入圍多個圖書獎項決賽選的《The Feel-Good Hit of the Year》作者Liam Piper的首作小說

The Toymaker tells of Russian-born toymaker Arkady Kulakov, who was imprisoned in Poland in the 1940s and finds himself having to play medical assistant to one of the world’s greatest monsters. And of Arkadys grandson, Adam, who grew up in Australia with a very different, privileged life. However, both hold secrets threaten to bring down what they hold dear and the book contains a killer twist.

‘A person is defined by the secrets they keep’ Adam Kulakov likes his life. He’s on the right side of middle age; the toy company he owns brightens the lives of millions of children around the world; and he has more money than he can ever spend, a wife and child he adores, and as many mistresses as he can reasonable hide from them. And he is not the only one with secrets.

In 1944, Adam’s grandfather, Arkady, was imprisoned in Auschwitz and given an impossible choice. Now, as he reaches the end of his life, he has to keep the truth from his family, and hold back the crushing memories of his time with one of history’s greatest monsters. As a clumsy mistake threatens to bring Adam’s world tumbling down around him, the past reaches for Arkady. Everything he’s spent a lifetime building will be threatened, as will everything Adam and his family think they know of the world.

A bold, ambitious and striking novel about privilege, fear and the great harm we can do when we are scared of losing what we hold dear.

 

Liam Pieper is a Melbourne-based author and journalist. His 2014 memoir, The Feel-Good Hit of the Year, follows his journey from starry-eyed flower child to inept gangster. It was shortlisted for the National Biography Award and the Ned Kelly Best True Crime Award, and selected as a State Library of Victoria Summer Read and the 2015 One Book One Wagga pick. His most recent book is the Penguin Special Mistakes Were Made, a volume of humorous essays of which the Weekend Australian Wrote, ‘His writing is electric.’ He was co-recipient of the 2014 M Literary Award, and the inaugural creative resident of the UNESCO City of Literature of Prague.

 

“His writing is electric; charged with meaning and energized by surprising comedic turns.” – Weekend Australian

“Pieper is a sharp, smart and classy writer.” – Saturday Paper