Margo’s Got Money Troubles

 
　　「這是本大膽、幽默、令人完全無法預測發展的小說，作者Rufi Thorpe的獨特天分，簡直無與倫比」—《非普通家庭》作者凱文．威爾森
 
　　作為一個前職業摔角手和女服務生的女兒，瑪歌一直都很清楚這輩子必須要靠自己。在還不清楚未來想從事的職業之前，她報名了社區大學，沒想到還沒畢業就跟英文教授發生了師生戀。雖然這段關係很短暫，不過瑪歌卻懷孕了。不管教授和母親如何勸阻，出於純真和渴望，瑪歌依然決定要將孩子生下來。
 
　　如今，瑪歌已經踏入二十，獨自帶著孩子，失業後眼看就要失去棲身之處。在她急需現金的時刻，久未連絡的父親找上門，希望能搬來一起住。選擇有限的瑪歌同意了，交換條件是請父親幫忙帶孩子。托嬰的費用本就高昂，而瑪歌能接下的輪班工作偏偏都是托嬰機構的休息時間。在育兒與工作難以兼顧的情況下，瑪歌想出一個非典型的賺錢方式：嘗試在情色平台上當起網紅。
 
　　經營一個成功的頻道並沒有想像中的簡單，這時瑪歌靈機一動，向曾經當過職業摔角手、也曾是摔角手經紀人的父親請教，該如何打造一個成功的網路人設。原來職業摔角手的人物特色和招牌口號、獨門招式，都是讓觀眾留下深刻印象的訣竅。漸漸地，瑪歌獲得越來越多的訂閱者。可是隨著知名度上升，麻煩也隨之而來，尤其是遲來的撫養權爭奪戰…
 
　　福克納獎決選作家Rufi Thrope發揮過人的幽默感和洞察力，描寫一個年輕未婚媽媽在殘酷的現實下，為了自己最珍愛的孩子努力爭取一條生路的奮鬥過程。聽到她要生下孩子，瑪歌的母親說：「有時候，親手毀了人生是一個人最想做的事。」透過視角的巧妙切換，作者讓我們得以理解瑪歌的各種抉擇原因，也賦予女主角定義自己人生的機會。(文／博客來外文館)

＂Margo’s Got Money Troubles is the feel-good novel we need right now.＂ --The Washington Post

＂[An] enormously entertaining and lovable book.＂ --Nick Hornby, New York Times Book Review

A bold, laugh-out-loud funny, and heartwarming story about one young woman’s attempt to navigate adulthood, new motherhood, and her meager bank account in our increasingly online world--from the PEN/Faulkner finalist and critically acclaimed author of The Knockout Queen.

As the child of a Hooters waitress and an ex-pro wrestler, Margo Millet’s always known she’d have to make it on her own. So she enrolls at her local junior college, even though she can’t imagine how she’ll ever make a living. She’s still figuring things out and never planned to have an affair with her English professor--and while the affair is brief, it isn’t brief enough to keep her from getting pregnant. Despite everyone’s advice, she decides to keep the baby, mostly out of naiveté and a yearning for something bigger.

Now, at twenty, Margo is alone with an infant, unemployed, and on the verge of eviction. She needs a cash infusion--fast. When her estranged father, Jinx, shows up on her doorstep and asks to move in with her, she agrees in exchange for help with childcare. Then Margo begins to form a plan: she’ll start an OnlyFans as an experiment, and soon finds herself adapting some of Jinx’s advice from the world of wrestling. Like how to craft a compelling character and make your audience fall in love with you. Before she knows it, she’s turned it into a runaway success. Could this be the answer to all of Margo’s problems, or does internet fame come with too high a price?

Blisteringly funny and filled with sharp insight, Margo’s Got Money Troubles is a tender tale starring an endearing young heroine who’s struggling to wrest money and power from a world that has little interest in giving it to her. It’s a playful and honest examination of the art of storytelling and controlling your own narrative, and an empowering portrait of coming into your own, both online and off.

＂A wholly original novel. . . . Thorpe is both poetic and profound in the way she brings her remarkable story to an end.＂ --The Associated Press