tomb

2022年國際布克獎得主
印地語小說首次獲獎
 
　　與大家子一同住在德里80歲的Ma，在歷經喪夫之痛後，便一蹶不振，終日躺在床上被憂鬱沈浸，無論家人們如何哄騙，就是不願下床行動。長子Bade和長媳Bahu妥善照顧她所有需要，而她最疼愛的孫子，有活力又擅交際的Sid，則在她床前彈奏吉他，希望能夠提振Ma的精神。然而就在Ma依然不願下床時，Sid那個天生無法擁有笑容能力的弟弟－Serious Son，帶了一根金色有著漂亮蝴蝶彩繪的手杖給奶奶Ma，事情開始有所轉變。
 
　　幾天不見蹤影的Ma，突然宣佈自己要搬去和女兒Beti同住。與兒子Bade不同，Beti是個背離傳統，已離婚並很享受獨居生活的女權主義者，她不穿紗麗這種印度傳統服飾，而且跟hijra（南亞對於跨性別者的稱呼）走得很近。Ma即將面對的是一趟未知而全新的生活…

(文／博客來外文館)

 
　　A playful, feminist, and utterly original epic set in contemporary northern India, about a family and the inimitable octogenarian matriarch at its heart.
 
　　“A tale tells itself. It can be complete, but also incomplete, the way all tales are. This particular tale has a border and women who come and go as they please. Once you’ve got women and a border, a story can write itself . . .”
 
　　Eighty-year-old Ma slips into a deep depression after the death of her husband. Despite her family’s cajoling, she refuses to leave her bed. Her responsible eldest son, Bade, and dutiful, Reebok-sporting daughter-in-law, Bahu, attend to Ma’s every need, while her favorite grandson, the cheerful and gregarious Sid, tries to lift her spirits with his guitar. But it is only after Sid’s younger brother—Serious Son, a young man pathologically incapable of laughing—brings his grandmother a sparkling golden cane covered with butterflies that things begin to change.
 
　　With a new lease on life thanks to the cane’s seemingly magical powers, Ma gets out of bed and embarks on a series of adventures that baffle even her unconventional feminist daughter, Beti. She ditches her cumbersome saris, develops a close friendship with a hijra, and sets off on a fateful journey that will turn the family’s understanding of themselves upside down.
 
　　Rich with fantastical elements, folklore, and exuberant wordplay, Geetanjali Shree’s magnificent novel explores timely and timeless topics, including Buddhism, global warming, feminism, Partition, gender binary, transcending borders, and the profound joys of life. Elegant, heartbreaking, and funny, it is a literary masterpiece that marks the American debut of an extraordinary writer.
 
　　Translated from the Hindi by Daisy Rockwell