NATURAL HISTORY
Book ID/图书代码： 03540007B15813
English Summary/英文概要： Strange things are happening in Monkeyland, the ailing Devonshire sanctuary that Patrick and his zoologist wife, Jane, took on in a bid to save their marriage. Their oldest female primate, the wise and gentle Rue, is found murdered in a corner of the compound. And a big, panther-like cat, preys around the park. It evades capture, lurking in the shadows and in the back of Patrick’s mind. Private, threatening, elusive. With Patrick’s son, Charlie, having left Monkeyland in disgrace, his wife on a field trip in Zaire and Jo avidly tracking the progress of the comet Hale Bopp with her tutor, Patrick is left alone with his black cat and his fears. Until one night something happens that is so shocking, so deplorable, that it rips apart everything Patrick had ever held to be true. They say that a parent’s worse nightmare is to suffer the death of a child. But what if that’s not true? Natural History is a work of exquisite tension. Building towards a climax so devastating it subverts every expectation, it is a brutally compelling investigation into what it is to be human, what it is to experience guilt - and what it means to be without it.
Chinese Summary/中文概要： Monkeyland近來怪事連連，派翠克和自己的動物學家妻子簡為了挽救婚姻而進入了德文郡的病患救濟所。Rue是這家救濟所的管理員，也是一位睿智、溫和的老太太。可是在一個籬笆場的角落裡，人們發現了她的屍體。一隻身形肥大，像豹子一樣的貓圍著公園覓食。為了遭到捕獲，它潛伏在暗影當中。同時它也縈繞在派翠克的腦海裡。事情變得隱秘，恐懼和難以捉摸。
隨著兒子查理灰頭土臉地離開Monkeyland，他的妻子到Zaire進行實地考察，Jo和她的導師熱情地跟蹤彗星Hale Bopp，派翠克的生活裡只剩下孤獨和恐懼。現在只有那只黑貓與他相伴。可是一天晚上發生了如此令人震驚和哀歎的事情，以至於派翠克徹底放棄了之前所堅信的一切。人們常說對於父母親而言世界上最痛苦的噩夢就是飽受喪子之痛。但那如果不是真的有怎麼樣呢？
《自然歷史》情節驚心動魄。為了打造一個具有毀滅性的高潮，作者顛覆了所有的猜想。本書運用殘酷野蠻、觸目驚心的手段探討了人性和罪孽以及失去罪孽後生活將是何場景。（from XMM）
Awards/获奖情况：
About the Author/作者介绍： 尼爾.克洛斯1969年出生於布里斯托爾。此後，他曾在愛丁堡，布萊頓，里茲以及倫敦暫住過一段時光。目前，作者與家人定居在新英格蘭。尼爾創作出了一大批備受讚譽的心理懸疑小說，此外，他還是一名頗受追捧的劇作家。作者最初從事過的職業有工業考古學家，跨國製藥巨頭員工，超市夜間值班人員，街頭市場交易者，書商以及出版社銷售總監。他的小說《陽光依舊》（Always the Sun）入圍了布克獎，懸疑驚悚小說《埋葬》（Burial）入選首屆Ngaio Marsh Award決選作品名單。他的回憶錄《心靈之地》（Heartland）榮登暢銷作品排行榜。尼爾是BBC1犯罪系列劇集《盧瑟》的製片人，以及熱門偵探影集《英國特警隊》 (Spooks)的主要編劇。該劇曾經創下英國偵探影集收視最高峰，目前《英國特警隊》已播至第八季。
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