內容介紹
★媲美道格拉斯‧史都華的《親愛的夏吉‧班恩》和艾倫‧霍林赫斯特《美的線條》，宛如《以你的名字呼喚我》作者安德烈‧艾席蒙版本的《天才雷普利》，有望成為新世代的《麥田捕手》
★時代雜誌《TIME》五月份最棒的書籍(Best Book of May)
「你總讓我覺得自己對你來說很重要，原來只是我很好用，隨你呼來喚去。」
24歲的Gordon與男友分手後，跳上一台前往紐約的巴士，離開明尼蘇達州小鎮。初到陌生的大城市，一切都不容易。Gordon陷入超市工作死胡同，沒有朋友，沒有前途，無情的紐約似要將他生吞活剝。透過室友Janice的女朋友Meredith介紹，Gordon開始幫紐約市有錢人遛狗，並認識了知名畫廊所有人Phillip和Nicola，這對同性老夫妻看上Gordon，聘用他做私人助理。一時之間，Gordon成了上流社會的寵兒(或者說是寵物)，Phillip和Nicola帶著他去結識各方名流，更鼓勵他與派對上的賓客們調情，Gordon長期缺失的歸屬感與被渴望的空虛突然得到滿足，他在晚宴上作秀陪笑，遊走於男人與男人之間發生關係。直到一回出差歐洲，Nicola留下與情人溫存，Phillip和Nicola的感情生變，所有人選邊站，Gordon赫然發現自己不屬於任何一邊。
這是一本現實生活的寫照，完美捕捉日常的事件與脆弱的人際關係。故事開頭，不安的Gordon渴望找到人生目標卻根本不知道自己要的是什麼，這樣的共鳴令讀者不禁想為他加油。我們看著他在大城市奢靡權貴階級面前長袖善舞，拋棄卻也同時探索自己，不斷地做出錯誤決定，稚嫩的虛張聲勢被社會的殘酷與虛假毫不留情地擊潰，每個對Gordon的憐憫背後是另一個傷害，他開始懷疑自己從前的汲汲營營是否都徒勞無功。作者藉真實卻費解對話，Gordon妙語如珠、魯莽、自私的形象躍然紙上。書中所有人物都有缺點也有多個面向，就像你和我，亦如所有人。我們都可以在Gordon身上看到年輕的自己、現在的自己，了解他人對自己還有自己對別人的殘酷，才能真正意會到周圍的人想要什麼、自己在追求什麼。等到年紀漸長，回首一看，短暫的瘋狂，失敗的感情，正是這些經歷形塑了我們每一個人。
作者介紹
《The Recent East》的作者，該書曾入圍洛杉磯時報Art Seidenbaum首作小說獎決選名單、2021年PEN/Hemingway處女作小說獎初選名單，並被《紐約時報書評》選為編輯推薦。他的作品可見於《紐約時報書評》、《One Story》、《Slice》和《The Colorado Review》等多家刊物上。他擁有布魯克林學院的小說寫作碩士學位，並教授初中英語超過十年。目前居住在紐約州北部。
書評
"Affecting . . . [Gordon] has a memorable voice: funny, dark, and eventually chastened. The novel builds on the self-involved, sometimes cruel protagonists of Edmund White’s early work, though Gordon learns to rein himself in instead of committing more mayhem. This story of a miscreant who grows up will stick with you long after the last page." —Kirkus (starred review)
"[An] impressive sophomore novel . . . In the author’s skilled hands, Gordon’s bad judgment and sentimental education make for terrific reading." —Publishers Weekly
"At first, In Tongues reads like a comedy of manners—a cute young man moves to Manhattan and takes a job as a dog walker/assistant to two older men from the art world. But then we watch the sexual, ethical, and monetary inequality turn dark. Thomas Grattan is a master of plot—that rare ability—which makes In Tongues a real roller coaster: funny, sad, shocking, and, finally, quite moving." —Andrew Holleran, author of Dancer from the Dance and The Kingdom of Sand
"Funny, touching, and authentic, In Tongues is about trying to survive in a declining society, a novel that should become the touchstone of a whole generation." —Edmund White
“Uncommonly vulnerable, In Tongues is a witty exposition of what ails all of us. Thomas Grattan does away with any false neutrality by detailing the raunchy violence of ambition. This is an excellent novel that sifts through the detritus of life and gives it vibrant meaning.” —Zain Khalid, author of Brother Alive
"In Tongues contains one of my favorite kinds of plots; the interlude that changed me forever. Thomas Grattan masterfully elucidates the life of an elegant hero--shattering friendships, sudden lovers, surprising moments of grace. Reading In Tongues felt like a deliciously banal and dangerous afternoon I never wanted to end. I love this beautiful, horny, honest, glamorous novel." —Marie-Helene Bertino, author of Beautyland
"Thomas Grattan has written a rare beauty of a novel, both thrillingly sexy and heartbreakingly human. His gift as a writer lies in his ability to reach deep into the messy flesh of his characters and extract all the awkward, barbed parts of them that make them feel so alive. With In Tongues, Grattan brings fresh wit and insight to the beloved gay, New York, coming-of-age novel. If you don’t see yourself in these pages, good luck to you." —Christopher Bollen, author of The Lost Americans
