The Vulnerables

　　全美暢銷書，獲NPR、Kirkus Review等各大媒體精選為2023年度小說
 
　　『輓歌再加上喜劇，這是唯一能表達當代生活的方式。』本書中的角色如是說。這是一段在新冠肺炎疫情前期的故事，主人翁是平行世界中的作者。隨著病毒在紐約市區中逐漸擴散，這個虛構世界中的作者Nunez，將自己的公寓租借給了志工們，而自己則搬到了朋友的朋友－Iris的住處，在此，她替這位因為疫情的封城政策，而被困在加州Iris照顧她家的金剛鸚鵡－Eureka。然後她又遇到了曾經照顧過這隻鸚鵡的紐約大學學生，一個被趕出家門的Z世代年輕人。她們共同分擔照顧鸚鵡的責任，同時也慢慢地認識彼此。
 
　　在疫情的時代下，面臨生與死的恐懼，人與人之間似乎不用熟識彼此，只要一點微小的關懷，就足以給予對方諾大的慰藉。本書將探討在如此複雜的年代中，活著的意義究竟為何，同時也探討寫作的本質以及目的。(文／博客來外文館)
 

　　NATIONAL BESTSELLER
 
　　NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY NPR, HARPER’S BAZAAR AND KIRKUS REVIEWS
 
　　The New York Times–bestselling, National Book Award–winning author of The Friend and What Are You Going Through brings her singular voice to a story about modern life and connection
 
　　“I am committed, until one of us dies, to Nunez’s novels. I find them ideal. They are short, wise, provocative, funny — good and strong company.” —Dwight Garner, The New York Times
 
　　“With the intimacy and humor of a great conversation, this novel makes you feel smarter and more alive.” —People Magazine
 
　　“An ode to our basic need to connect with other beings, be they human or animal, even in a global crisis that told us to stay apart.” —NPR
 
　　Elegy plus comedy is the only way to express how we live in the world today, says a character in Sigrid Nunez’s ninth novel. The Vulnerables offers a meditation on our contemporary era, as a solitary female narrator asks what it means to be alive at this complex moment in history and considers how our present reality affects the way a person looks back on her past.
 
　　Humor, to be sure, is a priceless refuge. Equally vital is connection with others, who here include an adrift member of Gen Z and a spirited parrot named Eureka. The Vulnerables reveals what happens when strangers are willing to open their hearts to each other and how far even small acts of caring can go to ease another’s distress. A search for understanding about some of the most critical matters of our time, Nunez’s new novel is also an inquiry into the nature and purpose of writing itself.