The Last Romantics

　　塔拉(Tara conklin)是位天才作家，華麗的文筆，為小說的創作添增一筆風趣與多元。紐約時報的暢銷作家，這次為讀者帶來手足的故事。看兄弟姊妹們如何影響彼此，逐步養成獨立的他人與自我。



　　是什麼構成偉大的詩人，是我們熟悉的故事嗎？我們創造家庭，乘載著血緣與友情，愛恨交雜。我們從中得到甚麼?看見甚麼?目睹渴望與懊悔，疾病與身體殘缺。功成名就與財富來來去去。偉大的詩篇，都從我們開始相信它開始。



　　當詩人費歐娜被問及，作品背後的故事源頭，她對觀眾，說起家族的故事，背叛迴盪在生命的長河中。



　　在未來的2079年，高齡102歲的費歐娜(Fiona)，細細追想那個夏天，那個影響他們一生的夏天。一幢黃色大屋，舉辦著喪禮。父親驟然離世。人人都鐵青面孔，滿臉無神。母親日後都在她的房間中度過，守著中產小鎮克內提克(Connecticut town)。他們稱這段時期為靜日(Pause)，作為一個分隔，它是自由與狂野的夏天。在可預測的日常裡，他們對未來感到憧憬，有著無限可能與想像。辛納(Sinner)一家，有狂暴的大姊蕊娜(Renee)，感性而活潑的卡洛琳(Caroline)，還有一名健壯的男孩喬伊(Joe)與富於觀察的費歐娜(Fiona)。



　　二十年後，手足皆有自己生命際遇，家族的危機，試驗著彼此的親密程度，迫使他們面對選擇，更正確地，他們終將選擇親情。



　　喬伊長成書中的焦點。而善於觀察的費歐娜，則一邊為NGO組織效力，一方面經營部落格，幽默地稱為最後的浪漫(the last romantic)，寫盡她的風流韻事，每個和她上床的男人都被如實記錄下來，一個接著一個。這是小說的關鍵，窺視他人心中的密道。作者巧妙地避免讀者的偏見，放入許多秘密，解不完的驚喜，串聯一切。（文/博客來編譯）

A Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick

"A richly observed novel, both ambitious and welcoming." -- Meg Wolitzer

An Instant New York Times Bestseller

Named a Best Book of the Month by Goodreads - Lithub - Refinery29 - InStyle - HelloGiggles - Real Simple - Parade - PureWow - Bustle

A sweeping yet intimate epic about one American family, The Last Romantics is an unforgettable exploration of the ties that bind us together, the responsibilities we embrace and the duties we resent, and how we can lose--and sometimes rescue--the ones we love.

When the renowned poet Fiona Skinner is asked about the inspiration behind her iconic work, The Love Poem, she tells her audience a story about her family and a betrayal that reverberates through time.

It begins in a big yellow house with a funeral, an iron poker, and a brief variation forever known as the Pause: a free and feral summer in a middle-class Connecticut town. Caught between the predictable life they once led and an uncertain future that stretches before them, the Skinner siblings--fierce Renee, sensitive Caroline, golden boy Joe and watchful Fiona--emerge from the Pause staunchly loyal and deeply connected. Two decades later, the siblings find themselves once again confronted with a family crisis that tests the strength of these bonds and forces them to question the life choices they've made and ask what, exactly, they will do for love.

A novel that pierces the heart and lingers in the mind, The Last Romantics is also a beautiful meditation on the power of stories--how they navigate us through difficult times, help us understand the past, and point the way toward our future.

Author（作者簡介）

Tara Conklin

　　Tara Conklin is the author of the New York Times bestseller The House Girl. Trained as a lawyer, she worked for an international human rights organization and as a litigator at a corporate law firm in London and New York. Her short fiction has appeared in the Bristol Prize Anthology, Pangea: An Anthology of Stories from Around the Globe, and This Is the Place: Women Writing About Home. She holds a BA in history from Yale University, a JD from New York University School of Law, and a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School (Tufts University). She lives in Seattle, Washington, with her family.