1980 My Literary Era.

Chapter 514 The Superiority of Socialism

Many film lovers in later generations have a stubborn prejudice. They will think that some directors are destined to exist for the sake of making a movie. 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 talented.

It's just that the masterpiece's perception to the public is too amazing, which greatly increases the viewing threshold of movie fans, and after that, everything feels a little bit less interesting.

After "Farewell My Concubine", Kaizi has "Legend of the Demon Cat" and "Search", and after "The Godfather" series, Francis Ford Coppola also has such good films as "400 Years of Vampires", "Jack at Home" and so on. .

The latter films were not badly made. Maybe another director made them at this level. The public and film critics would have raised their hands and applauded, but who made these directors’ films be of the level of Kaizi and Francis Ford Coppola? What about the director?

This is probably a kind of deep love and responsibility!
In fact, Lin Weimin also wanted to say something to Francis Ford Copporado.

Don't fucking let your daughter be in your movie!
Of course, he was just thinking about these words. The dinner atmosphere in the Green Garden Lounge was harmonious, and the guests and hosts enjoyed themselves.

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

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

The adaptation and revision of the script of "Farewell My Concubine" has been in progress. In his spare time, Lin Weimin still took Tao Huimin to tour New York City every day.

After the initial novelty, Tao Huimin has gradually gotten used to the prosperity of New York, and what she often does every day is to accompany Lin Weimin to those bookstores hidden in the corners.

Perhaps because of getting older, Lin Weimin's love for books is not limited to reading, but tends to be collected, and many of his friends are also like this.

Many people have bookshelves in their homes, some of which are missing a wall of bookshelves, and some exaggerated that even the floor is full of books.

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 already a very remarkable thing for a person to read one or two hundred books seriously in his life. If he reads without understanding, he can probably read one or two thousand books.

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

There are many people who read for their own purpose, just to find the information they need, which is much easier; there are also some people who do not read without understanding, but are superficial, and this kind of reading is also very fast; there is also a special case , is a great god with a superior memory and comprehension ability far exceeding that of ordinary people.

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

The Westsider bookstore on West 80th Street has a small space, with long and narrow aisles. The bookshelves on the two walls of the entrance go all the way to the top of the wall. The long and narrow depth makes the bookstore very dark, and lights must be lit during the day.

The air is mixed with the smell of paper, ink and mold. On the innermost floor, there are piles of second-hand books that have just entered the store and have not had time to put on the shelves.

Lin Weimin squatted on the ground and carefully selected books. He was accompanied by two white boys with weak writing skills. They looked like nerds who were bullied at school.

The three of them squatted like this, blocking the aisle tightly. Fortunately, they are in the innermost part of the bookstore, so it does not affect the normal entry and exit.

Lin Weimin found a copy of "Eleven Kinds of Loneliness" in the pile of books, and his face was delighted.

The Caucasian guy wearing glasses 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 caucasian guy with glasses had a sullen expression on his face, and his eyes were still glancing at Lin Weimin's hands unwillingly.

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

After rummaging for a while, after confirming that there was no book he liked among the batch of books, Lin Weimin and Tao Huimin came to the checkout counter at the door with a pile of books in their hands.

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

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

Second-hand bookstores like people in the West District basically don’t sell too many books. A batch of second-hand books will be brought in every ten days and a half. Go to the bookstore to pick up books.

When Lin Weimin came to the United States three years ago, he would buy books worth hundreds of meters every time. He was a rare big customer in the store and left a deep impression on the boss Jonathan.

Recently, Lin Weimin reappeared in the West District People, and Jonathan recognized him at a glance. After chatting with him, he realized that he was not an Asian American, but from China.

Jonathan settled the bill for Lin Weimin in a good mood, and when the book "Eleven Kinds of Loneliness" was counted, Richard sighed.

"Pity Richard Yates!"

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

Jonathan had a hurt expression on his face, "Lin, you have too much opinion on the United States!"

"I'm just sorry for Richard Yates, am I wrong?"

"You..." Jonathan wanted to refute Lin Weimin, but seeing the dilapidated novel that was once placed on the shelf of the bookstore and was finally forced to be swept away in the second-hand bookstore, his defense turned into a cry of helplessness. sigh.

"Maybe, you're right, Americans don't deserve a writer like him."

The conversation between the two aroused the dissatisfaction of the two white guys who just came over to check out, "Sir, not all Americans dismiss 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 can't support Mr. Yates!"

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

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

Richard Yates is the most well-known novelist in the 60s in the United States. The film "Revolutionary Road" starring Xiao Lizi and Kate Winslet in later generations is based on his debut and famous work "Revolutionary Road".

After its publication, this novel won numerous praises for Richard Yates, and was shortlisted for the National Book Award of the United States together with Joseph Heller's "No. 20 Catch-[-] Rules", but unfortunately it failed to win.

After that, he continued to write and published "Eleven Kinds of Loneliness", "God's Will", "Disturbing the Peace", "Easter Parade", "Good School", "Liar in Love", "Young Hearts Cry" , "Cold Spring Harbor" and many other works.

Richard Yates' works have always been well received and widely praised in the mainstream literary circles of the United States, but the strange thing is that the sales of his works are extremely poor. Each novel has very few prints, and the sales are even worse Yes, the most one sold 1 copies.

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

By the 70s, Richard Yates had to teach and write to make ends meet.

After the death of Richard Yates, his novels were taken off the shelves of all bookstores almost overnight, and it was only possible to find them in the dusty places on the bottom floor of second-hand bookstores.

What made Richard Yates such a miserable situation probably started with his unique writing style.

The 50s were called the "Anxious Era" of the United States. After the victory of World War II, the United States became the world leader, and its material culture was highly developed. Under the tense atmosphere of the Misu confrontation and the shadow of the terror of McCarthyism, such a developed material civilization gradually It has turned into a kind of anxiety for the American people.

Richard Yates' novels are known for their ruthlessness. He uses a scalpel-like style of writing to analyze the life and psychology of the American middle class in the 60s and [-]s, and deeply criticizes the falsity of the American Dream.

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

He has become famous and has been praised and respected in the industry, but in the end he can't even sell the novels he publishes, and he can't even keep his mouth full. Is there a more paradoxical situation 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 to accept the worship of colleagues, but also to educate the world with his works.

Unfortunately, he was born in the United States.

The two white guys stared at Lin Weimin for a long time, but couldn't think of any rebuttals, and finally muttered: "The United States can't support Richard Yates, so can you?"

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 there is a high probability that he will have an official status, with a good salary. Salary, good social status, works are easy to sell, maybe the works can be included in textbooks, and become must-read works for countless children in life.”

Listening to Lin Weimin's words, the two Caucasian boys looked at him with weird eyes. 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 Caucasian guys were taken aback by Lin Weimin.

This round, the superiority of socialism has completely exploded capitalism.

(End of this chapter)