In today's society, people always start to speculate on others from a relatively negative point. They have never thought about why their own books are not available in French!
Obviously each judge has their own preferences. Some judges prefer modern novels, while others prefer classic works. Obviously "Hyperion" has entered their sights to some extent.
In the past, mainstream literary circles could still say that Lin Han's writing was purely commercial, and his ideological connotation was not worth mentioning. But now he has even been nominated for mainstream foreign awards. Doesn't this prove that their ideas are wrong
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The term "qualifications" is not idle!
Therefore, after "Hyperion" swept the Hugo Award, Locus Award, Spanish Science Fiction First Prize, Japan Nebula Award, French Universe Award, British Science Fiction Award, Science Fiction Chronicle Award and other science fiction awards, it finally extended its "devil's claws" To mainstream literary awards!
It is undeniable that this has become an important means for big publishing houses to make money, because most writers will hand over their works to large publishing houses for operation.
Those who are close to vermilion are red, those who are close to ink are black.
This novel has a very high reputation in Europe and the United States. Many people feel that it is more of a classical literary work than a science fiction novel, and science fiction is just a coat of its literary core.
They made an exception for Hyperion, a novel that captured the hearts of the judges!
In addition, the British romantic poet John Keats once wrote a long poem "Endymion" on the theme of ancient Greek mythology, but he died before the poem "Hyperion" was completed.
As soon as this news came out, it is conceivable that the domestic literary world was shocked. Although they recognized Lin Han's best-selling ability, they did not nominate Lin Han for any mainstream literary awards.
These writers and critics have such poor discernment that they allowed such a pearl to be secretly cast aside!
Winning writers almost never choose to cash the check. Instead, they frame the check and hang it on the wall. This is something more valuable than the trophy.
"It's not because he found a good publishing house. If Penguin Publishing Group didn't help him translate, would he have been nominated for this award?" Tang Ziyao said angrily, watching the young man's work sales increase. He was so jealous that he could not bear to see that even the professional recognition of his works exceeded his own.
Tang Ziyao said disdainfully: "If our works were translated into French, Lin Han would have nothing to do with him!"
There was even a Goncourt Literature Prize winner, Sartre, who wrote to the Nobel Prize winner in 1964, expressing his refusal to accept the Nobel Prize in Literature. They believed that this award was more professional!
During the interview, Bernard Pivot did not hesitate to praise him at all, and also said very humorously: "When we gathered together to discuss which book could be shortlisted, we all said that I don't like this. What are the shortcomings of this book? But when we talk about Hyperion, we spend a lot of time talking about the parts of this work that make us happy and unexpected."
Even for the Goncourt Prize, choosing a science fiction work as a nomination this time is a huge breakthrough. In its 115-year history, it has never selected any science fiction novel.
"Impossible Lovers", "2084", "The Seventh Function of Language", "Suddenly Alone", "Master My Night", "North Point", "In a Small Country" and other works lead the way In the list of winning odds, "Hyperion" only ranked eighth due to restrictions on the author's nationality and the type of work, which is considered a relatively middle position!
What should we do with literary awards
In fact, this is not surprising. This is originally a story based on mythology. Hyperion is a god in Greek mythology. French literature has also been influenced by Greek mythology. Many works are related to Greek mythology, so The degree of acceptance of novels is relatively high!
You have to be hard-working to make the iron. The excellence of "Hyperion" is not because it was translated into French. It was also praised when it was translated into Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Greek, and Italian.
He has a feeling that he regards money as dirt. Of course, he regards other people's money, not his own!
The bonus of 10 euros has now become a major label of the Goncourt Literature Prize. Although this is far from the high bonus of the Nobel Prize for Literature, it is very highly recognized in the French literary world.
The other fourteen novels nominated together with it are all serious mainstream literary works. Among them, many works of the French Gallimard Group were shortlisted, including Jean Hartsfeld, Eddy Cadoure, Boisin ·Six people including Sansa and Natalie Azoulay, who has the highest reputation for winning the award, all come from this group.
Awards are well-known in the literary world. Lin Han's nomination is of great significance because this is his first nomination for a mainstream literary award. His works are no longer limited to award selections in the science fiction field!
Even the chairman of the jury, Bernard Pivot, gave his own explanation of this breakthrough in an interview with an AFP reporter. As a best-selling novel that once topped the French book sales list, "Hyperion" almost received It was loved by all the judges and unanimously agreed that it should be an exception.
So when the nominations for the Goncourt Literary Prize were announced, intense discussions began among all walks of life.
Although readers like it, their own disadvantages are too serious. The number of foreign writers who have won the Goncourt Literary Prize in the 115-year history can be counted on both hands. Unless they have considerable advantages, the judges will still Like to think about writers from their own country.
Being conservative, refusing to change, and hating newcomers are bad habits that have been passed down since the Middle Ages. Even though the new era has been here for so long, some people are still unwilling to make compromises.
Works submitted for the Prix Goncourt do not necessarily have to be published in France, as long as they are written in French. For example, there are many countries and regions where French is spoken, such as Belgium, Quebec, Canada, and French-speaking countries in North Africa.
The French are the most romantic people. Keats has a very good status in the minds of French writers, so Lin Han's "Hyperion" seems to be written by his own people to a certain extent!
At the beginning, the judges of the Prix Goncourt were all men, but now there are three women. This gradual gender balance also makes this literary award more and more reasonable. After all, the works of some female writers are also very good. excellent.
""Hyperion" is the most ambitious and intricately conceived science fiction novel I have ever seen. Its creativity is impressive, and it has extremely rich and full characters. Each character is integrated with his own story, and then They form a larger story that is interconnected. This is an extremely rare book, and we are eager to see more similar science fiction works!"
Just like Tang Ziyao, he once shocked the literary world with his work "A Kind-hearted Woman". After receiving many praises, he became addicted to complimenting each other and did not write good works for a long time.
In his opinion, Lin Han, who was young and proud, was just lucky and knew how to hype and promote himself. In fact, the article he wrote was not very good!
It is still uncertain whether he will win the award, but it is a very good thing to be nominated now. It marks that Lin Han's works have officially entered the world's mainstream literature circle. He is transforming from a science fiction writer to a writer!
The breakthrough of "Hyperion" has a double meaning. In addition, its sales volume is the highest among all the nominees, so it is normal for it to be favored by the media. After all, many readers have not read the other books at all!
What is the deep connection between the evolution of literary awards and the changes in language, literature and even society in various countries around the world
The fact is very simple, that is, the works of Tang Ziyao and others are not good enough. Translators will always translate works that they like or that can make money!
Therefore, most of the award-winning works will be best-sellers in the French-speaking areas of the world, and some little-known books can even reach millions of copies!
Now, a foreign heavyweight literary award is the first to offer such a prize, which is a huge mockery of the domestic mainstream literary circle.
Although the prize money for the Goncourt Literary Prize is so small, the French National Book Center has been supporting the award-winning works. Various literary book salons and media reports will also provide good promotion and support!
Tang Ziyao always felt that the content of his writing was high-minded and highbrow, while best-selling writers like Lin Han were just lower-level works created purely to make money.
"That's right. He's really good at marketing himself. He even said he doesn't like to deal with the media. As a result, the media reported the most news about him. There must be a team behind this to help. I don't believe he is doing it alone!" Ning Xuan Secretly guessing, this is also the thought of many passers-by.
No one can give a definite answer!
Tang Ziyao's friend Ning Xuan agreed and said: "That's right, it's just that I got a nomination, and now I'm bragging so much. It's like I won an award. The news of others winning the Mao Dun Literature Award is not so sensational!" "
Many writers think this way. It’s not that their books are of poor quality, but they just don’t meet the selection criteria for the Goncourt Prize.
After "Hyperion" was nominated for the Goncourt Prize, many people online and in real life were happy for it and Lin Han, but some people also acted sourly.
How to ensure openness and transparency and select outstanding works that can stand the test of time
Compared with Europe's acceptance of ancient Greek mythology, mainland China and even Asia are less accepting of this cultural legend.
How could these people's works be picked up by overseas publishing houses if their works are unrelated to both
If it is really exciting enough, French publishing houses are not fools. Don’t they want to make money