這是一本因數位化時代而衍伸出的新概念撰述手法,也是一本苦樂參半的心靈療癒書信小說。
Iris Massey去世了,在年僅33歲便死於癌症,但她的故事並沒有結束。她在治療期間創造了一個關於她健康的秘密部落格,其中充滿了許多尖銳但有趣的沉思囈語。在生命的盡頭時,她還向她的前任老闆兼密友Smith Simonyi提出一個要求,希望Smith可以將她的部落格作為一本書出版。Smith在Iris去世之後決定完成她的願望,但在此之前,他必須得到Iris的大姐Jade同意。
此書由一系列電子郵件、部落格文章、在線治療提交、簡訊、法律信函、家庭租賃預定等生活片段集結而成,是本靈巧又迷人的浪漫喜劇,充斥著有趣、悲慘、令人驚訝的情緒,同時也是失去家人或朋友之後,Smith和Jade如何透過這些細碎片段找到療癒自身情緒的啟發,重新找到新的起點。(文/博客來編譯)
One of Real Simple's Best Books of 2019
One of Thrillist's Best Books of 2019
One of Good Housekeeping's Best Books of 2019
"Fans of Where'd You Go, Bernadette will love this. . . a bittersweet, often funny novel about hope, memory, and loose ends."
--Real Simple, "The Best Books of 2019 (So Far)"
A comedy-drama for the digital age: an epistolary debut novel about the ties that bind and break our hearts, for fans of Maria Semple and Rainbow Rowell.
Iris Massey is gone.
But she's left something behind.
For four years, Iris Massey worked side by side with PR maven Smith Simonyi, helping clients perfect their brands. But Iris has died, taken by terminal illness at only thirty-three. Adrift without his friend and colleague, Smith is surprised to discover that in her last six months, Iris created a blog filled with sharp and often funny musings on the end of a life not quite fulfilled. She also made one final request: for Smith to get her posts published as a book. With the help of his charmingly eager, if overbearingly forthright, new intern Carl, Smith tackles the task of fulfilling Iris's last wish.
Before he can do so, though, he must get the approval of Iris' big sister Jade, an haute cuisine chef who's been knocked sideways by her loss. Each carrying their own baggage, Smith and Jade end up on a collision course with their own unresolved pasts and with each other.
Told in a series of e-mails, blog posts, online therapy submissions, text messages, legal correspondence, home-rental bookings, and other snippets of our virtual lives, When You Read This is a deft, captivating romantic comedy--funny, tragic, surprising, and bittersweet--that candidly reveals how we find new beginnings after loss.