是妳選擇了勇敢，還是命運選擇了妳？
隨著”飢餓遊戲＂的熱賣，讓反烏托邦文學的熱潮來到了高峰並在近期內持續延燒，（註：反烏托邦文學通常是敘述虛構中的理想國度，其實是掩飾著一些黑暗的假象) 而接續這股熱潮的書籍中，個人首推由Harper Collins出版的Divergent 三部曲（目前已發行了兩部曲），其內容充滿了意想不到的轉折，以及令人心碎的背叛情節，再加上粉紅羅曼史的潤飾，讓讀者在又驚又喜中體驗驚懼無比的反烏托邦社會。不過，我必需承認這部作品美中不足的地方，就是它的背景設定過於類似”飢餓遊戲”，除了這點讓我有點微詞之外，整體而言仍然有不少驚喜的地方。
女主角Beatrice 是生活在一個叫Chicago 的反烏托邦城市，整個社會劃分為Candor、Abnegation、Dauntless、Amity 和Erudite 5 個派系，分別致力於培養誠實(Honest)、無私(Selfless)、勇敢(Brave)、和平(Peaceful) 及智能(Intelligent)的獨特美德，並在每年指定一個日子，在那天所有年滿16 歲的青少年都必須選擇一個屬於自己的派系，之後在那裏奉獻未來的餘生，對Beatrice 而言，她並不適合任何一個派系, 而決定留在家人身邊還是選擇做自己讓她陷入兩難，最後她做了一個讓眾人都訝異的選擇— 決定離開家人加入代表勇敢的Dauntless 派系。
在派系裏高度競爭的環境中，一開始Beatrice 為自己重新取名為Tris，並和伙伴們一起努力達到派系的要求，他們必須接受極端體能的耐力測驗與模擬心理的考驗，而這一切只是改造她們的開始，Tris 還必須確定誰才是她真正的朋友，在爾虞我詐的競爭中，真愛還要來找碴，男孩Four 的出現更攪亂了Tris 的芳心( 別懷疑,Four 是男主角的名字)。另外，Tris 是Divergent 的身份對各派系而言是如此的具有威脅性( Divergent 是指不只適合一個派系的人)，諸多的衝突即將拆穿這看似完美的社會，而Tris 該如何跨越這一切呢…？
在這種表面上看來和平，內在卻是弊端叢生的城市中，人們的自由如此受到箝制，執政者所虛構的理想國度在我看來卻格外諷刺，再來對照現今的社會，我們的確擁有了許多自主權，但真的沒有一絲愚民政策存在嗎？值得我們深思…。Divergent 一書的電影版權己由Summit Entertainment 買下，台灣亦會發行中文版本，這本書對許多讀者而言或許陌生了些，但看在Amazon.com 及Goodreads.com 的極高評價份上，相信還是值得你一試的。
In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.
During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made.Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she’s chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she’s kept hidden from everyone because she’s been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.
Veronica Roth is the New York Times bestselling author of Divergent, the first in a trilogy of dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance.
書籍資訊
Divergent 分歧者 ISBN：9780062387240
Divergent Series 分岐者
※ 本文已取得作者同意轉載。
作者：Vicky