OPEN A BOOK,OPEN THE WORLD
✦入圍2023年女性小說獎決選
Ea 因先天的聽力障礙而無法像一隻正常的飛旋海豚躍出海面，在波浪間旋轉。她盼望情況會隨著成年逐漸好轉，但來自海洋的聲音始終沒有傳達到她的耳中。儘管身為傑出的獵手，且擁有超凡脫俗的優美身形與無數的追求者，Ea 仍感覺自己無法融入群體。
當悲劇降臨在她的家族，Ea 知道自己必須負起一部份的責任。她決定犧牲自我，隻身離去。失去群體的保護，她發現大海中危機四伏。正當 Ea 逐漸習慣孤獨，她遇到一群高傲的瓶鼻海豚，這次的遭遇將永遠改變她的一生。
Laline Paull 在首部小說《蜂》（The Bees）中以蜂巢中命運多舛的工蜂為主角，描寫當代個體的生存境況。在這本小說中她則藉描寫與群體格格不入的 Ea，以海洋映照社會，探討何謂犧牲以及家庭所代表的真正意義。
Bestselling author of The Bees Laline Paull returns with a transformative new novel of an ocean world and its extraordinary creatures, mysteries, and mythologies.
Once upon a time like now, two estranged dolphin tribes live at opposite ends of a remote tropical archipelago. At one end, where the water is cleaner, lives a tiny pod of spinner dolphins, spiritually refined and matriarchal. At the other is the raucous megapod of bottlenose dolphins, who once drove the gentle spinners from their home but now live in increasingly painful acoustic conditions -- which they believe are caused by warring ocean demons. Circling the archipelago is a lone humpback whale, who sings warning to his people about the new perils of the old routes. And caught between the sanctuary of family and the vast unknown is a young spinner dolphin about to make the ultimate sacrifice. The ocean is changing beyond recognition, and every forced migration for survival spells new conflict.
In this epic, propulsive novel, Laline Paull explores the meaning of belonging, sanctuary, and courage in a metamorphosing undersea world increasingly haunted by the cruelty and ignorance of the human race.
