[Book] 第44個孩子 Child 44 - Tom Rob Smith Q&A

閱讀完令我做惡夢的《第44個孩子》後，好奇作者 Tom Rob Smith 的故事靈感來源。英文版的 《Child 44》 後面有段訪談作者 Tom Rob Smith 的 Q&A 加上這段影片，讓有興趣的讀者更進一步瞭解 Tom Rob Smith 當初設定這故事時空背景的來龍去脈。

• How do you write? For example, do you have a favourite time of day to write? Or a favourite place?

Tom Rob Smith 也和村上春樹一樣是位 morning person 的作家。中午是效率最差的時段，會利用這時間出去走走，慢慢享受午餐時光，約兩點開始下一段工作，工作時間很少超過晚上七點。

• Which book(s) inspired you to become an author?

並沒有任何"特定的一本書"影響他成為作家。喜愛的書籍、電視、電影、劇院對於他的寫作歷程都有不同程度的影響。

• Which other writers do you most admire and why?

這名單會落落長，簡直不知要從何開始，如果忘記提及某位作家，會感到很不安。

Plus, I don’t know how meaningful a list it would be anyway: you love different authors for different reasons at different times of the day. Coming up with a list would be like scratching names in fresh cement, I’d be fine with it today, embarrassed by it tomorrow.

• What was your favourite childhood book?

剛過完九月十三生日的 Roald Dahl，幾乎讀遍所有他的作品，另一位則是魔戒作者J·R·R·托爾金冒險奇幻的故事類型。

• Out of all the research, what was the most illuminating or unforgettable piece of information you discovered?

Some facts do stick in your mind, not always because they’re the most shocking or the most extreme. I remember reading that Stalin ordered a census of his population, I think in 1937. When the results of census came back, stating that the population was much lower than Stalin desired it to be (because he’d murdered so many people) he had the census takers shot. It was jaw dropping: executing people because he was annoyed the population wasn’t higher which was his fault anyway. Stalin then released his own inflated figures, figures he could’ve just made up in the first place.

• What influenced the creation of CHILD 44?

有兩個影響：
提示：
①電視影集：一部已經下檔的美國影集（動作片）
②每日生活的經驗：和距離有關

快猜快猜！！！



很有趣的答案～



答案：
① 24小時反恐
②倫敦地鐵通勤：因為每天搭 District line 從 South London 到 East London，在正常情況下需要一個小時的交通時間，但因倫敦地鐵常常事故維修而延遲幾乎需要一個半小時。每日通勤族而言，最需要能有一本讓人愈罷不能的書籍，來消磨漫長的交通時間。

延伸閱讀：

• 第44個孩子三部曲套書
• 倫敦地鐵創造了《第44個孩子》