書林選書 / "Where the Crawdads Sing", Delia Owens 【在沼澤深處,埋藏一段青春最幽暗的秘密】 他們叫她「沼澤女孩」,聽起來就像渾身髒兮兮的瘋婆子,但奇雅不是。 奇雅因為特殊的身世,讓她從小就必須在沼澤區自力更生,她能自己划船捕魚,學會各種生存技巧,搭建屋舍也難不倒她,她自學並觀察各種沼澤生物,對於貝殼和鳥類的生物研究和收集更是驚人。總是一個人的奇雅,不擅與人相處,除了經營加油站的強普與梅寶夫婦,還有泰特。泰特在沼澤釣魚的時候認識奇雅,並教她如何寫字和讀書,甚至在她迷路的時候,划船帶奇雅回家,泰特是奇雅生命中第一個朋友,但因為搬家,便突然和奇雅失去聯繫。 18歲的奇雅雖美麗卻特異獨行,這時風靡校園的明星四分衛崔斯,居然邀請奇雅參加野餐,奇雅從未明白什麼是「愛」,而崔斯帥氣又迷人的個性令她顛倒,即便內心一再警惕,仍情不自禁陷入熱戀。大學畢業後泰特返鄉再度探望奇雅,並鼓勵她將收藏和研究的資料發表成書,他的關懷與體貼讓奇雅找回生活的步調與信心,就在她出城拜訪編輯時,警方發現崔斯陳屍於廢棄的消防塔中,身上配戴的貝殼項鍊不翼而飛… 童年時期是如此珍貴,因為那是我們唯一也是最終的一次自我定義,之後很難再有變化,我們兒時遭遇的事件或打擊造就了我們的個性,並悄然無聲地影響和牽引所走的路。奇雅雖然在兒時看似堅強的生存下來,但心中刻意忽略的寂寞缺口始終無法填滿,沼澤保護了她卻也困住她的心。作者Delia Owens原本是生命科學家,她的前三本著作是和她丈夫的共同作品,紀錄她在非洲觀察動物生態的生活,這本書是她第一本小說,不僅獲得眾多好評和書評肯定,運用優美的筆調描寫各種生物的天性,對照人性的險惡與善變,使讀者無法忘懷。 "I can't even express how much I love this book! I didn't want this story to end!"--Reese Witherspoon "Painfully beautiful."--The New York Times Book Review For years, rumors of the "Marsh Girl" have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life--until the unthinkable happens. Where the Crawdads Sing is at once an exquisite ode to the natural world, a heartbreaking coming-of-age story, and a surprising tale of possible murder. Owens reminds us that we are forever shaped by the children we once were, and that we are all subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps. ISBN : 9780593085851