Set over a long weekend in East Anglia, Blake Morrison's new novel is the chilling story of a rivalrous friendship - as told with deceptive casualness by the narrator, Ian. It opens with a surprise phone call from an old university friend, inviting Ian and his wife, Em, for a few days by the sea. Their hosts, Ollie and Daisy, are a golden couple, and the scene is set for sunlit relaxation. But dangerous tensions quickly emerge. In taut, lucid prose, with flashes of wit and moments of troubling uncertainty, Blake Morrison perfectly conveys the stifling atmosphere of a remote cottage in the hottest days of summer. Ominous revelations from Ian's past slowly intrude. And his rivalry with Ollie intensifies as they resurrect a seemingly forgotten bet made twenty years before. Each day becomes a series of challenges for higher and higher stakes, setting in train actions that will have irreversible consequences.
译文(2): 布莱克 · 莫里森的新小说以东安格利亚的一个长周末为背景，讲述了一段令人毛骨悚然的敌对友谊的故事——叙述者伊恩以一种欺骗性的漫不经心的口吻讲述了这段友谊。它以一个来自大学老朋友的惊喜电话开场，邀请伊恩和他的妻子艾米在海边玩几天。他们的主人，奥利和黛西，是一对金童玉女，场景设置为阳光下的放松。但危险的紧张局势很快就出现了。布莱克 · 莫里森的散文紧凑、清晰，充满智慧的闪光和令人不安的不确定时刻，完美地表达了夏季最热的日子里一座偏远农舍令人窒息的气氛。来自伊恩过去的不祥启示慢慢侵入。他与奥利的竞争加剧，因为他们复活了一个似乎被遗忘的赌注20年前。每一天都成为一系列的挑战，越来越高的赌注，设置在火车行动，将产生不可逆转的后果。
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