小說/散文

We Are the Ashes, We Are the Fire
出版社： Penguin Putnam Inc.
書林書號：
20279431
作者：
McCullough, Joy
定價：
420
會員價：
$357
ISBN：
9780525556060
出版年份：
2022
裝訂：
平裝
總頁數：
402
  • 本書介紹
【劍鞘裡的復仇烈焰，同歸於盡或浴火重生】

伊恩瑪洛勒斯的妹妹在聯誼派對被強暴了。強暴犯被捕並被判有罪，除了罪證確鑿以外，也歸功於伊恩在各社群媒體上的積極發聲、帶動了民意，勸阻了檢察官與犯人達成可能減輕刑責的認罪協商。

然而這場勝利並沒有維持多久，法官的審判卻讓馬洛勒斯一家又陷入情緒谷底－強暴犯無須入獄，正義彷彿蕩然無存。當家人陷入震驚與無可奈何的境地，憤慨的伊恩早就受夠了所謂的司法程序，衝動的她告訴記者這樣的判決讓她想學怎麼用劍，而這個新聞馬上登上各媒體的頭條，讓事態更加嚴重...伊恩對抗的究竟是無法說服眾人的司法體系，還是強暴犯本人？

小說人物的靈感以15世紀法國女貴族 Marguerite de Bressieux的傳奇事蹟做為發想，當時她的家族城堡被其他領主出兵侵略，她與其他被困在城堡裡的婦女遭到軍隊強暴，她並沒有因此自憐自艾消沉一生，反而因復仇的烈火推動，讓她自薦加入父親的軍隊進行反攻，誓言斬首所有強暴者，傳聞中她在沙場上將敵人斬殺前會先掀開自己的盔甲面罩，讓對方知道自己是死於女人之手。雖然這個故事杜撰的成分居多，甚至曾在某個版本的《一千零一夜》裡出現過，但驍勇善戰、有仇必報、為自己與家人揮劍的形象仍獨特且鮮明。

Em Morales's sister was raped after a frat party. A jury found the attacker guilty on all counts—a remarkable verdict that Em felt more than a little proud of, since her passionate social-media advocacy helped dissuade the DA from settling for a plea deal.
 
But victory is short-lived. Justice vanishes as the judge turns the Morales family’s world upside down again by sentencing the rapist to no prison time. While her family is stunned, Em is sick with rage and guilt. To make matters worse, Em tells a reporter the sentence makes her want to learn to use a sword—and the news clip goes viral.
 
Em must find a new reason to fight on, and it comes in the unlikely form of the story of a fifteenth-century French noblewoman, Marguerite de Bressieux, legendary as an avenging knight for rape victims.

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