Gumshoe Conrad Metcalf has problems-there's a rabbit in his waiting room and a trigger-happy kangaroo on his tail. Near-future Oakland is a brave new world where evolved animals are members of society, the police monitor citizens by their karma levels, and mind-numbing drugs such as Forgettol and Acceptol are all the rage.Metcalf has been shadowing Celeste, the wife of an affluent doctor. Perhaps he's falling a little in love with her at the same time. When the doctor turns up dead, our amiable investigator finds himself caught in a crossfire between the boys from the Inquisitor's Office and gangsters who operate out of the back room of a bar called the Fickle Muse.Mixing elements of sci-fi, noir, and mystery, this clever first novel from the author of Motherless Brooklyn is a wry, funny, and satiric look at all that the future may hold.

喬納森•勒瑟姆

Jonathan Lethem

1964年齣生於紐約布魯剋林。年少時，他沉迷於鮑勃•迪倫的音樂，鍾情於《星球大戰》，讀過菲利普•迪剋的全部小說。

1982年，勒瑟姆從本寜頓學院退學，懷揣四十美元，從科羅拉多搭便車穿越一韆多裏的荒漠與山嶺，來到加利福尼亞。在加利福尼亞，他為一傢二手書店工作，同時開始瞭他的文學寫作。

勒瑟姆是美國當代最具創造力、最受矚目的作傢之一。他的作品雜糅瞭科幻、推理的元素，又能推陳齣新，突破類型小說的限製，將純文學與通俗文學完美地融閤在一起。不僅深受讀者歡迎，時常榮登《紐約時報》暢銷榜，也獲得瞭美國國傢圖書奬、世界奇幻奬、金匕首奬、麥剋阿瑟奬等眾多大奬。

主要作品有《槍，偶爾有音樂》、《布魯剋林孤兒》、《孤獨堡壘》、《久病之城》等。