THE HUMAN TOUCH
Book ID/图书代码： 05380006B02486
English Summary/英文概要： What would that universe be like if human being were not here to observe it? Would there be still be numbers, or scientific laws? Would the universe even be vast, without our tininess to give it scale? This paradox is what Michael Frayn calls ’the world’s oldest mystery’. In this book, with peerless wit and astonishing lucidity, he turns to confront mind boggling ideas head-on. The author of award winning novels (such as "Spies"), plays ("Copenhagen" and "Noises Off") and films ("Clockwise") here produces his first work of non-fiction, one which explores all of the ideas behind his brilliant, funny and hugely popular work.
Chinese Summary/中文概要： 如果没有人类观察，宇宙存在的意义为何物？还会有数字或者科学定律吗？如果没有人类的渺小，还会有宇宙的浩瀚吗？作者将这些矛盾称之为“世界最古老的秘史”。作者另有多部获奖小说、戏剧、电影，这是他的第一部非小说作品，与其以往的作品有所不同，别有一番滋味。(兼职翻译-XJJ)
Awards/获奖情况："Michael Frayn here turns from his playwriting and novel writing to show that he’s equally accomplished as a philosopher – an approachable one too." - First Post
"As a novelist and dramatist, Frayn has a better sense of what will engage ordinary readers. His book is a witty examination of the ways in which so many of our beliefs about reality slip through our fingers when we attempt to seize them." - Sunday Times
"Anyone who thinks philosophy boring should try Michael Frayn, a novelist and playwright, on the subject here. His sense of wonder… never leaves him and his prose shines throughout." - Seven
"This text crackles with humour, erudition and wisdom. In an age of increasing specialisation, his polymathy is a protean delight." - The Times
"Novelist Michael Frayn waxes philosophical in this wide-ranging study of human consciousness and our role in relaying the world….this is a welcome reinvigoration of the oldest philosophical questions, which have become not less relevant but more urgent with new arguments for and against science and religion rearing their heads." - Sunday Business Post
"This book contains moments of pure relief and delight." - The Observer
"Frayn stretches the mind in his erudite, dazzlingly clever investigation into out part in the creation of the universe. It delves into the most significant questions facing human contemplation – mankind’s insignificance in the vastness of the universe, our fleeting contacts with the world around us and the philosophical and scientific certainties that turn out to be grandiose illusions." - Ham and High
"Frayn’s intention is to use his gift of language and imagery to make these scientific frontiers understandable to the non-specialist." - The Boston Globe
"Readers looking for exciting intellectual vistas will find them here. A rare work illuminating both the syntheses of art and the rigor of science." - Booklist
"A masterpiece of gentle subversion in keeping with Frayn’s overall playful and user-friendly approach." - Kirkus Reviews
"Particularly engaging ... as one might expect from a brilliant crafter of farces, a delightful wit regularly peeps through." - The Economist
"THE HUMAN TOUCH is Frayn’s testament, an expansion of thoughts about life, the universe and everything." - Financial Times
"Difficult ideas are effortlessly dealt with, leaving the reader with a sense of mild intoxication. Frayn’s exultant prose entices and ultimately overwhelms you. Reading his arguments, I felt as though I were floating down a warm river, caught up in its playful, whirling eddies… Frayn’s gift for exposition and explanation is a godsend. His effervescent style, which nibbles at a subject from all sides until it is helpless to conceal its secrets, perfectly matches the elusive nature of the quantum world… THE HUMAN TOUCH makes an important contribution to 21st century philosophy." - LA Times
"[THE HUMAN TOUCH] is characterized by close analysis and an insistent pursuit of exactitude…. But apart from its humor, it is also brought to life through Frayn’s instincts as a playwright. His informed theatrical metaphors are more meaningful than most, and his style is auditory, as if honed by writing dialogue. But mostly, it’s that Frayn tests lofty concepts the way a playwright must: in everyday detail and human behavior." - San Francisco Chronicle
"This has got to be one of the funnier philosophical books I’ve read lately." - Jim Holt
"Bold, original… Robust intellectual curiosity, keen powers of observation and ingenious sense of humour… Frayn’s ecstatic embrace of a human-made universe is a fantastically persuasive ride." - Publishers Weekly
About the Author/作者介绍： 迈克尔•弗莱恩（Michael Frayn），1933年生于伦敦，从此开始他的记者生涯。他写过多部小说，包括入围2002年布克奖、荣获2002年白面包奖的《间谍》（SPIES），另有13部戏剧作品。
Michael Frayn was born in London in 1933 and began his career as a journalist on the Guardian and the Observer. SPIES was long-listed for the Man Booker Prize 2002 and won the Whitbread Award for Fiction 2002. HEADLONG was shortlisted for the 1999 Booker Prize, the Whitbread Novel Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction. Other novels include TOWARDS THE END OF THE MORNING, THE TRICK OF IT and A LANDING ON THE SUN, as well as THE TIN MEN, NOW YOU KNOW, SWEET DREAMS and CELIA’S SECRET. His thirteen plays (which are represented by Nicki Stoddart at United Agents) range from NOISES OFF to COPENHAGEN, and he has translated a number of works, mostly from the Russian. His play, DEMOCRACY, received the Evening Standard Best Play Award and transferred to the Wyndhams Theatre after a hugely successful run at the National Theatre.
His memoir of his father and his childhood, MY FATHER’S FORTUNE: A LIFE, was published in 2010, and was awarded the 2011 PEN/Ackerley Prize and shortlisted for the 2010 Costa Biography Award. SKIOS, a farce set on a Greek island, was published by Faber & Faber in May 2012 and was long-listed for the Man Booker Prize. In 2014, MATCHBOX, a collection of very short plays, was published by Faber & Faber. It was adapted for BBC Radio 4 and performed in Hampstead theatre. In 2017, a second collection of short plays, POCKET PLAYHOUSE, was also published by Faber & Faber.
He is married to the biographer and critic Claire Tomalin.
Format:HARDCOVER
Rights Status/版权销售情况：Simplified Chinese/简体中文：AVAILABLE(到期可授)
Complex/Traditional Chinese/繁体中文：AVAILABLE
Sales in other countries/其他国家销售情况：International Rights have been sold to US/Henry Holt, China/Shanghai Interzone
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