The Minds of Billy Milligan

「本書敘述的是一則真實的故事。威廉．密里根是美國史上第一位犯下重罪，結果卻獲判無罪的嫌犯，因為他是一位多重人格分裂者。」

一九七七年，在美國俄亥俄州涉及連續強暴案的嫌疑犯比利‧密里根遭警方逮捕。但是，他對自己曾犯下的罪行居然毫無記憶。事實上，他（包含比利在內）總共有24個人格存在，這些人格不僅在性格上，甚至連智商、年齡、國籍、性別方面也都各不相同。這些不可思議的人格，到底是如何產生的呢？

一貫性的意識被剝奪、數度企圖自殺、精神被迫壓抑的比利，是如何處在此一混亂的人格分裂狀態中的呢？面對此一事實，法官要如何做出抉擇……？

佳評如潮

威廉．密里根是一位令人頭痛的人物。他可能是個精明的騙子，騙倒了社會大眾、犯下強姦重罪卻安然無事；否則他就真的是一位多重人格失序的人，但不論是哪一種人，這都是不幸--1981年俄州《戴頓日報》

無論如何，其中還有一些未解開的疑點：威廉． 密里根是如何學習到由湯姆「其中的一個人格」所展現的霍迪尼似的逃脫技巧？他對那些被強暴者聲稱的《游擊隊》和《殺手》指的究竟是什麼？醫師們認為，威廉．密里根或許還有未經揭露的其他人格……其中的一些人或許犯過一些未被發現的罪行。--1981年《新聞週刊》

From the acclaimed author of Flowers for Algernon comes the shocking true story of a man battling multiple personality disorder--the inspiration for the streaming series The Crowded Room, starring Tom Holland.

Billy Milligan can be anyone he wants to be . . . except himself.

Billy Milligan was a man tormented by twenty-four distinct personalities battling for supremacy over his body--a battle that culminated when he awoke in jail, arrested for the kidnap and rape of three women. In a landmark trial, Billy was acquitted of his crimes by reason of insanity caused by multiple personality--the first such court decision in history--bringing to public light the most remarkable and harrowing case of multiple personality ever recorded.

Twenty-four people live inside Billy Milligan.

Philip, a petty criminal; Kevin, who dealt drugs and masterminded a drugstore robbery; April, whose only ambition was to kill Billy’s stepfather; Adalana, the shy, lonely, affection-starved lesbian who ＂used＂ Billy’s body in the rapes that led to his arrest; David, the eight-year-old ＂keeper of pain＂; and all of the others, including men, women, several children, both boys and girls, and the Teacher, the only one who can put them all together. You will meet each in this often shocking true story. And you will be drawn deeply into the mind of this tortured young man and his splintered, terrifying world.

Praise for The Minds of Billy Milligan

＂A shocker that will rivet even the casual reader.＂--Flora Rheta Schreiber, author of Sibyl

＂A fascinating work.＂--Los Angeles Times

＂An absorbing, often heart-rending exploration of the human mind.＂--Cosmopolitan

作者簡介

丹尼爾．凱斯（Daniel Keyes），1927年生於紐約。他曾擔任過雜誌編輯、時裝攝影等工作，在轉行任中學老師時，開始從事小說創作。1959年首次發表中篇小說《獻給阿爾吉儂的花束》(Flowers For Algernon)，即榮獲「雨果獎」，1966年又以發展成長篇小說的同本書獲得「星雲獎」。

擁有心理學背景的丹尼爾．凱斯，擅長在小說中探討人類最微妙、最深層的心理問題。他在俄亥俄大學任教時，便開始以多重人格為創作的方向，1980年發表的《第五位莎莉》(The Fifth Sally)及1981年發表的《24個比利》，讓他的名字與「精神分析小說」劃上等號，也讓他在文學史上擁有一個旁人無法取代的地位！

Daniel Keyeswas born in New York City and graduated from Brooklyn College. His award-winning novel Flowers for Algernon is studied in high schools and colleges across the country. Keyes died in 2014.