British writer

no doubt,

"Roger Mystery" sold out.

Even Lu Shi didn't understand why this happened.

In the original world line, this book also received a lot of doubts when it was first published. It was not until it was brewing for a period of time that the sales volume began to rise sharply, and it became Shapo's famous hit.

The current situation is unexpected.

...

the next day,

Jasmine Wood from the Royal Publishing Office.

Natsume Soseki served a cup of black tea.

Wood took off his hat and gloves, and reported the results to Lu Shi excitedly:

"Professor Lu, all 6,000 copies of your first edition of "Roger's Mystery" have been sold, and the bosses of all bookstores are crying to their fathers and mothers to ask for additional printing. Our printing presses have already started, and we are going to supply another 10,000 copies."

The unit price of "Roger's Mystery" is six pounds two shillings,

The first edition of 6,000 copies, and the reprint of 10,000 copies...

"hiss……"

Natsume Soseki gasped.

We looked at him curiously and arched his palm with our head.

Natsume Soseki showed a shocked expression,

"My lord, you..."

He showed an expression of relief like an old father, and he was about to wipe away tears.

Lu Shi couldn't help snickering, thinking that Natsume Soseki was really easy to settle, and he was so touched by my hand.

Wood looked at us curiously,

"Is this what you raised?"

Lu Shi nodded,

"Well, to help Natsume write."

As soon as he heard about writing, Wood immediately became interested.

Because of Lu Shi's magic, he is now full of curiosity about scholars from East Asia, so he asked: "What type of works does Mr. Natsume write? Can I have the honor to read it?"

Natsume Soseki scratched his head,

"My writing speed is not as fast as Shang Lu, and I haven't finished writing yet~"

Wood leaned forward,

"It's okay, just look at the beginning."

Natsume Soseki looked at Lu Shi with some embarrassment.

Mr. Wood only started to cooperate with Lu Shi deeply after being introduced by the queen.

In other words, this is Lu Shi's personal relationship, recommending "I Am a Cat" is to consume Lu Shi's favor.

Natsume Soseki didn't want Lu Shi and Mr. Wood to be separated because of him.

What's more, Mr. Wood is the editor of the Royal Publishing Bureau, and the Royal Publishing Bureau strictly censors the content, especially popular novels, which are generally not published.

"Roger's Mystery" and "And There Were None" are special cases among special cases.

Natsume Soseki asked, "Is it suitable?"

He attaches great importance to the brotherhood with Lu Shi and doesn't want to be troublesome.

Lu Shi said: "Don't worry, I am very optimistic about your work. "I Am a Cat" is a good book."

Before time travel, "I Am a Cat" was a super masterpiece.

Natsume Soseki nodded gratefully, sorted out his manuscript, and handed it to Wood.

Wood took a look,

"A Japanese story?"

Natsume Soseki nodded a little embarrassed, and replied: "I originally wanted to create with the background of London, England, but... well, I am not as comfortable as Lu in London, so I decided to take root in Chinese culture."

This choice is hard to say right or wrong,

It is right because Natsume Soseki's creation has indeed become handy,

As he said, if London is the background, I’m afraid I can’t hold back five words in six days;

To say it is wrong is to consider it from the perspective of sales.

Wood said: "With Japan as the background, I am afraid it will not be loved by gentlemen and ladies."

Japan is too far away and too small,

For the vast majority of British people, it is a place that has never been heard of, and it is a place that even if there is news in the newspaper, it will only be mentioned briefly.

Natsume Soseki nodded helplessly,

"Feel sorry."

Wood waved his hands again and again,

"No, no no no no, what's there to be sorry about? We British are arrogant."

Lu Shi laughed loudly and said, "Mr. Wood, you are such a peculiar Englishman, it's really not easy to know how arrogant you are."

As soon as this remark came out, all three people in the room laughed.

Lu Shi said: "Actually, there is nothing wrong with the arrogance of the British nowadays. This is the British Empire, the center of the world, the center of the universe. What's wrong with the arrogance of the British?"

Wood continued to laugh,

"Professor Lu, you don't mean it~ That's not what you wrote in "Yes! Prime Minister"."

The three laughed again.

Lu Shi could clearly feel that as his works gained a firm foothold in London, the attitudes of these white people towards him had changed significantly.

At first, Doyle looked down on him, Scott and Cooper mistrusted him.

And now?

People seem to be showing kindness towards Lu Shi,

Even Lu Shi's roommate Natsume Soseki can be taken care of because of this. Without any reputation in London, the first English work can be appreciated by an editor like Wood.

I have never been poor and difficult to grow up,

Become famous all over the world.

Nothing but the case.

Lu Shi said, "Mr. Wood, would you like to take a look first?"

Wood nodded and began to read the previous chapters of "I Am a Cat".

He frowned first,

"this……"

Natsume Soseki raised his heart and asked, "Mr. Wood, is there any question?"

Wood said: "Does Mr. Natsume have no experience in English writing? Why do I feel that there are some... uh... some very... very low-level mistakes in your article, such as tense, how can you use the present tense here? ?”

Natsume Soseki blushed.

He is really not good at English writing, which led him to conceive the original Japanese text in his mind first, and then "translate" it.

In this case, of course, there will be a syntax error.

"Sensation your private Masai!"

Natsume Soseki apologized.

Wood:? ? ? ?

He does not understand the exclusive etiquette of the Japanese.

Lu Shi chuckled and said, "Mr. Wood, Natsume is apologizing to you~"

Wood said "Oh", thinking that the Japanese are really interesting, why are they so confident when apologizing?

He usually speaks softly, but he apologized so loudly.

He waved his hand,

"It's okay, the important thing is not the words, but the story."

Wood continued to read.

He originally thought that "I Am a Cat" had so many grammatical problems that the content would not be very attractive.

What I didn't expect was that, excluding those low-level mistakes, this turned out to be a good book.

Except for some special Japanese culture that I can't understand, the novel reads very smoothly.

Most importantly, this book is very humorous,

After reading it, Wood felt like he was admiring Japanese ukiyo-e, or a group of witty cartoons describing Japanese market wells, which was very interesting.

After reading the first chapter, he couldn't help but comment: "Good book!"

Hearing what he said, Natsume Soseki's eyes lit up,

"Mr. Wood, you..."

Wood nods,

"The title of the book is "I Am a Cat", but I didn't expect the cat to be the first person."

As he spoke, he cast his eyes on us, smiled,

"It's really a correct choice for you to raise cats. In this novel, the cat's movements and expressions are written vividly. And those psychological activities, after reading it, it seems that the kitten really thinks so."

My generation: "Meow?"

It feels that these humans are discussing themselves, but it doesn't understand.

Lu Shi reached out and touched my big head,

My generation immediately made a "huluhuhu~" sound.

Wood put down the manuscript,

"However, this book still has obvious weaknesses. The first is the two I just mentioned. First, there are many low-level mistakes in the text; second, it describes Japan."

The first point is very easy to change,

All major publishing houses have powerful editors, just let them polish the manuscript,

If it doesn't work, you can still ask Lu Shi to come out.

As a professional translator, Lu Shi's goal is to be trustworthy, expressive, and elegant, so he is very good at dealing with such problems.

But the second point...

Natsume Soseki said helplessly: "I'm sorry, Mr. Wood, although I want to move the background to London, but my writing skills are not enough, and I don't know much about the upper class life in London. If I insist on writing, it will only become a mere imitation."

Wood nodded.

"But anyway, this is a good book. I think you should still publish it. There is no problem selling 2,000 copies. This part of the royalties will make your life very comfortable. And, after that, you can still use it in Japanese. Re-edit and sell back to Japan."

It's a very good idea,

Just like in modern times, many "antiques" and "wenwan" are taken abroad, appraised in private museums abroad, and then sold back to China.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the Japanese worshiped foreign countries and favored foreigners.

Lu Shi secretly gave Wood a thumbs up.

Wood continued: "I have to admit that you Asians are really innovative. "I Am a Cat" is created from the first-person perspective of a cat. It should be the first in the world, right?"

The author Natsume Soseki cannot answer this question either.

He scratched his head involuntarily.

"This... I don't know if it's the first."

Wood said: "It should be. As an editor, I still read a lot. I don't recall any similar works."

As a result, as soon as he finished speaking, he was interrupted by Lu Shi: "No, this is not Natsume's first creation."

Wood looked shocked.

"Are there any similar works?"

Lu Shi shook his head,

"It's not similar. But if you want to say that cats are used as the first-person perspective, there are indeed some. Hoffman's "The View of Life of Moore the Tomcat" is written in this way."

(Whether Natsume plagiarized Hoffman's work is an open question.)

Wood looked surprised,

"Is it the German writer Hoffmann?"

Hoffmann is one of the most problematic and controversial writers in the history of German literature.

The international controversy surrounding the writer's ideological tendency, artistic technique and historical status has been protracted.

So, hearing about Hoffman is nothing,

After all, this is a great writer who is also known as Goethe, Schiller, and Heine.

What really surprised Wood was actually Lu Shi's reading volume.

He asked, "Does Professor Lu know German?"

Lu Shi coughed lightly,

"No, I just... um... I understand a little bit."

Shente Meow's "slightly understands and understands\

,"Wood had a feeling that Lu Shi didn't understand a little, but really understood.

Then, a question lingered in his mind,

He couldn't help asking: "Since there is "Moore the Tomcat's Outlook on Life" in works with cats as the first-person perspective, then, like "Roger's Mystery"...well... that kind of strange writing, isn't it? There is also a previous work?"

Lu Shi was curious,

"Why do you ask about this?"

Wood replied: "Because I want to publish book reviews to promote "Roger's Mystery". The slogan is 'the first of a certain genre', or 'after a certain work, another masterpiece of a certain genre', the former is far more effective than the latter Gimmick."

Lu Shi understood,

The Royal Publishing Bureau is going to use its strength to continue to promote "Roger's Mystery".

Wood is obviously knowledgeable and knows which works can be promoted more and more popular.

Lu Shi said: "That kind of writing is called a narrative trick."

Wood eyes a car,

"Good! What a 'narrative trick'! Such a name really sums up the characteristics of "Roger's Mystery" in place."

Then, he lowered his voice again,

"Professor Lu, tell me the truth, is there any similar work before?"

This is when worrying about Lu Shi draws.

In fact, "Roger's Mystery" is indeed the pioneering work of narrative tricks,

But the book's reputation is too great,

Before Lu Shi traveled, many college students "succeeded" in this book,

Some read halfway, and turned to the last chapter;

Some read dozens of pages and searched for Shapo's profile on the web, but the core tricks were all spoiled, and they fainted on the spot;

Some watched the pirated version on their mobile phones, only to find that someone took notes at the beginning;

...

Thinking of all the past, Lu Shi couldn't help laughing.

He said: "Before "Roger Mystery", there was indeed no narrative trick. But there are similar writing styles, such as "The Hound of Baskervilles", complete information asymmetry, the key to deciphering the truth in the book There is absolutely no information on Watson's side, and if Holmes doesn't tell it, readers won't know."

"Pfft!" ×2

Natsume Soseki and Wood laughed on the spot.

They all felt that Lu Shi was looking for personal revenge by using Doyle as an example.

Lu Shi was helpless,

"You two, I'm serious."

The tone is very serious.

Wood was slightly surprised, and put on a serious expression, and asked, "You mean, you were inspired by Dr. Doyle?"

Of course, Lu Shi didn't get any inspiration.

He just copied Shapo's original work.

He said, "No, I just... well... I can't tell."

Wood chuckled,

"Many people have said, 'After the work is finished, it has nothing to do with the author'. From this point of view, Professor Lu also feels this way, no wonder he can't explain it clearly."

In that case, it is obvious that he misunderstood Lu Shi's meaning.

Lu Shi felt that he still didn't want to defend himself.

Save too many words and mistakes.

Wood muses,

"Then, Professor Lu, are you interested in writing a book review for your own "Roger's Mystery"?"

Before Lu Shi had time to answer, Natsume Soseki asked, "Will the author write a book review for himself, won't he inadvertently spoil it?"

This is indeed a problem.

But Wood asked: "But besides Professor Lu, can anyone explain clearly what the narrative trick is?"

One sentence stopped Natsume Soseki from asking.

When Wood looked at Lu,

"Professor Lu, although I said just now that 'the work is finished, it has nothing to do with the author', but that was just a joke. The interpretation of the narrative trick is up to you, and you have to explain it clearly yourself, right?"

It's okay to write a book review.

but,

"Spoiler in advance, will it affect sales?"

Lu Shi was puzzled,

Since the purpose of posting book reviews is to increase sales, why do things contrary to it.

Wood laughed,

"Professor Lu, Professor Lu, you are a 'narrative trick' and 'information asymmetry'. You are so professional. How many readers will study your book reviews carefully? So, go ahead and post it, no questionable."

The implication is that after reading Lu Shi's book review, everyone will know that "Roger's Mystery" is very good,

But how awesome it is, you still have to read the original text to know.

After all, the early 20th century was not the age of information explosion. Even if the narrative tricks were explained thoroughly, readers might not be able to understand them.

Lu Shi nodded,

"Okay, then I will write and read, and send it to Mr. Scott after I finish it."

wood smiles,

"I believe 'Roger Mystery' will make history."

More precisely, Roger Mystery is making history.