2026年最值得期待的40本書
The 40 most exciting books to look forward to in 2026
難度：進階
來源：BBC Culture
Reports of the death of the male novelist have been greatly exaggerated. A quintet of former male Booker Prize winners make their return this year, including George Saunders with Vigil, a compact story exploring themes of death and the afterlife, and Howard Jacobson's Howl, described as a tragicomic portrait of one man's unravelling in an absurd, twisted world. Yann Martel returns with Son of Nobody, retelling the Trojan war through dual perspectives of an ancient foot soldier and a modern classical scholar.
關於男性小說家已死的報道被嚴重誇大了。今年，五位前布克獎男性得主迴歸，包括喬治·桑德斯的新作《守夜》，一部探討死亡和來世主題的緊湊故事，以及霍華德·雅各布森的《嚎叫》，被描述為一個男人在荒誕扭曲世界中解體的悲喜劇肖像。揚·馬特爾帶著《無名之子》迴歸，透過古代步兵和現代古典學者的雙重視角重述特洛伊戰爭。
Summer brings eagerly awaited titles from acclaimed authors. With the film adaptation of Hamnet generating awards season buzz, Maggie O'Farrell will release Land in June, inspired by her great-great-grandfather who worked for the Ordnance Survey, telling a story of love, loss and the landscape that shapes us. Ann Patchett's Whistler explores a surprise encounter between a middle-aged woman and her former step-father after four decades, leading both to reexamine their lives. Colson Whitehead concludes his Harlem trilogy with Cool Machine, set in 1980s New York.
夏季帶來備受期待的知名作家作品。隨著《哈姆奈特》電影改編在頒獎季引發熱議，瑪吉·奧法雷爾將在六月推出《土地》，靈感來自曾為地形測量局工作的曾曾祖父，講述愛情、失去和塑造我們的風景的故事。安·帕切特的《惠斯勒》探索一位中年婦女與四十年未見的繼父之間的意外相遇，促使兩人重新審視自己的生活。科爾森·懷特黑德以1980年代紐約為背景的《酷機器》結束了他的哈萊姆三部曲。
Literary fiction sees notable standalone works from prolific authors. Elizabeth Strout puts aside her familiar characters for The Things We Never Say, introducing Artie Dam, a teacher hiding a secret in a Massachusetts coastal village. Emily St John Mandel's Exit Party, described as a story of crimes committed and loves lost across space and time, begins with friends gathering for a final celebration before the end of the world. The prolific author's speculative fiction has felt increasingly relevant, with Station Eleven's pandemic narrative proving prescient.
文學小說見證了多產作家的傑出獨立作品。伊麗莎白·斯特勞特放下熟悉的角色，帶來《我們從未說過的話》，介紹阿蒂·達姆，一位在馬薩諸塞州海濱村莊隱藏秘密的教師。艾米莉·聖約翰·曼德爾的《告別派對》被描述為一個關於跨越時空的犯罪和失去的愛情的故事，始於朋友們在世界末日前的最後一次聚會。這位多產作家的投機小說越來越貼近現實，她的《第十一站》中的疫情敘事被證明具有先見之明。
Powerful debuts and poignant memoirs also feature prominently. Harvard professor Tara Menon's Under Water has generated substantial pre-publication buzz, selling into 32 languages, telling a story of friendship set against two natural disasters: the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and 2012's Hurricane Sandy. Gisèle Pelicot's A Hymn to Life will be one of the year's most significant publishing stories. After her husband and 50 other men were convicted of her rape and sexual assault, Pelicot's decision to speak out and insist that shame must change sides made her a symbol of strength worldwide, promising a difficult but powerful read.
有力的處女作和感人的回憶錄也佔據重要地位。哈佛大學教授塔拉·梅農的《水下》在出版前就引發了巨大關注，已售出32種語言版權，講述了一個以兩場自然災害為背景的友誼故事：2004年印度洋海嘯和2012年的颶風桑迪。吉塞勒·佩利科特的《生命讚歌》將成為今年最重要的出版故事之一。在她的丈夫和其他50名男子被判強姦和性侵後，佩利科特決定發聲並堅持認為羞恥必須改變立場，這使她成為世界範圍內的力量象徵，承諾將是一部艱難但有力的閱讀作品。
Non-fiction highlights include Patrick Radden Keefe's London Falling, an expansion of a New Yorker article about the tragic death of 19-year-old Zac Brettler, who fell from a luxury London apartment into the River Thames. As always with Radden Keefe, there's much more to the story than first appears. The year's publishing landscape offers a rich mix of established voices returning with eagerly anticipated works and emerging writers bringing fresh perspectives, ensuring readers will have plenty to look forward to in 2026.
非虛構類亮點包括帕特里克·拉登·基夫的《倫敦墜落》，這是一篇《紐約客》文章的擴充套件，講述19歲的扎克·佈雷特勒從倫敦豪華公寓墜入泰晤士河的悲劇死亡。正如拉登·基夫一貫的風格，這個故事遠比表面看起來複雜。今年的出版景觀提供了豐富的組合：成熟作家帶著備受期待的作品迴歸，新興作家帶來新鮮視角，確保讀者在2026年有很多值得期待的內容。
重點詞彙
- quintet (n.)：五重奏；五人組
- unravelling (n.)：解體；瓦解
- reexamine (v.)：重新審視；重新考慮
- prescient (adj.)：有先見之明的；預知的
- speculative fiction (n.phr.)：投機小說；科幻小說
- substantial (adj.)：大量的；重大的；重要的
- poignant (adj.)：令人心酸的；感人的
- convicted (adj.)：被判有罪的
- look forward to (phr.v.)：期待；盼望
- follow up (phr.v.)：跟進；繼續；完成
- word-of-mouth (adj.)：口耳相傳的；口碑的
- buzzy (adj.)：引起轟動的；熱門的
- hotly anticipated (adj.)：備受期待的
- debut (n.)：首次亮相，處女作
- tackle (v.)：處理，解決
- literary (adj.)：文學的
- contemporary (adj.)：當代的
- diverse range (n.phr.)：多樣的範圍