⚘2021年普立茲小說獎得獎作品

Thomas 是龜山印第安人保留區附近工廠的守夜人，同時也是奇珀瓦族議會的議員。1953年，他試圖了解美國國會正在推動的「解放」法案將帶來的後果，但奇珀瓦族的議員們心知肚明這條法案不會讓他們得到更多的自由，反而可能奪走屬於他們的土地及身份。

Thomas 的姪女 Pixie 自高中畢業後便堅持所有人叫她 Patrice，她並不像保留區內的其他女孩期望組織家庭，過安穩的生活。她在工廠的薪水只夠勉強度日，但她存下每一分錢，只為了前往大城市尋找失去音訊的姊姊 Vera。在這段旅途中她見識了出乎意料的剝削與暴力，甚至危及她的性命。

Louise Erdrich 以自己祖父的故事為藍本創造出 Thomas 這個角色，並將故事聚焦於數名角色，透過不同敘事線深入刻劃他們生活的樣貌，帶領讀者穿越時空回到1950年代的美國。這些角色在社會上承受著各種形式的歧視與暴力，使得他們的生活充斥著難題。雖然書中描述的情形已經引發關注，並獲得某種程度上的改善，但歧視至今仍然住在人們的心中，暗自在這個世界中製造仇恨與悲傷。

✒作者簡介

Louise Erdrich

Erdrich 是擁有印第安血統的美國小說家，她的祖父曾擔任龜山印第安人保留區的酋長多年，她本身也是保留區的註冊居民。她創作的故事多以北美原住民為主角，除了描寫現代化對他們帶來的影響之外，也蘊含著人與土地間的連結、社區對於個人的重要性和個人的文化認同等多層次的主題。

除了作家的身分之外，她也是Birchbark Books的主人。這間書店的書籍以北美原住民文學為主，時常舉辦讀書會共讀

Erdrich 與其他當地原住民作家的作品。書店也關注當地的原住民社群，並販售他們的藝術作品、傳統的藥物。

Thomas Wazhashk is the night watchman at the jewel bearing plant, the first factory located near the Turtle Mountain Reservation in rural North Dakota. He is also a Chippewa Council member who is trying to understand the consequences of a new “emancipation” bill on its way to the floor of the United States Congress. It is 1953 and he and the other council members know the bill isn’t about freedom; Congress is fed up with Indians. The bill is a “termination” that threatens the rights of Native Americans to their land and their very identity. How can the government abandon treaties made in good faith with Native Americans “for as long as the grasses shall grow, and the rivers run”?

Since graduating high school, Pixie Paranteau has insisted that everyone call her Patrice. Unlike most of the girls on the reservation, Patrice, the class valedictorian, has no desire to wear herself down with a husband and kids. She makes jewel bearings at the plant, a job that barely pays her enough to support her mother and brother. Patrice’s shameful alcoholic father returns home sporadically to terrorize his wife and children and bully her for money. But Patrice needs every penny to follow her beloved older sister, Vera, who moved to the big city of Minneapolis. Vera may have disappeared; she hasn’t been in touch in months, and is rumored to have had a baby. Determined to find Vera and her child, Patrice makes a fateful trip to Minnesota that introduces her to unexpected forms of exploitation and violence, and endangers her life.

In the Night Watchman, Louise Erdrich creates a fictional world populated with memorable characters who are forced to grapple with the worst and best impulses of human nature. Illuminating the loves and lives, the desires and ambitions of these characters with compassion, wit, and intelligence, The Night Watchman is a majestic work of fiction from this revered cultural treasure.

ISBN:9780062671196

Louise Erdrich 作品

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