LEAVING THE WORLD

Book ID/图书代码： 00200008B28370

English Summary/英文概要： On the night of her thirteenth birthday, Jane Howard made a vow to her warring parents – she would never get married and she would never have children. But life, as Jane comes to discover, is a profoundly random business. Many years and many lives later, she is a professor in Boston, in love with a brilliant, erratic man named Theo. And then Jane falls pregnant. Motherhood turns out to be a great welcome surprise – but when a devastating turn of events tears her existence apart she has no choice but to flee all she knows and leave the world.

Just when she has renounced life itself, the disappearance of a young girl pulls her back from the edge and into an obsessive search for some sort of personal redemption. Convinced that she knows more about the case than the police do, she is forced to make a decision: stay hidden, or bring to light a shattering truth.

Douglas Kennedy’s exceptional new novel is a portrait of the way we live now, of the many routes we follow in the course of a single life, and of the arbitrary nature of destiny. Like his previous highly acclaimed novels it is also a compulsive read – and one which speaks volumes about the dilemmas we face in trying to navigate our way through all that fate throws in our path.

Chinese Summary/中文概要： 暢銷作家道格拉斯‧甘迺迪，2009新作推薦。
道格拉斯是英國深受肯定的作家，其創作題材廣泛，作品包含小說7本、非小說3本，其中《The Woman in the Fifth》在2007法國書榜排行第2，至今總銷量已突破百萬冊。在這本道格拉斯的第9部作品中，他描寫出人生的現實與無常。

為了揮別不愉快的過去，是否該完全放下一切就此一走了之?
人生的經歷，難免會陷於進退兩難的困境，既然這是人生必經過程，那更該學會走出自己的道路，珍惜身邊所有一切。

正處在花樣年華，應該要好好慶祝13歲生日的Jane Howard，卻向父母宣佈自己長大後不會和任何人結婚，也不會生小孩，因為她相信人活著不可能永遠都是快樂的。其實Jane會有這樣的想法其來有自，因為從小她就看著父母時常爭吵，母親固執難溝通，父親沒有當爸爸應有的責任且有酗酒的毛病。Jane的父母聽到自己女兒做出這樣的決定，完全不能諒解。因此她爸爸受夠了婚姻與家庭的不美滿，在隔天只留下一封信便遠離家門，拋棄妻子和女兒，而母親開始把一切種種的不愉快怪罪到Jane的頭上。這對夫婦終究走向離婚一途，Jane與母親就此相依為命。

世事多變，計畫趕不上變化，曾經信誓旦旦堅持己見的Jane，幾年後成為哈佛大學教授，但卻在毫無預備的情況下，發現自己意外懷孕。Jane沒有即將初為人母的喜悅，反而對此充滿驚嚇，懷孕後所引發一連串的大小事件，使得她決定辭去工作，並與親人及所有朋友斷絕往來。Jane逃避過去的一切，搬到一個地方與外界隔絕。

Jane開始展開新人生之際，沒想到在住宅周圍附近，一位年輕女孩失蹤毫無音訊。警方完全束手無策，而沒有人可以比她了解這個離羣索居之地。Jane被迫做出抉擇，她是要繼續隱姓埋名，還是要揭開一個令人震驚扼腕的事實……

這本作品並不是驚悚推理小說，而是描述一位女子完全放下過去一切後，面對自己曾經遭遇經歷所發生的故事，結局引人深思。(Chris)

Awards/获奖情况：2009倫敦書展好書推薦
全球銷量破百萬本
享譽20國的暢銷小說家

版權已售:
■ UK: Hutchinson
■ France: Belfond
■ Germany: Diana
■ Holland: De Boekerij
■ Italy: Sperling
■ Romania: TREI
■ Sweden: Forum

前作銷量:
The Pursuit of Happiness – 511,010
A Special Relationship – 502,670
State of the Union – 365,221
Temptation – 274,631
The Woman in the Fifth – 525,886

‘Kennedy is a complete genius when it comes to understanding the minds of stylish but troubled women. What’s more, he does so enthrallingly and movingly’---Daily Mirror

‘Kennedy cannot help but write grippingly’---Observer

`Douglas Kennedy ... is famous for two things: writing insightfully about women’s lives, and crafting narratives so utterly gripping as to redefine the concept of unputdownable. In Leaving the World, his ninth novel, these strengths combine to make an unforgettable reading experience ... Don’t get on a long-haul flight without it, I say.’ ---The Times

About the Author/作者介绍： Douglas Kennedy’s novels have all been highly praised bestsellers. His work has been translated into sixteen languages and in 2006 he received the French decoration of Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Born in Manhattan in 1955, he now lives in London and has two children.

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：

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