Chapter 436 National Book Critics Circle Award
In fact, it is not just the Dramatists Association that is feeling uncomfortable because of this wave of publicity for Red Sorghum.
Some time ago, many pro-Western media and people in the cultural circle criticized Lin Weimin because of his criticism of American society in "Burning" and the impact of the Zhuozhou Conference.
The most common argument is that Lin Weimin holds a job in a Western-funded country but is actually doing things that would ruin it.
This group of people is definitely not a minority in the country. On the contrary, their number is quite large. When they curse at others, they are naturally outraged. Just reading various newspapers and magazines, one really feels that Lin Weimin has become a rat crossing the street.
However, as the influence of the award-winning "Red Sorghum" continued to ferment, many news about Lin Weimin appeared in the newspapers, which stunned these people.
"Red Sorghum" was obviously directed by Zhang Yimou, and you, Lin Weimin, are just a screenwriter. Why are you everywhere?
The most infuriating thing is, what qualifications did you, Lin Weimin, have to win those awards exposed in the newspapers?
These people just couldn't understand why someone like Lin Weimin, who cursed while holding a bowl, could be so well received by Westerners?
Everyone was confused at first and thought that the judges and artists from Western countries must be blind.
Later, someone stood up and promoted that this was the benefit of democracy and freedom.
You see, Lin Weimin’s character is indeed not that good, but he still has some talent.
Western countries will not be hostile to you because of your inclinations and attitudes. Instead, they will cherish your talents and praise you highly.
Well, the logic is self-consistent!
Whenever Lin Weimin saw such articles in the newspaper, he could only shake his head helplessly. The two award-winning works of his praised the Gauls and the Americans a lot.
However, Lin Weimin did not take this matter to heart.
These intellectuals are all good at talking nonsense, and their influence on him is not even enough to scratch the surface.
I had intended to keep a low profile and let this matter slowly pass, but sometimes reality always goes against one's will.
That day, Lin Weimin received a long-distance call from the United States.
The 1987 National Book Critics Circle Awards just announced this year's winners. Lin Weimin's "Burning" defeated the strong opponent "Anti-Life" by Philip Roth and was named the best novel of the year by the Book Critics Circle.
Qiao Sen, who reported the good news to Lin Weimin, was a little excited. "Lin, do you know the value of this award? It is one of the three major literary awards in the United States."
"Really?" Lin Weimin said nonchalantly. He had only heard of the Pulitzer Prize, but had never heard of the National Book Critics Circle Award.
Qiao Sen heard Lin Weimin's attitude and explained, "You don't know. The Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and the National Book Critics Circle Award are the three most mainstream awards in our American literary world. The Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award are only awarded to American citizens, even if your work is first published or published in the United States. Only the National Book Critics Circle Award has more relaxed requirements, as long as the work is first published in the United States."
"The National Book Critics Circle is a professional organization with more than 1,000 senior book editors in the United States. The final candidates and winners are selected by a 24-member committee of the organization. To some extent, its award results are more authoritative than the Pulitzer Prize because all the reviewers are the best editors in the industry.
E.L. Doctorow's "Ragtime" and John Updike's "Rabbit is Rich" are among the best novels ever selected by the National Book Critics Circle.
Lin Weimin has not read "Ragtime", but he has read "Rabbit Goes Rich" by John Updike. That novel happened to be among the pile of books that Lin Weimin brought back from the United States. Lin Weimin still remembers that when he bought the novel, the bookstore owner said that the novel swept the three major American literary awards.
With Qiao Sen's explanation and recalling the book-buying process, Lin Weimin finally understood the value of the National Book Critics Circle Award.
"Qiao Sen, thank you so much this time! And your company!" Lin Weimin said.
Lin Weimin knew very well that without the operation of a publishing company, it would be almost impossible for him, a foreign writer, to win a major literary award such as the National Book Critics Circle Award.
The United States publishes tens of thousands of novels every year, and even the United States itself cannot choose from them all. How could it possibly choose a work by a foreigner, even if your work is published in the United States, even if your novel is well-written, and even if you already have some fame?
What's more, the content of this novel holds a negative attitude towards the operation of American capitalist society. A key factor in its winning the award is the rise of ZY ideas in Western countries in recent years.
The spread of ZY ideology in the 1960s and 1970s had a huge impact across the world, and the United States was no exception.
Although in the 1980s, with the emergence of various crises in socialist countries, political thought was hit hard, and the world was swept by political thought.
However, the National Book Critics Circle is a group of people who are deeply influenced by ZY ideology. So in their eyes, the book "Burning" not only does not have the suspicion of smearing the United States, but on the contrary, to some extent, it is warning the American people, just like Dickens in Britain and Mark Twain in the United States.
This is the reason why Random House chose Burning.
"Haha, Lin, our company is about to reprint "Burning", and the print run this time will be 500,000 copies. Not only "Burning", but also several of your other works, will have their print runs increased accordingly."
Although the National Book Critics Circle Award is not as famous as the Pulitzer Prize abroad, it is still very well-known in the United States. Now that Lin Weimin has won the Writer of the Year Novel Award, his reputation has been further enhanced, and his works will naturally become best-sellers, especially the award-winning work "Burning".
It has been more than half a year since last year, but only less than 200,000 copies have been sold. Random House is still planning to make some money back from this wave.
The purpose of Qiao Sen's call to Lin Weimin was not only to inform him of the good news, but also to invite Lin Weimin to fly to the United States.
Random House plans to hold several book signing events for Lin Weimin, and also accept media interviews to promote Lin Weimin and his novels.
"Qiao Sen, I'm so sorry. As you know, I'm very busy at work and have a lot of things to do. It's a bit unrealistic to take time out to go to the United States."
Going to the United States to promote and hold book signings is a mutually beneficial thing for Lin Weimin and Random House.
But Lin Weimin had a job after all, and it was impossible for him to take time out every year to go to the United States for a period of time. He refused decisively, which made Qiao Sen very disappointed.
"Well, next time you come to the United States, be sure to inform me in advance. Organizing book signings and interviews will not only be beneficial to the sales of your books, but will also be good for your personal popularity and influence." Qiao Sen said.
"Of course!"
The list of winners of the National Book Critics Circle Awards was just announced a few days ago, and an awards ceremony will be held soon. However, since Lin Weimin is not going to the United States, he naturally cannot attend. Lin Weimin handed this task over to Qiao Sen, asking him to help collect the award on his behalf and then mail it to him.
After the communication, the two hung up the phone.
Lin Weimin was very happy about the news that "Burning" won the National Book Critics Circle Award. It seems that he has to take back his previous idea.
"The Intouchables" won the Tony Award by flattering Americans, and "Burning" won the National Book Critics Circle Award by scolding Americans.
It seems that there are many knowledgeable people in American society who can see that Teacher Lin is disappointed with them and that he loves them so much that he criticizes them.
The news that "Burning" won the National Book Critics Circle Award did not need to be spread by Lin Weimin himself, because the content of the novel to a certain extent reflects the group of Chinese students studying in the United States, so these students have always been very interested in "Burning".
As soon as the list of winners of the National Book Critics Circle Awards was announced in the newspaper, someone discovered it, and it quickly spread among the international students in the United States, and then was passed back to China.
In just half a month, the news that Lin Weimin won the National Book Critics Circle Award for his novel Burning spread like wildfire in the domestic literary world.
Those cultural figures who had cursed Lin Weimin were completely silent this time.
How can I scold you now?
This is like a dog that a master has raised. When it sees someone speaking rudely to the master, the dog will go forward and bark first. As a result, the master not only does not blame the person, but instead treats the person as a guest of honor.
Needless to say, the dog was very depressed, but he was loyal after all, so he had to find a way to excuse his master.
My master is kind and benevolent, and has a broad mind.
The literary awards on the other side of the ocean, apart from all kinds of rumors and discussions outside, actually had no substantial impact on Lin Weimin. He still went to get off work and got off work on time every day.
That day, Tong Zhonggui ran to his office and said excitedly, "Teacher Lin, are you free tomorrow night?"
"What's the matter?" Lin Weimin asked.
"The person you always asked me to follow is coming to Yanjing on a business trip. I want to treat him to a meal. You can come too!"
After hearing what Tong Zhonggui said, Lin Weimin became interested and said, "Okay!"
Tong Zhonggui clapped his hands, "That's great. You don't know, I've been encouraging him for half a year, and he finally started writing a novel recently. This time when I come to Yanjing, I must persuade him to focus all his energy on writing novels."
Lin Weimin nodded and asked, "Don't just talk about him. You haven't made any news for over a year, right? What have you written recently? Is there anything you can show to others?"
Speaking of this topic, Tong Zhonggui smiled shyly, "I'm writing now, almost finished. I'm holding back a lot this time."
Lin Weimin has not paid attention to Tong Zhonggui's creations this year. It seems that he wants to give himself a surprise!
"Long?"
"Yes, a long one!" Tong Zhonggui nodded, with a look of determination and confidence on his face.
(End of this chapter)
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