The Discomfort of Evening

　　評審們齊聲推薦：
　　「書中描述的每一件事、每個時刻，讀來都像是世人第一次接觸到這些事物。」
　　「面對生離死別，孩子們是如何去哀悼？這是個重要議題，但卻缺乏探討。或許那些較激烈的舉動源自於孩子們對於死亡的似懂非懂。」
　　「這本小說不允許你以旁觀者的角度閱讀，讀者立刻就被深深捲入了書中的世界。」

　　「我向上帝祈求，能否帶走哥哥而不要帶走我的兔子。阿們。」10歲女孩Jas擔心父親打算將她的寵物兔子養胖，給家人加菜，於是說出這樣的禱告。沒想到就在她禱告之後，哥哥去結凍的湖上參加溜冰比賽，從此一去不返…

　　28歲荷蘭新秀作家馬利柯‧路卡斯‧瑞因福德，以自身童年遭遇的創傷為故事主題，描述一個信仰虔誠的酪農家庭在遭逢巨變時，因為過度壓抑情緒造成的傷害。冷靜從容的敘事方式，顯得書中這家人逐漸脫序的行為更為詭異。失去親人的哀痛若沒有得到撫平，情緒的反撲可能引起更難以挽回的決裂….

WINNER OF THE 2020 INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE

A stark and gripping tale of childhood grief from one of the most exciting new voices in Dutch literature

Ten-year-old Jas lives with her strictly religious parents and her siblings on a dairy farm where waste and frivolity are akin to sin. Despite the dreary routine of their days, Jas has a unique way of experiencing her world: her face soft like cheese under her mother’s hands; the texture of green warts, like capers, on migrating toads in the village; the sound of ＂blush words＂ that aren’t in the Bible.

One icy morning, the disciplined rhythm of her family’s life is ruptured by a tragic accident, and Jas is convinced she is to blame. As her parents’ suffering makes them increasingly distant, Jas and her siblings develop a curiosity about death that leads them into disturbing rituals and fantasies. Cocooned in her red winter coat, Jas dreams of ＂the other side＂ and of salvation, not knowing where this dreaming will finally lead her.

A bestseller in the Netherlands, Lucas Rijneveld’s radical debut novel The Discomfort of Evening offers readers a rare vision of rural and religious life in the Netherlands. In it, he asks: In the absence of comfort and care, what can the mind of a child invent to protect itself? And what happens when that is not enough? With stunning psychological acuity and images of haunting, violent beauty, Rijneveld has created a captivating world of language unlike any other.

Marieke Lucas Rijneveld grew up in a Reformed farming family in North Brabant before moving to Utrecht. She is also the author of two poetry collections. In addition to writing, Rijneveld works on a dairy farm.