My Last 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World

　　瀕死狀態下的人生走馬燈，一生這麼長，誰才是心中掛念的一切？

　　最初的第一分鐘，她感覺到死亡逼近。
　　蕾拉(Tequila Leila)的意識開始消去，緩慢地流失，像潮汐一般，穩穩地遠離岸邊。她的腦細胞，開始失去氧氣的供應。
　　時間凝滯，一切變得緩慢。

　　對蕾拉而言，死後的每一分鐘，都喚起了感官上的記憶。
　　她想起家鄉的燉羊肉的香氣，那是為了慶祝她兒子的新生而準備的；一整缸的阿拉伯熱糖團，糖在缸中煮得起泡作響，正等著作為除毛之用──這是男人們上清真寺時，女人們在家的樂趣；加了荳蔻香料的咖啡，是她在工作的妓院裡，和一名帥氣學生共享的甜蜜時光。

　　每個畫面，也都代表著她生前的人際關係與重要時刻。而在意識的另一頭，她的朋友們正不斷地找尋她......。

　　《愛的哲學課》、《伊斯坦堡的私生女》作者艾莉芙‧夏法克(Elif Shafak)，是土耳其當代最重要的作家之一，融合真實土耳其社會中的複雜面向，與小說中的出色人物，她再一次帶來令人迷醉的作品。

　　(文/博客來編譯)

　　An intensely powerful new novel from the best-selling author of The Bastard of Istanbul and Honour - available for pre-order now 

　　'One of the best writers in the world today' Hanif Kureishi 

　　'Haunting, moving, beautifully written - and based by an extraordinary cast of characters who capture the diversity of modern Turkey. A masterpiece' Peter Frankopan

　　'In the first minute following her death, Tequila Leila's consciousness began to ebb, slowly and steadily, like a tide receding from the shore. Her brain cells, having run out of blood, were now completely deprived of oxygen. But they did not shut down. Not right away...'
For Leila, each minute after her death brings a sensuous memory: the taste of spiced goat stew, sacrificed by her father to celebrate the long-awaited birth of a son; the sight of bubbling vats of lemon and sugar which the women use to wax their legs while the men attend mosque; the scent of cardamom coffee that Leila shares with a handsome student in the brothel where she works. Each memory, too, recalls the friends she made at each key moment in her life - friends who are now desperately trying to find her. . .

　　'Simply magnificent, a truly captivating work of immense power and beauty, on the essence of life and its end.' Philippe Sands
　　
　　'One of the most important writers at work today' Independent