博客來 各大雜誌譽為今秋最值得期待小說！
歷史、創傷、身份認同⋯⋯帶你一窺究竟美國是如何一步步走到川普執政時代
以極高速並激昂的語氣論述，並盡可能地提到大量觀點、引述多方資料，讓對手一時間無法各個擊破，這種高中生辯論比賽中，被稱為「渲染（Spread）」的技巧，卻不是Adam一貫的風格，他說：「這根本沒有要讓聽眾理解這一切的內容，純粹是看著一堆外國符號從青少年嘴裡傾瀉而出的表演。」。
Adam Gordan，Topeka高中的高年級生，是個遠近馳名的辯論好手，非常有機會代表學校在全國辯論大會上一舉奪冠。身為學校風雲人物的他，家庭背景也令人稱羨，母親Jane是知名的女權作家，而父親Jonathon則是讓迷途少年敞開心胸的心理學專家，兩人皆就職於一間聲望俱佳的基金會中，擔任心理師。
一切看似美好，檯面下卻波濤洶湧。父親Jonathan與妻子朋友的外遇，令婚姻生活岌岌可危，而母親Jane則困於童年被父親虐待的痛苦回憶中。這一切混亂在Darren的出現後，更推向了未知的高潮。Darren與Adam就讀同高中，典型邊緣人，激進、容易被言語影響的白人男孩，也同時是Jonathan的患者，卻即將因為Adam而捲入一場派對之中，而犯下不可挽回的暴力行動……。
暢銷作家Ben Lerner又一本半自傳體小說，以90年代初期崇尚自由主義的上流家庭，與保守的美國中西部社會如何相抗庭，帶出新右派的崛起，以及白人自我人同的危機，並同時藉由辯論技巧「渲染」，深切地刻畫關於言語的力量，讓讀者一窺當代美國政治社會的可能成因。(文/博客來編譯)
Named one of the most anticipated fall books by:
The New York Times Book Review, Entertainment Weekly, Esquire, Vogue, Vulture, The Observer, Kirkus, Lit Hub, The Millions, The Week, Oprah Magazine, The Paris Review Daily, Nylon, Pacific Standard, Publishers Weekly, Slate, The Philadelphia Inquirer, USA Today, the New York Post, and The Guardian
From the award-winning author of 10:04 and Leaving the Atocha Station, a tender and expansive family drama set in the American Midwest at the turn of the century: a tale of adolescence, transgression, and the conditions that have given rise to the trolls and tyrants of the New Right
Adam Gordon is a senior at Topeka High School, class of ’97. His mother, Jane, is a famous feminist author; his father, Jonathan, is an expert at getting “lost boys” to open up. They both work at a psychiatric clinic that has attracted staff and patients from around the world. Adam is a renowned debater, expected to win a national championship before he heads to college. He is one of the cool kids, ready to fight or, better, freestyle about fighting if it keeps his peers from thinking of him as weak. Adam is also one of the seniors who bring the loner Darren Eberheart―who is, unbeknownst to Adam, his father’s patient―into the social scene, to disastrous effect.
Deftly shifting perspectives and time periods, The Topeka School is the story of a family, its struggles and its strengths: Jane’s reckoning with the legacy of an abusive father, Jonathan’s marital transgressions, the challenge of raising a good son in a culture of toxic masculinity. It is also a riveting prehistory of the present: the collapse of public speech, the trolls and tyrants of the New Right, and the ongoing crisis of identity among white men.
