A moving and deeply felt homage to the power of nature and art by one of the world's most beloved authors. Maria lives in a remote village in Burgundy, where she learns that she has a gift for communicating with nature. Hundreds of miles away in Italy, Clara discovers that she possesses a stunning musical genius and is sent from the countryside to Rome to develop her preternatural abilities. Barbery's The Life of Elves tells the story of two children whose extraordinary talents will bring them into contact with magical worlds and malevolent forces. If, against all odds, they can be brought together, their meeting may shape the course of history. Seven years after the publication of her international bestseller, The Elegance of the Hedgehog, Muriel Barbery returns with a lyrical novel about the quest for enchantment in a world that seems to have forgotten such a thing ever existed. With its cast of unforgettable characters, each fighting to preserve a sense of enchantment, The Life of Elves is a poetic meditation on art, nature, dreams, and the role of the imagination.


妙莉葉．芭貝里是全球最受喜愛的作家之一，這次再度譜出一個動人且深刻的故事，向大自然與藝術的力量致上崇敬之意。瑪利亞住在勃艮第一個偏僻的村落，在那裡，她發現自己擁有與天地萬物對話的能力；而在數百英里外的義大利，克拉拉則是發現自己擁有不可多得的音樂才華，因此從鄉下被送往羅馬學習琴藝，開發她異於常人的音樂潛能。芭貝里的全新小說《精靈少女》講述兩個孩子由於天賦異稟，進入了充滿魔力的世界，同時面對邪惡勢力。儘管困難重重，如果瑪利亞和芭貝里可以相遇，很可能為歷史寫下嶄新的一頁。芭貝里在全球暢銷著作《刺蝟的優雅》出版 7 年後，再次為讀者帶來一部動人的抒情小說，描寫一場追尋早受遺忘的魔幻力量之旅。芭貝里在書中成功刻畫出令人難忘的角色，每個人都在為這股力量的存續而奮戰。《精靈少女》以充滿詩意的文字風格，對藝術、自然、夢想以及想像力所扮演的角色進行了一場深刻的反思。