《纸牌的秘密》

    The book is a playful, ingenious*, often moving but sometimes perplexing* celebration of our search for answers to the big questions — Who are we? Where have we come from? Where are we going? — disguised* as a fairy tale/adventure.

    While the outlines of the story might seem to be aimed at children or young adults, some of the imagery* is arcane*.

    A young boy and his despairing* father go in search of the boy’s mother, who has left them. The boy is given a book, possibly magical, by a kindly old man; the book unlocks a series of important revelations* about the boy’s life.

    The book the boy is given is the history of two men, marooned* 50 years apart on a magical island. The first man, whose imaginative powers mysteriously increased, brings a deck of playing cards to life. The second man, the grandson of the first, sets in motion a series of events that lead to the island’s destruction; he and the Joker escape. The Joker, who “sees too deeply and too much,” is the only one of the cards to wonder about his origins and purpose in life.

    Hans Thomas, the little boy, turns out to be the descendant* to these castaways*. The Joker, ever-youthful, takes an interest in the boy, helping Hans and his father to reunite with Hans’ mother.

    Some passages are ingenious and startling, especially those about the wonderful island, the lives of the figures who have emerged from the deck of cards, the debates on life’s purpose. (SD-Agencies)