to the award-winning, bestselling Life of Pi.

　　NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Fifteen years after The Life of Pi, Yann Martel is taking us on another long journey. Fans of his Man Booker Prize–winning novel will recognize familiar themes from that seafaring phenomenon, but the itinerary in this imaginative new book is entirely fresh. . . . Martel’s writing has never been more charming.”—Ron Charles, The Washington Post

　　In Lisbon in 1904, a young man named Tomás discovers an old journal. It hints at the existence of an extraordinary artifact that—if he can find it—would redefine history. Traveling in one of Europe’s earliest automobiles, he sets out in search of this strange treasure.

　　Thirty-five years later, a Portuguese pathologist devoted to the murder mysteries of Agatha Christie finds himself at the center of a mystery of his own and drawn into the consequences of Tomás’s quest.

　　Fifty years on, a Canadian senator takes refuge in his ancestral village in northern Portugal, grieving the loss of his beloved wife. But he arrives with an unusual companion: a chimpanzee. And there the century-old quest will come to an unexpected conclusion.

　　The High Mountains of Portugal—part quest, part ghost story, part contemporary fable—offers a haunting exploration of great love and great loss. Filled with tenderness, humor, and endless surprise, it takes the reader on a road trip through Portugal in the last century—and through the human soul.

　　Praise for The High Mountains of Portugal

　　“Just as ambitious, just as clever, just as existential and spiritual [as Life of Pi] . . . a book that rewards your attention . . . an excellent book club choice.”—San Francisco Chronicle

　　“There’s no denying the simple pleasures to be had in The High Mountains of Portugal.”—Chicago Tribune

　　“Charming . . . Most Martellian is the boundless capacity for parable. . . . Martel knows his strengths: passages about the chimpanzee and his owner brim irresistibly with affection and attentiveness.”—The New Yorker

　　“A rich and rewarding experience . . . [Martel] spins his magic thread of hope and despair, comedy and pathos.”—USA Today

作者簡介

楊．馬泰爾 Yann Martel

　　外交官之子，一九六三年出生於西班牙。幼時曾旅居哥斯大黎加、法國、墨西哥、阿拉斯加、加拿大，成年後作客伊朗、土耳其及印度。畢業於加拿大特倫特大學哲學系，其後從事過各種稀奇古怪的行業，包括植樹工、洗碗工、警衛等。

　　二十七歲始以寫作為生。曾兩度造訪印度想要寫作，結果旅費用盡，幾乎無以為繼。但是馬泰爾有一天來到孟買附近的一個小鎮，忽然文思泉湧、欲罷不能，情節內容一一浮現。他花了六個月的時間造訪印度南部所有的動物園，並深入了解當地生活，隨後回到加拿大，開始鑽研各宗教教義，而他的曠世奇作《少年 Pi 的奇幻漂流》也逐漸成形。

　　該書出版後立即讓國際文壇為之驚豔，不但全球已熱賣突破七百萬冊，更贏得英國文壇最高榮譽『曼布克獎』、德國出版界最高榮譽『德國圖書大獎』等六項國際大獎，以及十幾項大獎的提名和年度好書推薦！英國出版社並特別與英國《泰晤士報》、澳洲《年代》雜誌共同舉辦了一項國際插畫競賽，由第一名得主為本書繪製全新彩色插圖，推出精美的『繪圖版』。《少年 Pi 的奇幻漂流》目前並已被改編拍成電影。