奇異、迷幻,如萬花筒般令人目不暇給
充滿鬼魂的小鎮、被展示在水族館裡的美人魚、偏遠小島上的棺材旅館……《書店怪問》作者珍.坎貝爾,這次帶來不同於過去創作的童書和非小說類作品,深入想像力的國度,以輕柔的筆調和迷人的情節,創造了一個令人驚奇的童話世界。
首篇故事〈Animals〉即以詭譎、懸疑的氣氛,描述一個男人對心臟的迷戀:「現在,你可以按個按鍵就找到所有你需要的東西。所以我在網路上買了她的心臟。」開場便牢牢抓住讀者的目光及好奇心。本書收錄12個短篇作品,融合了古老童話的奇幻魔力與當代文學創作的元素,在不可思議、充滿魅力的故事底下,對性別、身分、生死等議題的討論,以及坎貝爾對現實世界中邊緣人物的關懷潛伏其中,以最離奇的故事展示了再真實不過的事:我們是如此不同的個體,卻又如此相同,有著一樣的愛恨,一樣既堅強又脆弱的心靈。(文/博客來編譯)
Modern fairy tales of magic, outsiders and lost souls from bestselling author and acclaimed book vlogger Jen Campbell.
'WHAT A BOOK. IT'S SO STRANGE AND MAGICAL AND THE WRITING IS JUST BEAUTIFUL. I LOVED IT.' Louise O'Neill
'ENCHANTING AND ILLUMINATING' Carys Bray, author of A Song For Issy Bradley
'LIKE WALKING THROUGH A MIRROR.' Rachel Joyce, author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
'THIS BOOK IS FULL OF CHARACTER AND MAGIC, AND I FOUND MYSELF MESMERISED' Claire Fuller, author of Our Endless Numbered Days
'A GEM OF A BOOK ... DEEPLY MOVING' Stylist Book Wars v THE BOOK OF DUST.
'THESE STORIES ARE WEAVED TOGETHER LIKE SILVERY FISHING NETS. LIKE SHIMMERING, JEWEL-BRIGHT WORLDS' Helen McClory
'These days, you can find anything you need at the click of a button.
That's why I bought her heart online.'
Spirits in jam jars, mini-apocalypses, animal hearts and side shows.
A girl runs a coffin hotel on a remote island.
A boy is worried his sister has two souls.
A couple are rewriting the history of the world.
And mermaids are on display at the local aquarium.
The Beginning of the World in the Middle of the Night is a collection of twelve haunting stories; modern fairy tales brimming with magic, outsiders and lost souls.
'I'm fascinated by storytelling, and particularly fairy tales. How humans have always tried to explain things that they can't possibly understand with, sometimes outrageous, stories' Jen Campbell
From the author of Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshopsseries and The Bookshop Book.
各界好評
◆Campbell's entirely fresh reframing of classic fairytales within modern experiences...really got me thinking. The perfect autumnal read to curl up with. — Stylist
◆quietly excellent — Stylist
◆The Beginning of the World in the Middle of the Night is a gem of a book — Stylist
◆There is dark enchantment in these wonderfully strange tales — Daily Mail
◆Mining myths and fairy tales, Campbell gives voice to the outsiders, misfits and lost souls in the most mesmerising way. — Daily Mail
◆Interwoven with myth and fairy tale, these stories are surprising, delightful, and by turns dangerous and joyful, like walking through a mirror and discovering a world that you both recognise and have never seen before. — Rachel Joyce, author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
◆'I was hooked from the first sentence of the first story. They're so twisted and dark and a genuine pleasure to read ... so strange and magical.' Louise O'Neill
◆'Campbell's fairy tales retain a kaleidoscope quality from the first to the last page...a reality coloured by our imagination in which we are as strong as we are vulnerable, as similar as we are different.' Sanja Gligoric
◆There are so many intriguing characters and situations to be enjoyed in The Beginning of the World in the Middle of the Night...Jen Campbell is clearly a writer to watch. — Katy Goodwin-Bates, New Books magazine
◆A darkly clever, beautifully written and deliciously twisted collection of modern fairy tales — Sarra Manning, Red
◆razor-sharp critique of contemporary issues and deeply movingshort stories — Stylist
◆Jen Campbell's intensely imaginative stories can only be described as beautiful and bizarre. This collection is filled with fantastical elements that give it a dangerous and charming flavor. — Bustle
◆totally weird and wonderful — Emerald Street
◆Enchanting and whimsical, curiously beautiful and illuminating — Carys Bray, bestselling author of A SONG FOR ISSY BRADLEY
◆This book is full of character and magic, and I found myself mesmerised — Claire Fuller, bestselling author of OUR ENDLESS NUMBERED DAYS
◆These stories are weaved together like silvery fishing nets. Like shimmering, jewel- bright worlds — Helen McClory
◆Jen Campbell's intensely imaginative stories can only be described as beautiful and bizarre. This collection is filled with fantastical elements that give it a dangerous and charming flavour. — Bustle