內容簡介

《艾塞克斯之蛇》(The Essex Serpent)作者Sarah Perry最新力作，充滿暗黑創意又感人至深的後現代哥德小說。

Helen在20年前犯下了連自己都無法原諒的錯，她離開故鄉英格蘭，來到布拉格過著封閉的日子。但是，她一手打造的幽居生活，卻被一份文件給攪亂了。

那是朋友Karel交給她的一份手抄本，記載了歷史上的許多黑暗時刻：一個男孩在德國佔領的布拉格，為了一台漂亮的收音機，將隔壁鄰居的秘密洩漏給納粹；一個土耳其小公務員成為亞美尼亞大屠殺的幫手…。這些證詞都提到了一個穿著黑袍，瞪著雙眼，腳底不斷流著血，名叫梅兒摩絲(Melmoth)的女人。她蠱惑人們，保證讓他們不再孤單，最後卻讓這些人跟著她過著永遠流浪的生活。

Melmoth曾經目睹耶穌自墳墓中升天，但是她的否認使她受到了永遠被放逐的詛咒，只能不斷地行走在大地上。做為一個目擊者，不承認親眼所見的懲罰就是讓她必須一輩子睜大雙眼…。

只要是Melmoth找到的人，都必須要作出決定：背負犯下的罪繼續生活下去，或者是跟著她沒入黑暗之中。Helen對這些證詞深深著迷，而且老是覺得有什麼人或事在看著她。當不堪的過去找上Helen時，她也必須要在兩個選擇當中決定一個…。

這是一本講述道德難題的傑作，要我們對慈悲、救贖發出深沉的提問，並且在亂世之中作出最好的抉擇。

From the author of the bestselling The Essex Serpent comes a darkly inventive and deeply moving novel that speaks urgently to our times.
Twenty years ago Helen Franklin did something she cannot forgive herself for, and she has spent every day since barricading herself against its memory. But the sheltered life she has crafted for herself is about to change.

A strange manuscript has come into her possession, and its contents have the power to unravel every strand of her fragile safety net. It is filled with testimonies from the darkest chapters of human history, which all record sightings of a tall, silent woman in black, with unblinking eyes and bleeding feet: Melmoth, the loneliest being in the world. Condemned to walk the Earth forever, she tries to beguile the guilty and lure them away for a lifetime wandering alongside her.

Everyone that Melmoth seeks out must make a choice: to live with what they've done, or be led into the darkness. Despite her scepticism, Helen can't stop reading, or shake the feeling that someone or something is watching her. As her past finally catches up with her, she too must choose which path to take.

Exquisitely written, and gripping until the very last page, this is a masterpiece of moral complexity, asking us profound questions about mercy, redemption, and how to make the best of our conflicted world.