THE UNDERSTORY
Book ID/图书代码： 11516012B58711
English Summary/英文概要： Story Easton knows the first line of every book, but never the last.She never cries, but she fakes it beautifully.
And at night, she escapes from the failure of her own life by breaking into the homes of others, and feeling, for a short while, like a different, better person.
But one night, as an uninvited guest in someone’s empty room, she discovers a story sadder than her own: a boy named Cooper Payne, whose dream of visiting the Amazon rainforest and discovering the moonflower from his favorite book, Once Upon a Moonflower, died alongside his father.
For reasons even she doesn’t entirely understand, Story decides that she will help Cooper and his mother. She will make his dream come true.
When the decision is made, the lives of other broken people start to come together: Hans Turner, the door-making magician who can’t shut the door on his past; Martin Baxter, the author of Cooper’s beloved book, who wrote it with the daughter he misses every day; and Claire Payne, Cooper’s mother, struggling to keep her son sheltered from the anger that threatens to consume her.
The Understory is a magical, moving, funny, and poignant story of failure and success; of falling apart and rebuilding; and of coincidences that never really are. Part comedy, part drama, and part fairy tale, Elizabeth Leiknes’s second novel is a wonder you won’t soon forget.
Chinese Summary/中文概要： 在亞麻遜雨林中有一個盒子，裡面藏著神奇的魔法……
Story Easton過著頹廢的生活。她知道每本書的頭兩句，但從不知道結局。每天，無聊地寫著老式的賀卡。唯一能讓她覺得興奮的，就是晚上盲目地沖進別人家裡。這種間接的驚恐讓她覺得自己變成了另外一個人。
一天晚上，當她闖進一個孤寡之家是時，她的人生轉變了。
這家人的命運比她還要悲慘。男孩Cooper Payne的父親原本答應陪著他去尋找亞馬遜雨林中的月亮花。可是，父親還未實現諾言就去世了，現在只剩下男孩和母親相依為命。
也不知是什麼原因，Story 決定幫助男孩去尋找他的月亮花，完成他的夢想，也真正讓自己成功一次。
為了實現這個夢想，Story組建了一個奇妙的團隊。一群心碎的人就此走到一起：
魔術師Hans Turner，無法放下悲傷的過去；
作家Martin Baxter就是寫“月亮花”故事的作者。這本書是他寫給自己逝去的女兒的。他時時刻刻都在思念她。
Claire Payne，Cooper的母親，努力克制自己，防止自己的怒氣傷害到兒子。
“The Understory”融合了喜劇、戲劇、童話多種文體，感人、有趣、感傷、神奇……講述了一個成功和失敗、分裂和重建以及生活中的種種巧合。Elizabeth Leiknes這第二本小說是個讓你終生難忘的傳奇故事。(Celia)
Awards/获奖情况：国家图书奖提名，普利兹奖提名
“作者溫馨的通感和靈巧的觸動告訴我們有時，個人內心的強大力量能夠讓心傷自愈，並由此開始新的生活。而要一個陌生人去實現這個目標就需要魔力、常識、一些特殊能力還有足夠的善心。”——RENO JOURNAL-GAZETTE
“Leiknes描寫的人與人之間互相聯繫的故事總是那麼有感染力。女主角Story Easton的名字起得正合適，她患有文字圖雷特綜合症，而且很樂意每週闖進別人家裡只想感受下成功感。一步步，在各種搞笑場景後，‘The Understory’完全展現了Leiknes的才能。”——BEN ROGERS, AUTHOR OF ACCLAIMED NOVEL, THE FLAMER, AND RECIPIENT OF A NEVADA ARTS COUNCIL FELLOWSHIP AND TWO SIERRA ARTS FOUNDATION LITERARY ARTIST ENDOWMENT GRANTS
“伊莉莎白這第二本小說記述了成功、自我發現的故事。將不同人的故事編織到一個有關希望的故事中。‘The Understory’神奇又感人，幽默的情節和希望與信仰交織到一起。這個有關現實的類童話故事告訴我們人生的機緣也是有其意義和目的的。不論你幾歲，只要能相信，都不遲。”——巴爾摩爾圖書評論
“這個故事如此溫馨感人，時有風趣的情節和悲傷的場景。作者完美地將幾個複雜的人物命運編織到一起。也許，你原本以為一群陌生人不會走地如此親近，但其實是可以的！故事中的確有一兩個場景非常不真實，但只要稍稍放下警惕，展開想像力，就能享受這本書了。”——NOVEL REFLECTIONS
“每個人都會遇到他們生命中需要的那個人。他們在最合適的時候相遇，安撫對方受傷的心靈，在悲傷中繼續前進，互相勉勵成長。我很喜歡這樣的故事，這就是我理想的生活。故事中充滿著這樣的魔力。伊莉莎白的故事讓我想起了Sarah Addison Allen。”——一位讀者
’’Leiknes’s love for the interconnectedness of human stories is contagious. Story Easton, the aptly named heroine of this cheeky and irreverent fairy tale, has a charming case of literary Tourette syndrome (among other enchanting quirks) and is a delight to tag along with on her week-long attempt to make a success of herself. Layer by layer, laugh by laugh, The Understory shows Leiknes’s talents in full bloom.’’--Ben Rogers, author of acclaimed novel The Flamer, and recipient of a Nevada Arts Council Fellowship and two Sierra Arts Foundation Literary Artist Endowment Grants
’’Elizabeth Leiknes, the author, has got to become one of my favorite authors in this world. The writing style, it’s kind of staccato almost--very nice beat and rhythm to it. It almost has the same style as The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. I actually added this to my top ten books . . . ever written.’’--Josiah Morgan, 11-year-old YouTube reviewer, New Zealand
About the Author/作者介绍： Elizabeth Leiknes在愛荷華州的郊區長大，她會用玉米做出37種不同的菜肴。她本科就讀于愛荷華州大學，在內華達大學獲得碩士學位。她的首部小說是《The Sinful Life of Lucy Burns》、後來又出版了《Black-Eyed Susan》和《Future Perfect》。《Let Them Eat Corn》還在寫作過程中。
創作《The Understory》這本書的靈感來自于她給兒子讀的有關亞馬遜雨林的睡前故事。伊莉莎白對大白鯊又愛又恨，而且喜歡誇張地說話，雖然她一般會否認這一點。她現在和丈夫和兩個兒子Hardy、 Hatcher住在Lake Tahoe、內華達。她同時在那裡教英語。
Elizabeth Leiknes grew up in rural Iowa and can make thirty-seven different dishes featuring corn. She attended the University of Iowa as an undergrad, and the University of Nevada, Reno for her Masters. Her previous published novel is The Sinful Life of Lucy Burns. Black-Eyed Susan, Future Perfect, and Let Them Eat Corn are works in progress.
The inspiration for The Understory came one night while reading her sons a bedtime story about the rainforest. Elizabeth has a love/hate relationship with great white sharks, and a slight penchant for speaking in hyperbole, which she says she never does.
She now lives near Lake Tahoe, Nevada, with her husband, and two sons, Hardy and Hatcher. She also teaches English there.
Format:HARDCOVER
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)
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