When Stuart Shorter – a homeless alcoholic with a violent past – meets writer and charity worker Alexander Masters, they strike up an unlikely friendship. As Alexander learns more about Stuart’s complicated life and traumatic childhood, he asks if he can write his story and Stuart advises him to tell the story backwards, so that it’s “More exciting – like a Tom Clancy murder mystery”. As their remarkable alliance develops, Stuart gradually recounts his life story in reverse, his resilient personality and dry sense of humour giving the story an almost tragi-comic edge. Through post office heists, attempts at suicide and spells inside numerous institutions, Alexander is given a glimpse into a totally alien world and begins to understand how Stuart’s life spiralled so badly out of control.
参考翻译：
斯图尔特·肖特（Stuart Shorter）是一个无家可归的酒鬼，有着暴力的过去。当他遇到作家兼慈善工作者亚历山大·马斯特斯（Alexander Masters）时，他们建立了一种不太可能的友谊。随着亚历山大对斯图尔特复杂的生活和痛苦的童年有了更多的了解，他问他是否能写下自己的故事，斯图尔特建议他把故事倒过来讲，这样“更令人兴奋——就像汤姆·克兰西谋杀案一样”。随着他们非凡的合作关系的发展，斯图尔特逐渐以相反的方式讲述了自己的人生故事，他坚韧的性格和枯燥的幽默感使故事几乎具有悲剧的喜剧色彩。通过邮局抢劫、自杀未遂和众多机构内的咒语，亚历山大得以窥见一个完全陌生的世界，并开始了解斯图尔特的生活是如何严重失控的。
重点词汇释义
strike up开始; 建立; 开始演奏
so that因此; 以便
life story生平事迹
in reverse相反地;逆向地;颠倒地
sense of humour幽默感
tragi-comic又悲又喜的
post office邮局; 邮政部门; 邮政系统
heists盗窃; heist的第三人称单数和复数
spiralled螺旋式上升; 盘旋上升; 急剧增长; spiral的过去分词和过去式
out of control失去控制; 失去控制;不受控制
