HOW THE TROUBLE STARTED

Book ID/图书代码： 04560012B51744

English Summary/英文概要： The police were involved over the trouble. They had to be. ’I was just playing,’ I told them, but that wasn’t enough. They wanted to know what I understood by ’intent’.

Donald Bailey is sixteen. He can’t forget the trouble that happened when he was eight, when the police were called. His mother can’t forget either and even leaving their home town doesn’t help. Then Donald befriends Jake, who is eight years old and terrifyingly vulnerable. As he tries to protect him, Donald fails to see the most obvious danger. And that the trouble might be closer than he thinks...

Following Robert Williams’ prize-winning debut Luke and Jon, How the Trouble Started is a dark, gripping novel about childhood, morality and the loneliness of children and adults. Told with Robert Williams’ characteristic warmth, humanity and deceptively light touch, it is a story about how our best and worst intentions can lead us astray, and the moments we can never leave behind.

Chinese Summary/中文概要： 罪惡感會消失嗎? 還是跟著你一輩子...

「當時我在玩」我這樣告訴警察，很明顯地這不是他們想要的答案！反正說太多絕對不會有好事，只要過些時候大家就會忘記了…
事發後罪惡感不斷的糾纏著Donald Bailey。回到學校，他知道同學們看他的眼神不一樣。大家都知道發生什麼事情。Donald與母親試著搬家換新環境，這只是讓惡夢更加鮮明。
八年過去往事並沒有被淡忘，現在Donald已經是十六歲的青少年。他認識了新朋友，八歲的Jake，一個脆弱敏感的男孩。這次麻煩換找上Jake，Donald欲保護Jake不受到傷害，卻未能察覺威脅已經逐步迫近。當初因為一念之差，不小心闖進別人的人生，命運交會下所帶來的改變，是意外還是命中注定？(DC & Iris)

Awards/获奖情况：“… the language with which he recounts this tale of friendship and survival seems newly minted. The kind of book that reminds you why, as a child, you first started reading novels.”---Financial Times

“The prose here is almost a poem ... a novel of promise in every sense. We are left satisfied yet wanting more.”---Times Literary Supplement

“Quirky but not saccharine, painful but not hopeless, difficult but not hard. … this is my favourite book of the year.”---The Bookbag

“Compassionate and perceptive ... Simply a great read.”---Adele Parks

“A warm, dead-to-rights understanding of the human heart, expressed in prose as clear as a glass of water.”---Francis Spufford

“It‘s the sort of novel I‘m always hoping to find. It‘s odd, heartfelt, romantic, sad, and most of all honest. When you read it you feel Williams wrote this one because he had to, and for me those are always the best novels.”--- Willy Vlautin

“You have a real find, a major find, in Robert Williams… it is the kind of book that stays in the mind way past the final page … He pulls off the brilliant trick of making light of heavy matters without lessening their impact. Above all, though, he writes bloody well.”---Mal Peet

‘An unsettling story about responsibility and about the reshaping of memory that takes place as we grow up.’ Observer

‘Williams’s book is a slow-burning character study propelled by understated writing and effective plot development. It is sometimes unsettling, but consistently absorbing.’ Sunday Business Post

‘Tender and touchIng.’ Time Out

‘Has all the hallmarks of fine writing and impressive insight ... A dark, gripping novel.’ Lancashire Evening Post

’[Williams] is a master at writing about sensational subjects with an uneasy, queasy understatement.’ Metro

‘Told with Williams’s characteristic warmth, humanity and a deceptively light touch, it is a story about how our best and worth intentions can lead us astray.’ Clitheroe Adervtiser and Times

‘The clear, evocative prose and perfectly captured northern setting in How The Trouble Started make it utterly poignant.’ Stylist

‘Compelling ... By skilfully avoiding the temptation to over-play the huge questions posed by this novel about innocence, morality, parenting and society, Williams’ subtle stylistic approach results in an engrossing read that resonates and moves rather than scandalises.’ The List

About the Author/作者介绍： Robert Williams 成長於英國蘭開夏郡，現居於曼徹斯特。他的第一本小說，Luke and Jon推出後獲得作家協會頒發的「貝蒂特拉斯克獎」(Betty Trask Award)，目前版權已銷售多國。
Robert Williams grew up in Clitheroe, Lancashire and currently lives in Manchester. His first novel, Luke and Jon, won a Betty Trask Award, was translated into seven languages and called ’a hugely impressive debut’ in the Daily Telegraph. He has worked in a secondary school library, as a bookseller for Waterstones, and has written and released music under the name The Library Trust.

Format:PROOF

Rights Status/版权销售情况：Simplified Chinese/简体中文：AVAILABLE

Complex/Traditional Chinese/繁体中文：AVAILABLE(到期可授)

Sales in other countries/其他国家销售情况：Rights sales for How The Trouble Started: Germany (Berlin Verlag), Russia (Exmo)

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