Harding's outstanding debut unfurls the history and final thoughts of a dying grandfather surrounded by his family in his New England home. George Washington Crosby repairs clocks for a living and on his deathbed revisits his turbulent childhood as the oldest son of an epileptic smalltime traveling salesman. The descriptions of the father's epilepsy and the cold halo of chemical electricity that encircled him immediately before he was struck by a full seizure are stunning, and the household's sadness permeates the narrative as George returns to more melancholy scenes. The real star is Harding's language, which dazzles whether he's describing the workings of clocks, sensory images of nature, the many engaging side characters who populate the book, or even a short passage on how to build a bird nest. This is an especially gorgeous example of novelistic craftsmanship. (Jan.)

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保羅•哈丁，美國作傢、音樂傢。他少年時代經常“在叢林中遊蕩”，對大自然有著深切的愛和體悟。後參與創建“Cold Water Flat”樂隊，擔任鼓手，曾在美國和歐洲巡迴演齣。他從小酷愛閱讀。當讀到卡洛斯•富恩特斯的《我們的土地》時，他突然感到“這纔是我要做的事”，從此萌發文學創作之念。他的首部小說《修補匠》原本默默無聞，卻憑藉其厚積薄發的文學內涵獲得2010年普利策小說奬。