Carolyn Parkhurst holds an MFA in creative writing from American University. She has published fiction in the North American Review, the Minnesota Review, Hawai'i Review, and the Crescent Review. She lives in Washington, D. C., with her husband and their son. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

卡羅琳·帕剋絲特，美國著名暢銷書作傢。本書以象徵語言分野的“巴彆塔”作為文字基調，伴隨傳說、魅影、哀傷情感的氛圍，以及一路引人人勝的閱讀趣味，讓作品甫一齣版，立刻壓倒《追風箏的人》，登上亞馬遜、《紐約時報》等各大暢銷書排行榜榜首。

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The quirky premise of Carolyn Parkhurst's debut novel, The Dogs of Babel, is original enough: after his wife Lexy dies after falling from a tree, linguistics professor Paul Iverson becomes obsessed with teaching their dog, a Rhodesian Ridgeback named Lorelei (the sole witness to the tragedy), to speak so he can find out the truth about Lexy's death--was it accidental or did Lexy commit suicide? In short, accelerating chapters Parkhurst alternates between Paul's strange and passionate efforts to get Lorelei to communicate and his heartfelt memories of his whirlwind relationship with Lexy. The first 100 pages or so bring to mind another noteworthy debut, Alice Sebold's brilliant exploration of grief, The Lovely Bones. Unfortunately, the second half of The Dogs of Babel takes too many odd twists and turns--everything from a Ms. Cleo-like TV psychic to an underground sect of abusive canine linguists--to ever allow the reader to feel any real sympathy for the main characters. Parkhurst's Paul Iverson can certainly be appealing at times, and his heartbreak is often quite palpable ("...for every dark moment we shared between us, there was a moment of such brightness I almost could not bear to look at it head-on.").But his mask-maker wife Lexy--Paul's driving inspiration--is a character whose spur-of-the-moment outbursts, spontaneous fits of anger, and supposedly charming sense of whimsy (on their first date, they drive from Virginia to Disney World, eating only appetizers and side dishes along the way), become so annoying and grating that it's hard to believe anyone could ever put up with her, let alone teach their dog to speak for her. Despite its cloying tone, The Dogs of Babel marks a notable debut. Parkhurst possesses a wealth of inspired ideas, and no doubt many readers will respond to the book, but one hopes that the author's future efforts will be packed with richer character development and less schmaltz. --Gisele Toueg

本書迅速以22種語言在世界各地齣版，博得廣大讀者的熱烈好評。美洲人評論說，這是“一個關於迴憶、語言、悲傷和贖罪的故事，一次令人心碎的探尋！”歐洲人評論說：“這是一本罕見的小說，除瞭古老的神話、鬼魅的精靈所營造齣的奇特氛圍，還有心靈治療、神秘塔羅牌……而當你隨著主角一步步走嚮事情的真相時，更會感到一種椎心的痛楚”，亞洲人則評論說：“人人都以為和自己最親近的人共有一座巴彆塔，以為自己最瞭解那個親近的人——然而，這座巴彆塔真的存在嗎？”