Mercy--- 當愛遠行(Mercy) by Jodi Picoult

內容簡介

如果你真心誠意愛上一個人，你願意放他走嗎？瑪姬請求詹姆士用枕頭將自己悶死，因為這樣她可以看著心愛的丈夫而死去，有丈夫味道的枕頭會伴隨著她走完人生最後時光，她愛詹姆士，她也不捨分離，但是死亡的恐懼讓她夜不成眠，總擔心會一睡不醒，來不及跟丈夫道別。

她受夠了這病痛帶來的身心折磨，如果要將生命交給老天來完結，瑪姬寧願死在心愛的丈夫手裡，有他的陪伴，她離開人世的時候才不會覺得孤單害怕。她要詹姆士再娶，她要他完成當父親的願望，她知道他將會是個好爸爸，她要他幸福快樂，縱使不是自己陪伴在他身邊，也希望他能擁有美滿富足的人生。最後的週末，他們在屋頂上野餐、在電影院纏綿、在陌生人的婚禮上共舞，在十一年前詹姆士求婚的餐廳享用最昂貴的餐點，然後，最後一次做愛，最後一次相擁而眠，最後一次道再會。

( 本文簡介引自中文版《 當愛遠行 》台灣商務 )

From Publishers Weekly

What could have been a competent, topical novel about a mercy killing becomes, in Picoult's (following Picture Perfect, 1995) hands, an inspired meditation on love. The setting is Wheelock, Mass., a slightly eccentric town where most of the residents are of Scottish descent, where weddings end in a blood vow, the name MacDonald is "painted on an alarming number of mailboxes" and police chief Cameron MacDonald doubles as clan chief and protector. On a seemingly ordinary day in Wheelock, Jamie MacDonald, a cousin of Cameron's, drives to the police station and announces: "My wife here, Maggie, is dead, and I'm the one who killed her." Cam finds himself saddled with a murder case and a conflict of interest: his cousin has given in to the pleas of his cancer-ravaged wife to kill her, and he's come to the clan chief to confess. But as police chief, Cam must also prosecute. On the same day, Cam's wife, Allie, the local florist, hires Mia, a violet-eyed beauty with a genius for flower arranging. Allie gets involved in Jamie's case, and Cam, who has spent his life in service to his community and his clan, falls in love with Mia and begins an affair that will bring his marriage to the breaking point and change it profoundly. Like Jamie, Allie is the marriage partner who loves more. "It's never fifty-fifty," says Jamie. As Jamie's court case proceeds, Picoult plumbs the emotional core of both marriages. The pace of the trial is slow, but Picoult pays loving attention to her central characters, fashioning a sensitive exploration of the balance of love.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Cameron MacDonald is both the chief of police in the Massachusetts village of Wheelock and the reluctant figurehead chieftain of the MacDonald clan, which immigrated there in the late 1700s. Thus it is to Cam that his cousin Jamie turns after he accedes to his suffering wife's wish and helps her to die. Cam, who longs to travel and free himself from his family obligation, arrests Jamie for first-degree murder but then hires a lawyer for him. On that same day, exotic young Mia wanders into the village and is hired by Cam's wife, Allie, to help out in her florist shop. Cam and Allie have reached a comfortable plateau in their marriage, but both sense that something is missing. Mia and Cam are irresistibly drawn to each other, she to his established place in local society and he to her itinerant lifestyle. The story explores love and the intricate balance of give and take that marriage demands. Picoult (Picture Perfect, LJ 1/95) offers a well-written novel with touches of spirituality that are reminiscent of Alice Hoffman's stories. Highly recommended for most collections.?Kathleen Stevens, Fairfax Cty. P. L., Vir.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.