Is there such a thing as Box Philosophy? Was the Etruscan god of wine called Fufluns? Does Greek Orthodox Saint Fanourios preside over lost things, and is his saint’s day celebrated with a cake? Does Crete contain a Cave of the Cyclops? It’s hard to suppress the urge to search online for the answers while navigating Joanna Kavenna’s latest mind-bending novel Seven. Clearly, however, there is no such board game as the one that gives the book its title, its competitions watched avidly, its grandmasters revered, its controversies passionately discussed. If it existed we’d surely have heard of undisputed world champion Ashok Deo and his regular crushing of the unlucky underdog Indrek Laar.
真的有“盒子哲学”这种东西吗？伊特鲁里亚的酒神真叫福弗伦斯吗？希腊正教的圣法努里奥斯是否主管失物，他的圣徒纪念日是否要用蛋糕来庆祝？克里特岛上真的有独眼巨人的洞穴吗？在阅读乔安娜•卡文娜(Joanna Kavenna)最新的烧脑小说《七》时，要抑制住上网寻找答案的冲动实在不容易。显然，书名所指的那款棋类游戏并不存在——它的比赛据说备受关注，特级大师备受尊崇，相关争议也被热烈讨论。若真有其事，我们早就听说过无可争议的世界冠军阿肖克•德奥(Ashok Deo)以及他对倒霉的弱旅选手印德雷克•拉尔(Indrek Laar)的一再碾压了。