The second volume is full of glory and splendor in the capital, and the spirit is full of vitality in the foggy city. Chapter 186 Huang Zongyi (Part 2)
Chapter Subtitle: This chapter has no subtitle.
"Sir, do you know Mr. Yuan?"
“…”
"Sir, are you a relative of Mr. Yuan?"
“…”
"Sir, is this your first time in New York?"
“…”
"Sir, so you really came to visit Mr. Yuan!"
Taxi drivers are generally very talkative and curious. Coincidentally, Tom is also a huge fan of Master Yuan.
"Sir, Mr. Yuan is a famous figure in New York. I've read all his books!"
In fact, all the novels Yuan Yanshu has written so far are popular novels aimed at the general public. Moreover, his novels do not have obvious political tendencies, nor do they contain any moral persuasion, and they are free of the self-pity and self-admiration often seen in petty intellectuals and the petty bourgeoisie.
In addition, because his works transcended the times, they always gave readers at that time a sense of awe.
At the same time, his works aren't too far ahead of their time. So if readers are willing to use their brains, they can find pleasure in reading—the pleasure of absorbing cutting-edge knowledge, the pleasure of solving complex puzzles, and the pleasure of self-reflection.
Therefore, even a blue-collar worker with some knowledge like Tom likes his novels very much.
You have to know that the readers of popular novels today are different from the readers of popular novels a hundred years later.
Even in America in 1921, being literate meant that one could not be at the bottom of society. A love of reading meant that one had a certain level of intellectual pursuit.
A person with ideological pursuits is very likely to like literary works like Master Yuan's that require some light thinking.
What I've heard is that what's considered "light thinking" these days will become "heavy thinking" in a hundred years. This is especially true for some of the later generations of Seres readers, who find even "A Song of Ice and Fire" and even Jin Yong's works too "deep," let alone science fiction.
In short, when Master Huang first set foot in America, the first person he met was a fan of his uncle.
"Sir, have you read Mr. Yuan's latest novel, All Quiet on the Western Front?"
"I haven't seen it yet."
"Sir, you must go and read it. It's currently being serialized in the literary supplement of Le Monde. This novel..."
At this point, Tom's tone, which had been full of enthusiasm, suddenly dimmed. "For a veteran of the European War like me, this is truly wonderful writing."
In fact, Master Yuan’s only work that can be called pure literature, "All Quiet on the Western Front", is also a bestseller.
The original author of this novel is the famous German writer Erich Maria Remarque (1898-1970).
Like most young Germans of his generation, Remarque was drafted into the army at 18, becoming one of the soldiers in the trenches of the Western Front that he would later depict. He was wounded several times in combat and even risked his own life to save his comrades, making him a true war hero. After the war, he became a racing driver and sports journalist, while also beginning his writing career.
This novel may be the most famous and representative work describing the First World War... Anyway, when Yuan Yan suddenly wanted to "write" a novel about World War I, the first book that popped into her mind... well, actually the only one was "All Quiet on the Western Front".
Even without discussing its literary achievements, the novel was also extremely successful commercially. At the end of 1928, the German version of All Quiet on the Western Front began to be serialized in newspapers.
The English translation was released in Britain and the United States the following year, and became the number one best-selling literary book in the United States in 1929.
A year later, in 1930, the famous Russian-American director Lewis Milestone brought the novel to the big screen, and the film won the 3rd Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director.
This unexpected success made Remarque leap from an unknown journalist to a world-famous writer.
The reason All Quiet on the Western Front became such a popular IP in the UK and the US is naturally because the novel adheres to the theme of "anti-war", which is in line with the pacifist trend in the Western world at that time. It must be said that Chamberlain's later "appeasement" had a very broad popular base.
The Nazis naturally disliked this anti-heroic work. After the rise of Temperance in 1933, Remarque's works were publicly burned along with those of Thomas Mann, Heinrich Mann, Brecht, and others. He was subsequently stripped of his German citizenship in 1938 because he steadfastly refused to return to Germany. The following year, he defected to the Beacon of Freedom and spent most of the next few years in Hollywood.
In 1943, his sister, who still remained in Germany, was even sentenced to death on trumped-up charges.
However, our Master Yuan is now a "foreigner" living in the beacon of freedom and does not have to worry about the Nazis at all. On the contrary, thanks to Einstein's blessing, this novel became popular before it was published.
Mr. Herbert Pulitzer and Miss Brown's father approached him successively, naturally, to obtain the publication of those novels which the great magicians had praised so highly.
These two were old acquaintances of Yuan Yanshu's, and had treated him well in the past. This time, they paid him a fair amount for his work. So, All Quiet on the Western Front was first serialized in Le Monde, a literary supplement, and then the publication of the book as a standalone was entrusted to New York University Press.
Huang Zongyi initially thought the taxi driver was a bit noisy. He was a rich kid with his own private car. How could a private car driver ignore his feelings and chat with him all the way?
But when he discovered that Tom knew his uncle's deeds and works like the back of his hand, he felt a strange feeling in his heart.
This was the first time Young Master Huang had heard an ordinary Westerner praise a Seres person so highly. A hundred years later, there were still Westerners who believed that Seres wore pigtails, let alone in 1921.
In the taxi driver's words, Yuan Yanshu was a gentleman of high moral character, brilliant talent, popular, and a very good-natured person. His Chinese identity did not diminish Neo Yuan's status; instead, it added a touch of mystery to him.
Huang Zongyi was originally quite curious about his uncle, and now his curiosity was even stronger, and he even felt a bit of respect for him.
In any case, Yuan Yanshu was the most famous Serbian in New York at that time, and a Serbian who broke the Western stereotype of Serbians.
"Sir, we're here!"
Young Master Huang pulled out his wallet, took out a Lincoln (five-dollar bill), handed it to the taxi driver, and said, "Thank you, Tom. No need to change."
People like him are not short of money, they just don't want to be extorted.
"Uh..." Tom swallowed involuntarily after seeing President Lincoln. This amount of money was equivalent to his net income for two days.
But he shook his head and said, "Sir, I won't take your money. But can you do me a favor? Since you are a relative of Mr. Yuan, can you ask him to give me a signed copy of All Quiet on the Western Front?"
"this……"
Huang Zongyi handed the bill over and said, "Tom, this is the fare. You must accept it. But please leave me your phone number. I believe Mr. Yuan will be very happy to have a reader like you!"
The taxi driver happily took the money and said sincerely, "Thank you, Sir."
He got out of the car first and opened the door for Huang Zongyi.
As soon as Master Yuan's nephew got out of the car, he was surprised to see several people rushing towards him from a distance...
