If French readers only became aware of it later, readers in the English-speaking area were drawn into the bookstore by the word YU from the very beginning.
A few days ago, YU's new book "Deep Space" was promoted, and the specific release time has been set.
But before "Deep Space" came out, readers were waiting for another one... several other books to be precise.
…
If Joyce Carol Oates had no class one day, she would have two choices. One was to stay at home, read and write, and the other was to go to a bookstore next to the school, read and write.
She is now teaching literary composition at Princeton and doesn't have many classes, so she has a lot of leisurely days like this.
As for how to choose, generally speaking, it depends on the weather.
The weather was nice today. Although it was cold, the sunshine was nice, so she decided to go out for a walk.
After taking a walk near the school, she went to the "Edward Cottage" bookstore.
What surprised her was that there were many people in the bookstore at this time. Normally, on a morning like this, there should not be so many people in the bookstore, so she was a little curious as to what was causing this situation.
Seeing many people gathering around the poster at the door, she asked the staff: "Kara, what are they looking at?"
The staff member smiled and replied, "Ms. Oates, they are reading YU's new book. Today happens to be the day when YU's new book is released."
"YU's new book?" Joyce asked doubtfully, "If I remember correctly, it will take some time for "Deep Space" to be released. Is it released in advance?"
Ever since "Resident Evil" came out, Joyce has been paying close attention to YU and even wrote a letter to YU.
"It's another book, the title is "Looking to the West". It is not published separately, but is published together with several other works by Chinese writers. It is a series of Chinese literature."
After hearing what Carla said, Joyce became interested.
The Chinese literature series sounds like it has a strong literary flavor. Perhaps this is why "To the West" is not as promoted as "Deep Space".
Joyce did not look at the poster, but went directly to the bookshelf and picked up a copy of "Going West". Then, after thinking about it, he picked up the other two books in the series.
A morning passed before Joyce put down his copy of "Going West."
A thick family history, this was Joyce's first impression after reading this book. It has a bit of Latin American magicism, but it is indeed realism.
Of course, it is obviously not what Joyce wanted to do to argue about what "ism" a novel is.
She only knows that she really likes the conflict between the grand narrative background and personal consciousness in this novel, and likes the spirit of struggle that the book inadvertently reveals.
Under the torrent, everyone is helpless, but sometimes, people will make some special choices.
After reading this book, Joyce had a new understanding of YU. It turned out that YU was not only a popular novel writer with fantastic ideas and good at telling stories, but also had a deeper pursuit in art.
It is impossible to say which of the two identities of YU is good or bad, but they are very different. Joyce suddenly wanted to write another letter to formally get to know this YU.
But before writing this letter, she decided to read several other books in the Chinese Literature Series. "Going West" made Joyce interested in the works of other Chinese writers.
In the United States, it is rare to see the works of Chinese writers. They are not popular novels like "Resident Evil" but solid traditional literature like "Going West". Americans' understanding of Chinese literature may go back to the 1980s.
Ninety years ago.
…
On the train from Yanjing to Jinling, Zheng Yunlong was lying on the sleeper berth, closing his eyes and concentrating. Several other passengers in the same carriage were already chatting with each other.
There were six people in this sleeper car, all departing from Yanjing. At this time, everyone was complaining about the difficulty of buying tickets.
Because it was approaching the Spring Festival, there were a lot of people buying tickets. Most of them queued for three or four hours to buy tickets.
"When I went to buy tickets, everyone in the queue was afraid of the cold, so no matter whether they were men or women, they hugged each other in front and behind to keep them warmer. The line was like a centipede, moving around, which prevented people from jumping in line.
."
"That's right. The team can't move on its own, so it needs help from people at the train station to push it."
"Brother, where are you going?"
"I'm going to Beng City to visit relatives."
"How about buying a sleeper berth so close? Will we be there soon?"
"My waist is weak, I can't stand it unless I lie down."
…
After a while, Li Yunlong figured out the identities of these people from their conversation. The person on the upper bunk above him was a small businessman who did some buying and selling. He mainly did the talking. The one on the upper bunk opposite was from Yanjing.
Migrant workers, my wife has given birth this time, go back and take a look...
Another person in the carriage who didn't like to talk much was a student. He was chatting with people on the lower bunk and reading a book all the time.
Although Yunlong doesn't speak much, he listens very carefully. He likes to observe the behavior of different people in different scenes in life. He believes that these observations will become the source of his future creations.
In the middle of the way, the Erdao dealer and the laborer went out to smoke. Zheng Yunlong scratched the edge of the window and looked down, "Hey, classmate, are you going to Jinling?"
The student below looked up at Zhen Yunlong and said with a smile, "Yes, brother."
"I also went to Jinling. What book did you read so seriously?"
""Harvest" was released last month. I didn't have time to read it at that time. I happened to be in the car this time so I bought it to pass the time."
"The "Xu Sanguan Sells Blood" in this issue of "Harvest" is pretty good."
The student below raised his eyebrows, probably not expecting that the eldest brother above him was also reading "Harvest", "Indeed, Teacher Yu Hua's novels never disappoint."
"I heard that Yu Hua is now at Jinyi. You didn't want to meet him?" Zheng Yunlong said with a smile.
The student smiled shyly and said, "I want to meet you too, it depends on fate."
"It's a good chance to meet Yu Dong when I go there. Have you seen Yu Dong's works?"
"Of course, I have read all of Teacher Yu's novels."
"Which novel is your favorite?"
"I like "Xiangxi", how about you, brother?"
"I prefer "Fatal Identity", but of course "Westward" is also very good."
""Fatal Identity" is indeed very good. When it was serialized in "Sprouting", I was the first to catch it. Moreover, our school also has a Werewolf game club, and we usually play games together. The members of the game club
People love this novel."
"By the way, which school are you from?"
"I am from Yanjing Normal University."
"Hey, Yu Dong seems to be from Yanjing Normal University, so you are his junior brother?" Zheng Yunlong asked curiously.
The student shook his head and said, "No, my undergraduate degree was not at Yanzhou Normal University."
…
Perhaps because they had similar interests, the two had a lively chat, but they never exchanged names, and neither of them knew what the other was doing in Jinling.
Because to both of them, these things are not important.
When the two of them left the station, Zhen Yunlong smiled and said, "Little brother, let's say goodbye and see you again in the future. I happen to be going to Jinyi this time, and maybe I can help you meet Yu Hua."
The student looked surprised and said, "Brother, I also go to Jinyi."
Zhen Yunlong's smile froze, and he was equally surprised and asked, "Why are you going to Jinyi?"
Li Qiuhao thought for a moment and decided to tell the truth, "Actually, I just went to see Teacher Yu Dong. I just didn't tell you, brother. I'm really sorry."
Zhen Yunlong looked at Li Qiuhao up and down, and suddenly burst into laughter.
Seeing Yunlong laughing, Monk Li Qiuhao was confused, "Brother, what are you laughing at?"
"Haha, I laugh that there is such a fate in this world. Little brother, what do you think I will do in Jinyi?"
Li Qiuhao's eyes widened, "Brother, could it be that you are too..."
Chapter completed!