MEETING THE ENGLISH

Book ID/图书代码： 11701212B57264

English Summary/英文概要： Literary Giant seeks young man to push bathchair. Own room in Hampstead, all found, exciting cultural milieu. Modest wage. Ideal ’gap year’ opportunity. Apply Prys Box 4224XXC. ’It’s only England,’ said Mr Fox, ’just a few hours on the train. You can always come home.’ ’Ah’ve never been though,’ said Struan, ’never been South.’ ’Then you should,’ said Mr Fox, ’you really should.’ So it is that Struan Robertson, orphan, genius, and just seventeen, leaves his dour native town of Cuik, and arrives in London in the freakish fine summer of 1989. His job, he finds, is to care for Phillip, dumbfounded and paralysed by a massive stroke, because, though two teenage children, two wives, and a literary agent all rattle round Phillip’s large house, they are each too busy with their peculiar obsessions to do it themselves. As the city bakes, Struan finds himself tangled in a midsummer’s dream of mistaken identity, giddying property prices, wild swimming, and overwhelming passions. For everyone, it is to be a life-changing summer. This is a bright book about dark subjects: a tale about kindness and its limits, told with love. Spiked with witty dialogue, and jostling with gleeful, zesty characters, it is a glorious debut novel from an acclaimed writer of poetry, non-fiction, and short stories.

Chinese Summary/中文概要： 这是由现今定居于英国的一位苏格兰诗人和剧作家Kate Clanchy撰写的第一本特别的小说。
1989年的夏天，苏格兰少年Struan，一直在照顾自己垂危病重的父亲，受英国文学老师的鼓励，Struan去南方闯荡，并得到了一份照顾因中风而瘫倒的著名剧作家Philip Prys的看护工作。
在这段期间，Struan发现自己处于Prys的前妻之间纷争的漩涡中心，野心勃勃的地产开发商Myfanwy,和剧作家现任如花瓶般美丽妻子，动人的伊朗难民Shirin。都想成为这幢位于英国汉普斯特德房子的主要拥有者。 在他笨拙不善交际的外表之下，Struan有着高深的睿智和投入于帮助这位因中风而导致残疾的剧作家重新恢复语言的韧性。整个夏天，他成为了这家中的一员，参与了这个家中的所有事务，包括Philip的儿女的那些琐事，Jake和Juliet两人不完整的童年都遭受过父亲那自大妄为的伤害。
作者娴熟地交替着视角，以至于读者甚至可以一睹像故事中这位剧作家Philip的无助代理人Giles这类小角色的内心。作者用精准地视角，生动的描述，和对故事人物的深刻剖析恰如其缝地向读者展现了一幕社会喜剧。这部令人赏心悦目的小说 —应当入主今年的获奖名单。(Sandy)

Awards/获奖情况：With wit and zest, Clanchy creates social comedy out of teeth-clenching situations . . . Clanchy’s trenchant, often very funny prose also shimmers with sensual pleasures . . . Meeting the English is a richly conceived, original and very entertaining novel.’ Guardian

‘A comedy of manners with a sharp edge . . . With its cast of artsy, highly strung, badly behaved north Londoners, Meeting the English feels like an updated Iris Murdoch novel, with sharper haircuts and more Laura Ashley furnishings.’ Independent on Sunday

‘A charming comic novel with an appealing lightness of touch’ Literary Review

‘Meeting the English is a comedy of manners and a comedy of morals . . . [it] has a frothy charm. Moreover, in the rather appalling Myfanwy, Clanchy presents us with a character whom it is a pleasure to meet in a novel, though one would fly from her in real life.’ Scotsman

‘Lacerating social observation mixed with Shakespearean comedy powers Kate Clanchy’s first novel . . . her agility with language makes the sentences shimmer.’ Sunday Telegraph

‘An exceptional first novel . . . Clanchy switches multi-viewpoints adroitly . . . she has a wincingly accurate eye for social comedy, a vivid descriptive sense, and profound understanding of her characters. This is a delectable read – it should certainly be on one or more of this year’s awards lists.’ Daily Mail

About the Author/作者介绍： Kate Clanchy是一位从小在苏格兰长大现居于英国的作家。她是颇具声望的诗人：她的文集，《邋遢女人，佐藤和新生》曾夺得无数文学奖项，并广受好评。她还为英国广播四台和《卫报》发表过无数评论文摘

Kate Clanchy was born and grew up in Scotland but now lives in England. She is a popular poet: her collections, Slattern, Samark and and Newborn have brought her many literary awards and an unusually wide audience. She has also written extensively for Radio 4 and reviews and writes comment for the Guardian.<

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

Complex/Traditional Chinese/繁体中文：AVAILABLE

Sales in other countries/其他国家销售情况：Rights sold: UK: Picador (pub Spring 2013)/ US: Macmillan / Unassigned.

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