一位坐困病榻的英國漁民，藉刺繡描繪出大海與人生的浮沉，
一部追尋隱沒藝術天才的絕美之書！

約翰．克萊斯克（John Craske，1881-1943）原是英國諾福克郡的一位平凡漁民，十一歲開始出海，與妻子一同販魚。1917年，正值三十六歲壯年的他在從軍時突然嚴重病倒，開始此後頻繁進出醫院與恍惚精神迷霧的餘生。

1923年，克萊斯克開始作畫，大量描繪房間窗外與記憶中的海岸、大海與船隻。隨著病情加劇他漸無法久站，轉而選擇在病榻能進行的刺繡，一針一線織出心心念念的大海主題，包括一幅名為〈敦克爾克大撤退〉（The Evacuation of Dunkirk）的巨幅傑作。

克萊斯克的生平鮮為人知，只有少許照片殘存下來，以及發現他的詩人阿克蘭（Valentine Ackland）與其小說家戀人華納（Sylvia Townsend Warner）的記述。本書追尋這位沒沒無聞的藝術家的一生與創作，一如作者Julia Blackburn先前的所有著作，絕非一部傳統的傳記。這趟追尋之旅將她帶往許多奇異之處：諾福克郡的漁民小屋、衰敗的大旅店、孤絕的海岸守衛房，在海岸小鎮克羅默（Cromer），得知愛因斯坦曾經造訪停留此地，由穿緊身馬褲的年輕女性荷槍看守的詭異故事。

書名《線》（Threads）除了呼應克萊斯克的刺繡藝術，也是出自愛因斯坦的話：「個人不過是浩瀚偉妙的織錦中一條不為足道的線。」書中思索藝術與名聲，時間的本質，探索生與死，以及克萊斯克生存的介於兩者之間的奇異國度。作者的個人故事亦交織其間，她丈夫的身影在書的前段生動出現，卻在全書完成前不幸逝世，是以，這也是一部關於死後之生的哀婉書寫。全書穿插大量克萊斯克的畫作與刺繡，創造出教人觸動神迷的深邃魔力。

 

Julia Blackburn has written six books of non-fiction, a family memoir, The Three of Us, which won the 2009 J.R. Ackerley Award, and two novels, The Book of Colour and The Leper’s Companions, both of which were shortlisted for the Orange Prize. She lives in Suffolk and Italy.

 

"Oh, what a miraculous book this is: parochial, weird and inconclusive in a way that few books dare to be these days, and illustrated so generously, with something beautiful or interesting on every other page. Buy it, and let it take you out to sea, no sou’wester required." (Rachel Cooke, Observer)

"Wonderful… I lay down her book without knowing the cause of the “mental stupors” that defined Craske’s life, or understanding his relationship to his complicated family, but feeling I had inhaled the cold salt of the East Anglian coastline from which he sailed when he was well, and run my fingers across the bright wool of the embroideries he made when he was not." (Helen Brown, 5 stars Daily Telegraph)

"I believe I have already found my book of the year. Blackburn’s “biography”… almost defies the category… But it is so beautifully and hypnotically done that each page leaves you spellbound. Rarely can such an unusual telling so thoroughly, and so movingly, reflect the nature of the life being told." (Lesley McDowell Herald)

"I wish I could quote something from every page as that would convince you to read this book… This is a book to remind you that wonders lie scattered like jewels in the most ordinary places." (Rachel Campbell-Johnston The Times)

"It is hard to pin down what it is that makes Threads such a warmly attractive book… Julia Blackburn is an odd, sometimes even disconcerting writer, but she is an amazingly good one, too. The words she puts on paper do what written words should do: they make things real… She leaves her reader feeling grateful and happy." (Literary Review)