The Lovely Bones

　　本書為電影封面版

　　「我姓沙蒙，唸起來就像英文的『鮭魚』，名叫蘇西。我在一九七三年十二月六日被殺了，當時我才十四歲。兇手是我們鄰居，媽媽喜歡他花壇裡的花，爸爸有次還向他請教如何施肥。」小說裡蘇西．沙蒙第一次出場時，她已經上了天堂。她從這個奇怪的新地方俯瞰人間，以一個十四歲女孩清新活潑的口吻，告訴我們一個滿懷希望的故事。

　　天堂看起來像學校操場，操場上擺著不錯的鞦韆架；天堂裡有輔導老師幫助新來的人，還有朋友和她同住。只要肯動腦去想，她想要的東西都會出現在面前，不過她最想要的是回到人間和心愛的人共度，卻始終無法如願。

　　《蘇西的世界》作者Alice Sebold採用大膽的敘事技巧，將一樁人間悲劇化作懸疑處處卻又風趣溫馨的故事，是一本充滿同情理解的療癒小說。

　　★本書中譯本《蘇西的世界》由時報出版

　　Once in a generation a novel comes along that taps a vein of universal human experience, resonating with readers of all ages. THE LOVELY BONES is such a book -- a #1 bestseller celebrated at once for its artistry, for its luminous clarity of emotion, and for its astonishing power to lay claim to the hearts of millions of readers around the world.

　　”My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973.”

　　So begins the story of Susie Salmon, who is adjusting to her new home in heaven, a place that is not at all what she expected, even as she is watching life on earth continue without her -- her friends trading rumors about her disappearance, her killer trying to cover his tracks, her grief-stricken family unraveling. Out of unspeakable tragedy and loss, THE LOVELY BONES succeeds, miraculously, in building a tale filled with hope, humor, suspense, even joy.

　　The major motion picture version of THE LOVELY BONES, directed by Peter Jackson and starring Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon, Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci, and Saoirse Ronan is scheduled for release on December 11, 2009.

作者簡介

艾莉絲．希柏德 (Alice Sebold)

　　畢業於Irvine區加州大學，1999年曾將自己大學時代遭受強暴的經驗寫成自傳Lucky（中文版譯名為《折翼女孩不流淚》），《村聲雜誌》曾推薦她為「最具潛力的作家」，2002年六月出版小說處女作The Lovely Bones，未上市先轟動，女作家Anna Quindlen在電視節目力薦這部作品給觀眾，甫上市就擊敗暢銷排行榜的老牌作家，榮登冠軍寶座，在紐約時報排行榜上全年聲勢不墜，書評界一片讚嘆，美國國家書卷獎得主Jonathan Franzen更力挺她的作品有大師風格，並已售出電影版權，成為英美書市年度傳奇。

　　她曾為《紐約時報》及《芝加哥論壇報》撰稿，現與先生、也是知名作家 Glen David Gold 住在加州。