2. Nick Laird, Modern Gods
《當代諸神》尼克?萊爾德

Laird's intimate and searing look at the aftereffects of violent conflict and religious fanaticism, revolves around two sisters facing personal crises. Liz, a New York-based academic, is preparing to travel to the rainforest of Papua New Guinea to make a BBC documentary about Belef, the charismatic woman leader of a cargo cult. But first she's back in her hometown of Ballyglass in Northern Ireland, for her sister Alison's second wedding. Before the honeymoon begins a newspaper headline reveals Alison's new husband's past as a member of the Ulster Freedom Fighters involved in a pub massacre. And now she is morally implicated. Half a globe away, Liz is drawn into Belef's rituals, with tragic consequences. Finely etched, impeccably structured, Modern Gods has the enduring echoes of a classic. (Credit: Viking)
萊爾德圍繞著兩姐妹身上發生的危機，近距離審視了暴力沖突和宗教狂熱帶來的惡果。利茲是來自紐約的學者，她準備前往巴布亞新幾內亞的熱帶雨林為BBC制作一部關于魅力超凡的貨物崇拜運動女領袖比利芙的紀錄片。但是，利茲要先返回家鄉巴利格拉斯——位于北愛爾蘭的一個小村落，參加姐妹艾莉森的第二次婚禮。艾莉森開始度蜜月之前，一家報紙的頭條新聞曝光了其新婚丈夫的過往，他曾是阿爾斯特自由戰士組織的成員，這個組織與一起酒吧大屠殺有關。于是現在艾莉森也被牽連其中，遭到道德批判。而在地球的另一端，利茲被比利芙的宗教儀式所吸引，最終引禍上身。《當代諸神》文筆細膩，結構縝密，是一部耐人尋味的經典之作。（來源：維京出版社）