內容介紹
★ "這部小說猶如在巨大的畫布描繪，然而其獨特之處在於以十八章為架構，每章涵蓋從1951年至2010年間的一天。在我看來，作者Adam Rapp的主要關注點似乎有兩個。一個是對我們與暴力持續接近的檢視，以及隨著時間推移對我們造成的影響。另一個是對美國夢的追求，以及家族中隨著時間演變的階級轉變，在Larkin家族中呈現，其中一位手足藉著婚姻進入上流社會，另一位追求藝術家的波西米亞生活，另一位成為盡責的護士，還有一位總是在邊緣徘徊，而暴力總是近在咫尺。
正如你在作者的註解中所看到的，他創作這部小說的靈感來自於他的母親工作為死囚牢房的護士，以及他對於我們為何一方面容易傾向暴力，另一方面卻對我們之中的殺手──往往是中年白人男性──如此漠不關心的疑問。他們來自何處，他們是如何形成的，我們為何無法認識到他們？此外，如果像Larkin家族一樣，我們確實了解了一位家庭成員如此可怕的真相，我們會怎麼做呢？我們會面對它嗎，如果會，又該如何面對？如果不去面對，這樣的秘密會如何滋生並毒害一個家庭？它會如何在世代中演變？"~本書策劃編輯Ben George
《WOLF AT THE TABLE》是一個令人毛骨悚然的多代家族傳奇，講述了一個家庭中隱藏著一個連環殺手的故事。
隨著1951年夏末降臨紐約州Elmira，13歲的Myra Larkin是一個龐大的天主教家庭中最年長的孩子，她在當地一家小餐館遇到了一個她認為是Mickey Mantle的年輕人。他在小餐館與她聊天，並送她回家。這個事情困擾著她，直到那天晚上，近處的街道發生了一起三重謀殺案，揭開了一場將困擾拉金家族半個世紀的暴力幽靈。
隨著兄弟姐妹離開家，遍佈全國，每個人都在追尋美國夢的一部分。Myra在照顧兒子Ronan的同時擔任監獄護士。她的姐妹Lexy和Fiona發現自己站在不同的階級和權力對立面。曾經是祭壇侍童的Alec被趕出家門，漂泊無依。隨著他變得越來越孤立，他的母親開始收到充滿不祥預兆的明信片。它們揭示了什麼，需要什麼，將會粉碎一個家庭並導致毀滅性的算帳。
通過一個家庭對美國夢的追求，《WOLF AT THE TABLE》探討了我們與暴力的持續接觸以及隨著時間推移對我們產生的影響。Pulitzer獎最終入圍者Adam Rapp以華麗的深刻洞察力寫作，剖析每個角色的內心，揭示了善良社會外表下的毀滅性現實。
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作者介紹
作者Adam Rapp為備受讚譽的電影製片人和劇作家，Adam Rapp憑藉他的劇本《Red Light Winter》獲得Pulitzer獎最終入圍，並獲得美國藝術與文學學院Benjamin H. Danks獎等多項榮譽。
除了眾多的劇本之外，他還是小說《Know Your Beholder》和《The Year of Endless Sorrows》的作者，以及包括《Under the Wolf, Under the Dog》在內的幾部青少年小說，曾入圍洛杉磯時報圖書獎。
Adam Rapp出生於美國芝加哥，在附近的伊利諾州長大，現在將時間分配在紐約市東村和紐約上州之間。
書評
"Prolific writer and playwright Rapp delivers this haunting novel following the Larkin family over 60 years, as their lives intertwine with violence and mental illness . . . This literary page-turner will invite a variety of readers."
―Booklist
“Beautifully told . . . A gothic tale of murder, madness, and intergenerational conflict . . . Wolf at the Table channels the spirit of Cormac McCarthy . . . Rapp can write up a storm . . . He is a sharp and witty observer, and his narrative commands attention.”
―Kirkus
“Wolf at the Table is a masterful novel—strange and affecting, and immersive reading. Adam Rapp peers into the dark heart of America with shrewd and eerie grace, the likes of which I have not encountered since Kosiński.”―Richard Ford, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Independence Day and Canada
Praise for Know Your Beholder
"More often than any book I can easily recall, Rapp's novel had me laughing like a fool, embarrassing myself each time I unthinkingly brought it out in public. Perhaps more surprisingly, that humor felt entirely natural—born organically from the idiosyncrasies of the characters themselves rather than foisted on them... Rapp mostly dredges comedy from Francis' peculiar ways of seeing the world and from the mundanely weird people who populate it."―NPR
"Rapp's novel is surprisingly high-spirited, comic without diminishing the emotional depth of his motley crew. That''s largely thanks to Rapp's gift for figurative language."―Washington Post
"Rapp is such a skillful and evocative writer he can make magic out of the ordinary stuff of daily life... Know Your Beholder has a surprisingly satisfying finish on multiple levels... It's nothing less than masterful."―Cleveland Plain Dealer
"Know Your Beholder is funny and sad, smart and moving, dark and hopeful. Adam Rapp writes with a lyrical acumen and wit that are not just impressive, but immensely engaging."―Jonathan Tropper, New York Times bestselling author of This Is Where I Leave You and One Last Thing Before I Go
"Know Your Beholder is a message from the heart and from the beard, a message from the new weird America to every guy who's ever spent too much time in his bathrobe and every women who's ever considered what that guy would look like if he actually got himself together and shaved. Adam Rapp knows about laughing to keep from crying. He's a melancholy Lenny Bruce of the sentence and his imagination is never less than intense."―Hari Kunzru, author of the national bestseller The Impressionist
