Year of the Monkey

　　此時剛跨年步入2016年，佩蒂‧史密斯在舊金山傳奇的Fillmore表演廳舉辦的演唱會才結束落幕，而她，發現自己漫步在Santa Cruz的海岸，尚不知道在其後等待著自己的一切。當二月來到，迎來陰曆的猴年，一如人們說：「什麼事都可能發生，畢竟，猴年就是這樣」；這一年，恰好如一隻狡黠愛作弄人的猴，把意外丟向毫無防備的她──驟然離世的導師益友、而深交多年的老友，逐步走向衰萎，又或國家社會的跌宕暈眩，以及自己，將從69歲步向70的生命下一章……隨之而來的種種哀悼、悲傷、悵然或震驚──對向來對世事充滿好奇心，總在探索、思索與書寫的佩蒂‧史密斯而言，將這些經歷化作文字，捕捉於拍立得影像──是抵禦這所有的唯一途徑。



　　讀者受邀加入她的思想世界──現實與夢境在她的筆下融合為一，從加州直至亞利桑那的沙漠、造訪鄉間農場為朋友抄寫打字，一同編修最後的手稿、也走至病榻前面對珍視之人離世的最後時刻。當現實如浪般襲來，她穿梭於回憶與幻想的世界，沉浸在音樂、詩歌，沉思時間、失去與生命，體悟記憶，及人那不隨時光磨損的精神，都是如此珍貴重要。這充滿轉折與意外的一年，當悲傷與醒悟籠罩，佩蒂‧史密斯卻將一切化成一份詩意溫柔的慰藉，邁入生命的下一個十年。讓人沉醉、優雅而富含幽默的文字，與她代表性的拍立得影像──《Year of the Monkey》是佩蒂‧史密斯生命關鍵之年的記錄與雜想，更成為與讀者分享的一份贈禮：她的智慧、機智與充滿洞察的眼，以及最重要的，對一個更美好世界，那不放棄的韌性與期盼。（文/博客來編譯）

New York Times Best Seller

From the National Book Award-winning author of Just Kids and M Train, a profound, beautifully realized memoir in which dreams and reality are vividly woven into a tapestry of one transformative year.

Following a run of New Year’s concerts at San Francisco’s legendary Fillmore, Patti Smith finds herself tramping the coast of Santa Cruz, about to embark on a year of solitary wandering. Unfettered by logic or time, she draws us into her private wonderland with no design, yet heeding signs--including a talking sign that looms above her, prodding and sparring like the Cheshire Cat. In February, a surreal lunar year begins, bringing with it unexpected turns, heightened mischief, and inescapable sorrow. In a stranger’s words, ＂Anything is possible: after all, it’s the Year of the Monkey.＂ For Smith--inveterately curious, always exploring, tracking thoughts, writing--the year evolves as one of reckoning with the changes in life’s gyre: with loss, aging, and a dramatic shift in the political landscape of America.

Smith melds the western landscape with her own dreamscape. Taking us from California to the Arizona desert; to a Kentucky farm as the amanuensis of a friend in crisis; to the hospital room of a valued mentor; and by turns to remembered and imagined places, this haunting memoir blends fact and fiction with poetic mastery. The unexpected happens; grief and disillusionment set in. But as Smith heads toward a new decade in her own life, she offers this balm to the reader: her wisdom, wit, gimlet eye, and above all, a rugged hope for a better world.

Riveting, elegant, often humorous, illustrated by Smith’s signature Polaroids, Year of the Monkey is a moving and original work, a touchstone for our turbulent times.

作者簡介

　　PATTI SMITH is the author of Just Kids, which won the National Book Award in 2010, and of M Train, as well as numerous collections of poetry and essays. Her seminal album Horses has been hailed as one of the top 100 albums of all time. In 2005, the French Ministry of Culture awarded Smith the title of Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres; she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.