I am a literary giant in Europe

Chapter 218 Arrogance!

The overseas call lasted almost an hour.

Before hanging up the phone, Sen Quluo told Liu Jin that she would contact Iris Shun-Ru Chang.

When Mr. Zhang published "The Rape of Nanking", it once topped the New York Times bestseller list.

He was even received by Zipperton.

But after that, as his life got better, "The Rape of Nanking" gradually faded into obscurity.

In fact, it's not just in America.

This book disappeared in Europe and even in China for a time.

As for the reason?

We dare not make random guesses.

……

However, although Liu Jin is not in America, but in France, he can still feel the popularity of "The Old Man and the Sea".

In the first week of its release, The Old Man and the Sea sold more than 570,000 copies in France.

It broke the first-week sales record of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows film in France.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows sold 520,000 copies in its first week and 640,000 copies in its second week.

Now, those records are likely to be broken by The Old Man and the Sea.

The French critics seemed to be speechless for a while!

It was at this time that the promotion of the book "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" was also launched under the promotion of Elana Landon.

Meila called and said with a smile: "Ms. Landong regrets it so much!"

"How to say?"

“I had recommended The Old Man and the Sea to her before, but she was hesitant.

Hachette finally took the lead, and this year's sales crown seems to have been settled. Ms. Landong called me to apologize and expressed her hope for future cooperation. Hachette, having gained both fame and fortune, must be ecstatic.

"But this should have been yours, Singela's!"

"Hahaha, stop provoking me. I know what I'm doing. If it were Singela, they wouldn't have the scale and channels that Hachette has. I'm just following Hachette and eating some soup. It's a sure win... I have no regrets."

Liu Jin couldn't help but laugh.

"How's the situation over there?"

“I’m fine, attending classes as normal… Andre will come over on Sunday to do an interview, and I’ll be painting most of the time.

By the way, the last two books of Ai Zai will be delayed.

I'll have two novels in the first half of this year. After they're finished, I'll spend most of the second half of the year working on another novel, so there's a good chance no new books will be released. That's pretty much it, so I'm telling you in advance."

There was silence on the phone for a moment.

"What book? It'll take you half a year?"

“It’s the story about ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame.’”

"Are you finally going to move that story?"

"Yeah, it's been two years, and I'm almost ready."

Meera, breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's great. I can finally allocate some resources to other authors."

"Yeah, I think so too."

After all, Singla's size is there, and Liu Jin alone occupies almost 60% of Singla's resources.

For the remaining dozen or so writers, a 40% share of the resources is indeed not enough.

After all, a publishing house does need a top author, but it can't rely solely on them. A wider range of authors and works are needed to truly support the publishing house's framework. Over the past year or so, Singla's allocation of resources has been somewhat irrational.

Liu Jin's decision gave Mela the opportunity to adjust the structure of the publishing house.

"By the way, please send the manuscript of A Beautiful Life to Ms. Senqu Luo. She called and said that Langdon is interested in publishing it."

"can!"

Meera is very happy.

She then said: "I will go to America in advance, and Bruheimer Films sent a fax asking for early consultations.

Liu, the success of The Old Man and the Sea made him feel the pressure!

From now on, we can take the initiative."

"Then I wish you a successful start."

"While I'm gone, if you have any questions, you can ask Chloe for help. If it's a literary matter, you can consult Ms. Balcells... Liu, you've truly become famous with one book. I suspect you'll be in a lot of trouble."

"I see!"

Liu Jin hung up the phone and breathed a sigh of relief.

……

Liu Jin originally thought that he was prepared to deal with trouble.

But in fact, he still underestimated the power of "The Old Man and the Sea".

On Sunday, he hosted Andre at his home.

The treatment given by L'Humanité this time far exceeded the treatment given during the last interview when "Amelie" was published.

Andre brought a team.

In addition to text interviews, video recordings are also required.

It's the kind of interview where two people sit face to face and have a conversation.

To show his sincerity, Andre did not bring Nurz.

It was the black guy who said that Chinese people eat dog meat during the last interview with Liu Jin, and then Liu Jin retorted that the French eat frogs.

The entire interview took a whole afternoon.

The two initially chatted in the living room and later ran out to the terrace.

Finally, in the courtyard.

The interview was also very casual, like two old friends chatting. They talked about Alexandre Dumas, Stendhal, Maupassant and Zola, Romain Romain and Milan Kundera.

"I can sense that French writers are very popular in China, right?"

"Indeed!" Liu Jin laughed. "Many writers are well-known to Chinese people. For example, I read many works by French writers when I was a child."

"So who's your favorite writer?"

"Alexandre Dumas, and Jules Verne."

"I understand Alexandre Dumas, but Jules Verne? That surprised me."

"His Around the World in Eighty Days was fantastic, and it was the first time I realized how big and interesting the world is."

"Then do you know anything about Chinese literature?"

"Of course, China's culture is five thousand years old..."

"No, no, no, the five thousand years is just what the Chinese people think. In fact, according to historical research, the historical community only recognizes that Chinese civilization is three thousand years old."

"Andre, what's your father's name?"

"Diriyeh."

"Where's your grandfather?"

"My grandfather's name is Frank. What's the problem?"

"But I don't know your father and grandfather. Does that mean you don't have a grandfather or a father?"

"Mr. Amos, I think your statement is inappropriate."

“Yes, I also think it’s inappropriate that you only recognize our 3,000-year history of civilization.

Our ancestors are clearly documented in historical records. It's like denying the existence of my father, grandfather, and great-grandfather simply because you didn't know them. Similarly, I can view Western civilization and history in this way.

You think our history books are myths, not historical facts.

But isn't it the same with your Homeric epics, the Odyssey?
I could also deny the Trojan Horse, but the Chinese have never done so. We have always respected your civilization and history.

But you, without the slightest respect, are criticizing and dictating our history and civilization."

"Amos, I think you're trying to confuse things."

"No, no, no, I'm not trying to change the subject. I'd like you to answer a few questions... Aristotle left behind over three million words of writings. Please tell me, how did he leave behind all these texts? Your papyrus and parchment... How has papyrus survived thousands of years and still looked like new? How did Greece have so many sheep?
Also, how many words are there in the complete works of Shakespeare?

More than 20,000 words!

But according to some records, the British dictionary at that time only had more than 2,000 words..."

Andre's face darkened a little.

Liu Jin smiled and said, "I don't mean to belittle European civilization. In fact, I think there must be a reason why European civilization has survived to this day. For example, why was there no record of Aristotle's works before the Middle Ages, but appeared in Arabic texts after the Crusades?"

Western historians still don't have a reasonable answer... Mr. Andre, I think Western civilization is too arrogant!"

Liu Jin did not say anything about Western pseudo-history theory.

He just raised some doubts, and the conclusion he drew was also the arrogance of Western civilization.

Andre didn't want to continue on this topic, so he changed the subject and talked about other things.

"I've noticed that the Chinese cultural works you like are all very old.

And just now, among the works you mentioned, there were no modern or contemporary works. Is it because you don't like them? Or is there some other reason?"

"I think the greatest work of modern times is only X selection!"

"Forehead!"

"What about Red Sorghum? It was made into a movie and won a major award in Europe. Many people love it."

"I do not like!"

"why?"

Liu Jin really wanted to turn into a troll and criticize him, but when the words came to his lips, he swallowed them back.

"If you don't like it, ... there's no reason.

For example, Gide's "The Immoral" was once completely banned. Why?

why?
Because he defended TXL in this book.

But you can't say this kind of thing.

At the beginning of the millennium, France was in a period of emergence of various schools of thought.

Whether it is TXL or NQ, they are all forbidden areas that cannot be touched.

Andre was a little hesitant to answer, but he was eager for an answer, so he asked, "Is it because of Mo's description of the Chinese in the book?"

“People of every era have different views on different eras.

Mo represents an era whose universal values ​​seem distorted and ridiculous to people of another era. I cannot understand, nor can I accept, Mo's views, so I have never been interested in his work.

If you force me to name some modern and contemporary writers, I like Yu Hua and Shi Tiesheng, but the others are just average.”

I used to like Jin Yong very much.

But later on, I prefer Gu Long and Huang Yi...

The interview between the two lasted until dark.

Andre said goodbye with satisfaction.

Before leaving, he suddenly made an invitation.

"Amos, I can sense your love and loyalty to Chinese culture. I would like to invite you to write an article on behalf of Humanitarian News."

"Commissioned work?"

Liu Jin was stunned for a moment and looked at Andre in confusion.

"Last year, China and France signed a cultural exchange agreement.

2002 is the Year of Chinese Culture in France. We need more articles to introduce Chinese culture to France.

You are Chinese and love China; you have achieved great success in France and understand French culture.

Therefore, I hope you can create some works about China, so that the French can understand Chinese culture."

……

(End of this chapter)