1980 My literary era

Many movie lovers in later generations have a stubborn prejudice. They will think that some directors are destined to exist just to make one movie in their lives. There are Kaizi and his "Farewell My Concubine" in China, and Francis Ford Copper abroad. La and his "The Godfather" series.

But in fact, people are not really talentless.

It's just that the masterpiece gave the public a stunning impression, which greatly raised the viewing threshold of movie fans. After that, everything else I filmed felt a little less interesting.

After "Farewell My Concubine", Kaizi has "The Legend of the Devil" and "The Search", and after Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather" series, he also has "The Vampire 400 Years of Horror", "Jack in the Family" and other masterpieces. piece.

The latter films are not bad. Maybe if another director had made them to this level, the public and film critics would have raised their hands and applauded them. But why would these directors make films of the level of Kezi and Francis Ford Coppola? What about the director?

This can probably be regarded as a kind of deep love and deep responsibility!

In fact, Lin Weimin also wanted to say something to Francis Ford Coppolado.

Don't you dare let your daughter act in your movie!

Of course he was just thinking about this. The dinner at the Green Garden Lounge was in a harmonious atmosphere, and the guests and hosts enjoyed themselves.

The next day, Lin Weimin continued to perfect the script of the American version of "Farewell My Concubine" with Arthur Miller.

Time passed unknowingly, and Lin Weimin had been in the United States for almost a month.

The adaptation and revision of the script of "Farewell My Concubine" has been ongoing. In his spare time, Lin Weimin still takes Tao Huimin around New York City every day.

After the initial novelty, Tao Huimin gradually got used to the prosperity of New York. What she did most every day was to accompany Lin Weimin to visit the bookstores hidden in the corners.

Perhaps because he is getting older, Lin Weimin's love for books is gradually not limited to reading, but more inclined to collecting. The same is true for many of his friends.

Many people have bookshelves at home, but few have bookshelves on one wall, and some even have books piled on the floor.

If you say you can read so many books, that is pure nonsense.

Many people have no idea about the amount of reading. In fact, it is a great thing for a person to read one or two hundred books seriously in his lifetime. If he reads without asking for deep understanding, he can probably read one or two thousand books.

Of course, this refers to complete reading under normal circumstances.

There are many people who read with a purpose, just to find the information they need, which is much simpler; there are also some people who read not only without asking for a deeper understanding, but with a superficial scribbling, and this kind of reading is also very fast; there is another special situation , is a great god with extraordinary memory and understanding ability far beyond ordinary people.

Lin Weimin's reading speed is average, no different from most people, so he bought so many books, most of which are piled on the bookshelf and read occasionally.

The West Ender Bookstore on West 80th Street is very small, with long and narrow aisles. The bookshelves on both walls of the entrance go all the way to the top of the wall. The long and narrow depth makes the light in the bookstore very dark, and the lights have to be lit during the day.

The air was mixed with the smell of paper, ink and mold. There was a pile of second-hand books piled on the floor inside that had just entered the store and had not had time to be put on the bookshelf.

Lin Weimin squatted on the ground and carefully selected books. There were two white boys with him. They were weak and weak. At first glance, they were the nerds who were bullied in school.

The three of them squatted like this, completely blocking the aisle. Fortunately, they were at the very back of the bookstore and did not affect their normal entry and exit.

Lin Weimin looked at a copy of "Eleven Types of Loneliness" in the pile of books and looked delighted.

The white guy wearing glasses on the side glanced at the book in his hand, and his eyes lit up.

"Sir, can I have a look at this book?"

Lin Weimin shook his head, "This book is destined for me!"

? ? ?

This man is a bit of a dog!

The white guy with glasses had a sad expression, and his eyes were still glancing at Lin Weimin's hand unwillingly.

Lin Weimin didn't care about his eyes, gave the book to Tao Huimin who was waiting aside, lowered his head and continued to flip through the book.

After rummaging for a while and confirming that there was no book they liked among the books, Lin Weimincai and Tao Huimin came to the checkout counter at the door with a pile of books.

"Lin, I really hope customers like you can come here every day!" Jonathan, the bookstore owner, said with a smile on his face.

"If you buy new books every day, I might come here every day." Lin Weimin said with a smile.

Second-hand bookstores like West End People basically sell books in small quantities. A batch of second-hand books will arrive every ten and a half months, and the quantity is not large. One or two hundred books is considered a lot. Many old customers will come here specifically on this day. Come to the bookstore and choose a book.

When Lin Weimin came to the United States three years ago, he would buy hundreds of dollars worth of books each time. He was one of the few big customers in the store and left a deep impression on the boss, Jonathan.

Recently, Lin Weimin appeared again on West Enders. Jonathan recognized him at a glance, and after talking with him, he learned that he was not an Asian from the United States, but from China.

Jonathan was in a good mood to check out Lin Weimin. When he reached the book "Eleven Kinds of Loneliness", Richard sighed.

"Shame on Richard Yates!"

Lin Weimin glanced at the name on the cover of the book and said, "He was born in the wrong country."

Jonathan looked hurt, "Lin, you have too many opinions on the United States!"

"I just feel sorry for Richard Yates. Am I right?"

"You..." Jonathan wanted to retort to Lin Weimin, but looking at the shabby novel that had been on the bookstore shelves and no one cared about it, and was finally sold to a second-hand bookstore, his defense turned into a cry of helplessness. sigh.

"Maybe, you are right, Americans are not worthy of a writer like him."

The conversation between the two aroused the dissatisfaction of the two white guys who had just walked over to check out, "Sir, not all Americans disdain Richard Yates. Many American readers like Mr. Yates very much." work."

Lin Weimin smiled, "In a country as big as the United States, of course there are readers who like Mr. Yates. Unfortunately, these readers cannot support Mr. Yates!"

The two white guys were silenced by Lin Weimin's two words. Facts speak louder than words, which made them feel a little aggrieved.

Speaking of Richard Yates, there is probably no other writer in the world whose life is more bizarre than his.

Richard Yates is the most famous novelist in the United States in the 1960s. The later movie "Revolutionary Road" starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet was adapted from his debut and famous work "Revolutionary Road". of.

This novel won numerous praises for Richard Yates after it was published, and was shortlisted for the National Book Award of the United States that year together with Joseph Heller's "Catch-22", but unfortunately it failed to win.

He continued to write and published "Eleven Kinds of Loneliness", "God's Will", "Disturbing the Peace", "Easter Parade", "Good School", "Liars in Love" and "Young Hearts Are Crying". , "Cold Spring Harbor" and many other works.

Richard Yates's works have always been well-received and praised in mainstream American literary circles. However, the strange thing is that the sales of his works are extremely poor. Each novel has a very small print run and the sales are even worse. The most popular one sold was 12,000 copies.

With such sales volume, in the highly market-oriented book industry in the United States, it is difficult for even the most famous writers to persevere.

By the 1970s, Richard Yates had to teach and write to make ends meet.

After Richard Yates's death, his novels were removed from the shelves of all bookstores almost overnight, and could only be found in the dusty bottom floors of second-hand bookstores.

What makes Richard Yates such a tragic situation probably starts with his unique writing style.

The 1950s were called the "Age of Anxiety" in the United States. After the victory of World War II, the United States suddenly became the world leader and its material culture was highly developed. Such a developed material civilization was under the tense atmosphere of the Soviet Union confrontation and the terror of McCarthyism. It has gradually turned into an anxiety among the American people.

Richard Yates's novel style is famous for its coldness. He used scalpel-like writing methods to analyze the life and psychology of the American middle class in the 1950s and 1960s, and profoundly criticized the falseness of the American dream.

Compared with Joseph Heller, who became famous at the same time, Richard Yates's writing method and style are old-fashioned and unpleasant, which also doomed his tragic fate.

It is obvious that he has become famous and is highly praised and respected in the industry, but in the end, he can't even sell his published novels and can't even make a living. Is there anything more bizarre than this?

What Lin Weimin said was not wrong. In his opinion, Richard Yates was born in the wrong country.

If he had been born in China, he would have been a writer like Lu Xun, a master who would be enshrined in the palace.

Not only must he accept the admiration of his colleagues, but he must also educate the world with his works.

It's a pity that he was born in the United States.

The two white guys stared at Lin Weimin for a long time. They really couldn't think of anything to refute, and finally muttered: "The United States can't support Richard Yates, how can you support him?"

Lin Weimin said with a smile: "I will definitely not raise Richard Yates, I will only buy his books. But if he was born in my country, then he would most likely have an official status and a generous salary." Salary, good social status, and no need to worry about selling the works. Maybe the works can even be included in textbooks and become must-read works for countless children in their lives."

The two white guys listened to Lin Weimin's words and looked at him strangely. Is there such a good thing?

"Where are you from?"

"China!"

"Why do you, China, treat writers so well?"

"We believe that writers are the conscience of this society, and they are responsible for sculpting the souls of the people."

"Wow! This sounds really cool!" The two white guys were stunned by Lin Weimin's deception.

In this round, the superiority of socialism has completely destroyed capitalism.