It is a night racked with violence in an unnamed Latin American country. Three men brave the war-ravaged streets to meet at the opulent home of a friend, the famed surgeon Daniel Pacheco, for their semiannual gathering. As a lavish meal is served by the sullen housekeeper, interest centers on the photograph of an intriguingly beautiful young woman. Spellbinding revelations of erotic obsession and betrayal unfold, interrupted by the increasing bloodshed that presses closer to Pacheco’s door. Stephen Dobyns has written a provocative novel of desire, lust, depravity, and danger—a classic thriller that holds you tightly in its grasp until its shattering conclusion.

本作は、独裁政権下の暴力と一人の男の歪んだ愛欲が交錯する心理スリラーの傑作です。優雅な晩餐を舞台に、外界の破壊と内面の崩壊を対峙させるドビンズの筆致は圧巻。言葉の端々に潜む凄惨なエロティシズムと恐怖が、読者の理性を静かに浸食していきます。 映像版ではニコラス・ローグ監督がその混沌を鮮烈に視覚化しましたが、原作には活字ならではの逃げ場のない心理的圧迫感が宿っています。細密な描写と狂おしい回想が織りなすシナジーは、映像の衝撃を超え、人間の業を深く魂に刻み込むでしょう。この狂気に満ちた一夜を、ぜひ文字の海で体感してください。