Literary Master 1978

In the two years since the reform and opening up, seeing the world with open eyes has gradually become the mainstream of society, and Western culture has penetrated China in all directions.

In the field of literature, various foreign trends of thought and schools also have a large number of fans in China.

Since last year, several magazines that focus on introducing foreign literary works and trends to Chinese people, such as "Foreign Literature and Art" and "World Literature", have invariably introduced many works of stream-of-consciousness literature, making this literary genre that has been suppressed in China previously It has gained the attention and interest of many literary lovers.

"The Summer of Raiko" is a novel with distinctive characteristics of stream-of-consciousness literature. For the literary youth of this era, reading this kind of novel itself represents a kind of fashion and keeping up with the trend.

And for more than a year, Lin Chaoyang has captured a large number of loyal readers in China with the excellent quality of his works. The publication of his first novel has also attracted the pursuit of these readers.

Due to the author's own appeal, coupled with the fact that the content of the novel is in line with the public's pursuit of fashion, "Raiko's Summer" has a smooth start.

"Contemporary" was launched in July last year. The first issue sold a first printing of 70,000 copies and sold out. The print run of the second issue increased to 110,000 copies, and demand still exceeded supply.

The third issue was released in January this year and sold 130,000 copies.

This number is slightly thin when compared with well-established old magazines such as Harvest and Yanjing Literature and Art, but what cannot be ignored is that "Contemporary" is a new literary magazine that cannot be new again, and its start is worthy of mention. Called perfect.

According to the normal upward trend, the sales volume of the fourth issue of "Contemporary" in April (the second issue in 1980) should be between 150,000 and 60,000 copies.

It shouldn't be difficult for it to sell more than 40 or 50 copies of a single issue within a year or two.

It is also destined to become one of China's top literary journals in the near future.

But what no one expected was that just after the second issue was released in 1980, the sales of "Contemporary" would draw an astonishing upward curve.

This issue of "Contemporary" sold 100,000 copies within one week of its release, and the sales volume of a single issue reached 240,000 copies within one month of its release.

Following this trend, the final sales of this issue of "Contemporary" may exceed 300,000 copies.

This number is insignificant compared to the sales of "People's Literature" and "Harvest", the leading literary magazines today, but the scary thing about this number lies in its foundation.

You must know that the sales volume of the first issue of "Contemporary" this year was only 130,000 copies. In just one issue, the sales of "Contemporary" doubled. How can such a huge increase not be shocking?

There is no doubt that the explosive growth in sales of this issue of "Contemporary" is naturally closely related to "Raiko's Summer".

This does not even require the editorial department to do any investigation. They only need to open the letters from readers to find out.

Since the publication of "The Summer of Raiko", the editorial department of "Contemporary" has received more and more letters from readers day by day. Sometimes, it even receives two to three hundred letters from readers in a day. Most of the letters mentioned "Raiko". The novel "Summer".

In the early years, the vast majority of domestic literature lovers had no idea about stream-of-consciousness literature. Almost all the domestic audiences of this literary genre have been cultivated in recent years.

And because they have a certain reading threshold, the audience group of stream-of-consciousness literature is relatively active. Whether it is writing letters to the editorial department or submitting articles to newspapers and periodicals, it is much better than the audience group of some realistic works. Be more active.

In just one month, the editorial department of "Contemporary" received more than 3,000 letters from readers. The readers praised "Lai Zi's Summer" in their letters. Yao Shuzhi, the young editor in charge of these letters, just opened them every day. Xin was extremely busy.

However, reading through these letters from readers is not without its benefits, that is, you can gain positive emotions from them.

Especially those praises and praises for the works make Yao Shuzhi full of pride as an editor.

This afternoon, when she was finished with the manuscripts at hand, she opened the letters from readers that she could not finish no matter how hard she opened them.

She opened a letter from Comrade Yang Yuntao from the Supply and Marketing Cooperative of Xixia County, HEN Province. The letter said:

“I am a literature lover. I only learned about stream-of-consciousness literature, an important genre of modern literature, two years ago, and I have not read many works.

My impression of stream-of-consciousness literature has always been of long internal monologues and associations, jumping timelines and obscure stories.

But after reading the novel "Raiko's Summer", my views on stream-of-consciousness literature changed.

I can see the strong and distinct stream-of-consciousness style in it, but in the handling of the storyline, the author seems to have constructed his own unique style, so as not to confuse some readers who do not understand stream-of-consciousness literature. inside.

For me personally, the work "Raiko's Summer" moved me deeply.

The author uses delicate brushstrokes to describe a relationship between a father and son who are not related by blood. It is both interesting and contains insights into life and growth.

What's even more rare is that he is very compatible with the style of stream-of-consciousness literature, integrating the concept of "summer" into a slightly psychedelic feeling, and successfully rendering the overall atmosphere of the novel into a strong fairy tale color.

After reading the novel, it is still difficult to get out of that beautiful time that was both real and illusory. "

After reading the letter, Yao Shuzhi felt happy. What she likes most is this kind of letter that praises the author and his works. It can gain a lot of positive energy, and at the same time, there is no need to reply, which saves worry and effort.

Opened another letter, this time from a college student from Shandong Normal University.

"...I majored in Chinese, but I have always been insensitive to stream-of-consciousness literature. In my opinion, the works of this genre are obscure and difficult to understand, pretending to be profound, but in fact they are nonsense.

But in the novel "Raiko's Summer", I saw the unique charm of stream-of-consciousness literature.

The author uses his very personal style of writing to cover up, or balance, the huge gap between stream-of-consciousness literature and ordinary readers, making this seemingly aloof literary genre amiable.

At the same time, what I want to say is that in the novel, Lai Zi and Xiao Jun struggle to find hope and convey goodwill in life, making the meaning of this novel far beyond the concepts of literary genres and genres.

"Raiko's Summer" is an in-depth dialogue about love, courage and growth. It goes beyond the meaning of ordinary stream-of-consciousness works. I think it should be classified into the larger category of children's literature. This is a novel A work of great social concern and humanistic depth.

I believe that it will definitely have its own place in the history of contemporary literature and will be passed down for a long time.

I hope the novel will be published soon! "

After opening more than ten letters in a row, Yao Shuzhi was in a happy mood. Seeing that it was almost time to get off work, she sorted out the letters and looked at Zhu Changsheng who was reviewing the manuscript.

"Lao Zhu, I opened these letters from readers, and most of them expressed the hope that "Laizi's Summer" can be published as soon as possible. Don't we have to hurry up?"

Zhu Changsheng raised his head when he heard the words, "It's only been a month, it's too early. Don't look at the readers who have written these letters, but the influence of the novel cannot be spread in half a month. If it is published too early, Sales may not be good.”

Zhu Changsheng is an old editor and has much more experience in book publishing than Yao Shuzhi.

He is Lin Chaoyang's editor-in-chief, and he is also honored that "Lai Zi's Summer" has achieved such great success. But it’s too early to talk about publishing now.

"There is no rush about publishing. I think the novel symposium can be held first." Zhu Changsheng added.

It was almost time to get off work, and everyone put down their work and participated in the topic of Zhu Changsheng and Yao Shuzhi.

In recent days, the atmosphere in the editorial office of "Contemporary" is full of joy.

This is closely related to the soaring sales volume of the publication. For a literary magazine that was born less than a year ago, it is about to sell 300,000 copies of a single issue. This is undoubtedly worthy of everyone's pride. At the same time, it also highlights the work achievements of everyone in the editorial department during this period.

However, everyone is happy, and they also know what is the fundamental reason why this issue of "Contemporary" can achieve such explosive growth.

"Lao Zhu, you must keep an eye on Lin Chaoyang! I heard that "People's Literature" and "October" are keeping a close eye on him now.

He first published his works in "Yenjing Literature and Art". Look at what's going on now. "Yenjing Literature and Art" has not received his novels for several consecutive times.

He is just a piece of Tang Monk meat now! "

Liu Yin, the old editor of the editorial department, warned Zhu Changsheng.

Since the National Outstanding Short Story Award in March, Lin Chaoyang has received considerable attention in the domestic literary circle.

A few days ago, "The First Floor in the World" was performed at the Capital Theater and became famous in the capital overnight. It also made Lin Chaoyang, the screenwriter, famous in Yanjing's literary and art circles.

Zhu Changsheng also knew how much attention Lin Chaoyang was receiving now. He sighed softly, "Which publication wouldn't want to snatch up such a writer?"

Liu Yin said with emotion: "His ability in both novels and dramas always reminds me of Lao She."

"Bah, bah, bah!" Zhu Changsheng spat a few times and said to Liu Yin: "Lao She's talent is incredible, but we can't end up like him."

Liu Yin said nonchalantly: "What age are we in this? You belong to feudal superstition."

Colleagues chatted and laughed, and when it was time to get off work, everyone packed up and left.

Liu Yin returned home on her bicycle, and her husband Yan Gang had just returned home. Both of them were editors. Yan Gang worked at the "Literary Newspaper" and he was also a critic.

Their family lived in a Tongzi building with two rooms, one for the children and one for the couple. The couple's room was both a bedroom and a study. To save space, the dining table was used as a desk.

After finishing the meal, Yan Gang spread out pen and paper on the dining table.

Liu Yin asked: "Who else are you writing to?"

"'Laizi's Summer.'" Yan Gang replied.

"Raiko's Summer" was published in "Contemporary", and Liu Yin was the editor of "Contemporary". As soon as she heard her husband's words, she immediately became interested.

"Write a review for Lin Chaoyang again. You really like him."

As early as last year, Yan Gang wrote a review article for "Wrangler".

At that time, "Wrangler" was not as influential as it is now, and Lin Chaoyang was not as famous as it is now.

The couple usually talks about novels at home, but rarely communicates about the works they have reviewed and commented on, mainly because they are afraid of disturbing each other.

"Look at what you said, people who don't know think I'm messing around with men and women outside." Yan Gang said jokingly.

He dusted off the manuscript paper and said: "I was busy with work a while ago, and I finally finished reading his new novel today, and I really want to write something. Oh, by the way, you also read his novel when you were reviewing it, right? "

Liu Yin nodded, "I saw it. That time Lin Chaoyang came to our editorial office and said that it took more than half a month to write it. We were all shocked when we heard it. It took more than half a month to write a 200,000-word novel. A long novel, this novel..."

Liu Yin paused for a moment when he said this, which meant that the level of the novel must be difficult to describe.

"Written in more than half a month?"

Yan Gang was surprised when he heard this. He asked in disbelief: "He wrote a novel of 200,000 words in half a month? Is it so good?"

"Our reaction at the time was similar to yours now. But he must be telling the truth. He was writing the script for "The First Floor" last winter.

Looking back, I took out "Raiko's Summer" less than two months ago. Calculating the time, even if it is a bit exaggerated, it will definitely not exceed one and a half months. "

After Liu Yin finished speaking, Yan Gang said in amazement: "His efficiency is a bit scary!"

"It takes more than half a month to write 200,000 words, an average of 10,000 words a day. The speed is actually pretty good. The most important thing is the quality of the novel.

You know, there have never been any good stream-of-consciousness novels in China. As editors, we actually don’t read much. I have only read the works of Woolf and Faulkner.

To put it into detail, everyone is similar. Generally speaking, our domestic literary circles still pay relatively little attention to stream-of-consciousness literature.

We were really shocked when we watched "Raiko's Summer"!

You can tell from between the lines that Lin Chaoyang is not like many young writers today who almost imitate famous foreign writers. He is definitely not a simple imitation, but has his own unique thinking and creative experience.

I even think that in the field of stream-of-consciousness literature, there is no one better than anyone else in China! "