With more than two million copies of her novels sold, New York Times bestselling author Geraldine Brooks has achieved both popular and critical acclaim. Now, Brooks takes on one of literature’s richest and most enigmatic figures: a man who shimmers between history and legend. Peeling away the myth to bring David to life in Second Iron Age Israel, Brooks traces the arc of his journey from obscurity to fame, from shepherd to soldier, from hero to traitor, from beloved king to murderous despot and into his remorseful and diminished dotage. The Secret Chord provides new context for some of the best-known episodes of David’s life while also focusing on others, even more remarkable and emotionally intense, that have been neglected. We see David through the eyes of those who love him or fear him—from the prophet Natan, voice of his conscience, to his wives Mikhal, Avigail, and Batsheva, and finally to Solomon, the late-born son who redeems his Lear-like old age. Brooks has an uncanny ability to hear and transform characters from history, and this beautifully written, unvarnished saga of faith, desire, family, ambition, betrayal, and power will enthrall her many fans.


《紐約時報》暢銷書作家潔若汀．布魯克絲，小說銷量逾兩百萬本，自此人氣不斷，作品廣受好評。現在，布魯克絲要描寫的是一位在歷史和傳說之間閃耀著光芒的男子：以色列王──大衛，他可能是文學中最豐富也最神秘的人物。布魯克絲為了褪去傳說的色彩，真實呈現第二鐵器時代的以色列王，追溯大衛的人生歷程，從沒沒無聞到聲名大噪，從牧羊人躍身成為戰士，從英雄淪為叛徒，從受人愛戴的國王轉變為殺人如麻的暴君，最終帶著悔恨逐漸老去。本書為大衛最廣為人知的故事提供全新背景，同時精心描繪其他更精采也更具情感張力卻被忽略的情節。讀者能從那些敬愛或是畏懼大衛的人物視角來審視大衛，先是代表大衛良心的先知納坦，再從大衛的妻子米可、艾維嘉爾和巴戚瓦的視角，最後則是從索羅門的角度，索羅門是大衛晚年才生的兒子，他的出現為大衛那李爾王般的晚年帶來救贖。在作者筆下，故事人物栩栩如生，就像是她回到過去，聽見故事人物親身描述，並將之轉化為故事內容，這樣優美的文字，以及對信念、慾望、家庭、野心、背叛和權力的真實描述，一定會令書迷們沉醉其中。