作者將一樁有關背叛的希臘悲劇描寫得有血有肉,媒體讚譽這本書,「不可能再更好!」
為了贏得托洛亞戰爭,阿伽門農不理會妻子克呂泰涅斯特拉勸阻,決定犧牲女兒,在伊菲珍妮亞婚禮當天背叛她,獻出她的生命,以祈求戰爭勝利。
果然,阿伽門農獲得了光榮的勝利,但這也為他的死亡埋下了伏筆。
三年後,他得勝回到家鄉,但此時妻子早已禁不住誘惑,委身伊吉斯特斯,與他共擁王位。阿伽門農旅途困頓,要求沐浴,克呂泰涅斯特拉溫柔地說,已為他準備好水,阿伽門農毫不猶豫地走進宮殿,此時伊吉斯特斯跳出來,殺死毫無防備的阿伽門農。
但在這場父母相殘的悲劇裡,阿伽門農與克呂泰涅斯特拉的女兒伊萊葛拉一直冷眼旁觀,他們的兒子奧里思特斯則是踏上流亡之路,他們需要找到一個方式對付過去的錯誤,即便這意味著另一場野蠻報復即將上演…..。(文/博客來編譯)
'They cut her hair before they dragged her to the place of sacrifice. Her mouth was gagged to stop her cursing her father, her cowardly, two-tongued father. Nonetheless, they heard her muffled screams.'
On the day of his daughter's wedding, Agamemnon orders her sacrifice.
His daughter is led to her death, and Agamemnon leads his army into battle, where he is rewarded with glorious victory.
Three years later, he returns home and his murderous action has set the entire family - mother, brother, sister - on a path of intimate violence, as they enter a world of hushed commands and soundless journeys through the palace's dungeons and bedchambers. As his wife seeks his death, his daughter, Electra, is the silent observer to the family's game of innocence while his son, Orestes, is sent into bewildering, frightening exile where survival is far from certain. Out of their desolating loss, Electra and Orestes must find a way to right these wrongs of the past even if it means committing themselves to a terrible, barbarous act.
House of Names is a story of intense longing and shocking betrayal. It is a work of great beauty, and daring, from one of our finest living writers.