· Pay attention to Qin Shuo's circle of friends ID: qspyq2015 word count 5k+·
In 2018, CITIC Publishing House published a set of the first series of the world-famous "Penguin Classic: Little Black Book", from the world's largest popular book publishing company - Penguin Random.
The little black book was sold 7 days after its listing, and 100,000 copies were sold, which was the same for a while and absorbed countless powders.
In 2020, The Little Black Book ushered in its "closing feast", and many readers were still shouting.
Therefore, CITIC Publishing House joined hands with Penguin Random to introduce "Penguin Modern Classics" and sell it to Chinese readers.
Because of the small size of the folio and the green cover design, this time people affectionately called it: "Little Green Book".
Unlike the Little Black Book, the Little Green Book chooses well-known writers who are active in the literary circles of the 20th century, whose literary style is sharp and full of personality, and they are well-deserved avant-garde literature, just like the world of the 20th century.
Therefore, in the cover design, "Penguin Modern Classic" also uses a more jumpy mint green.
The first series of the Little Green Book has a total of 8 books, which can be described as a collection of big coffee.
Moreover, the 8 authors come from different fields, not all of them are simple writers, taking you to appreciate the "avant-garde literature", understand the refraction behind literature in the 20th century, and see how different identities blend and coexist.
There are 2 Nobel laureates: Albert Camus and John Steinbeck;
Pop Art Leader: Andy Warhol (can't believe it, he also wrote literature);
Feminist writers with the same name as Beauvoir: Susan Sontag;
Both Auschwitz prisoners, writer and chemist: Primo Levy;
French talented female writer: Françoise Sagan;
Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers;
The Way of Seeing, author and art critic: John F. Kennedy Berg.
Read the literary classics of eight different writers at once, about love, fear, loneliness, freedom, art, and appreciate the literary charm of different styles.
In terms of selection, this time short stories, poems, essays, speeches, etc. were selected, and each book was a complete work rather than an excerpt.
Different from the more well-known articles selected by the general book, this book takes "cold classics" as the standard and selects the "atypical masterpieces" of many famous artists. 50% is introduced to China for the first time, showing you the unknown side of the great writer.
Camus, for example, is known for "The Outsider" and the 2020 book "The Plague".
This set of books selects his speeches on creation, "Creative Danger", "Defending The Intellect", and "Bread and Freedom", to explore the relationship between the times and literature.
It's still a bilingual book.
Chinese and English reading, while reading excellent classic literary works, learn authentic English expressions.
The design is also quite exquisite.
In order to highlight the pioneering and independent spirit of the avant-garde culture of the 20th century, Jim Stoddart, the artistic director of "Penguin Modern Classics", also deliberately chose a very innovative font for this set of books - Avant Garde ("Avant").
The domestic version invited Liu Zhao, associate professor of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, and his team to design the font, they investigated many fonts, and finally focused on the abstract geometric style in the republic of China art characters, and boldly changed the original stroke structure of the Chinese to make it more geometric.
In addition, the publisher has also carefully designed a small green book with the same DuPont paper bag, which is light and stylish, the design is avant-garde, and the touch of paper brings the pleasure of flipping through the pages.
In the vast sea of people, you can recognize the "penguin" at a glance. (See below for details)
"Penguin Modern Classic: Little Green Book", now available for sale in a living hall
Limited Time Special: ¥118~199(Book Price: ¥149~248)
The special offer ends at 23:59 on October 25, 2021
Note: After entering the purchase page, you can click on the "Details" to collect the exclusive coupon purchase
Speeches by the outstanding novelist Camus
On January 4, 1960, a car crashed into a plane tree on the road to Paris, the wreckage of the vehicle was scattered on a field with a radius of 150 meters, the clock stopped at 13:54, and the 46-year-old Albert Camus died on the spot.
Paradoxically, Camus once said, "I don't know what could be more stupid than dying in a car accident."
The genius French writer, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, finally passed away in such a ridiculous way.
As a well-known "existentialist" literary master in France and a representative of "absurd philosophy", Camus's whole life has been using an outsider's posture to rebel against this hypocritical world.
At the age of 27, he wrote the masterpiece "The Outsider", which shocked the world, and began with the sentence "Today, my mother is dead." Maybe it was yesterday, I don't know..." Even today it seems absurd.
This time, the Little Green Book introduced his passionate and intelligent speech "The Danger of Creation", in which Camus coldly pointed out the dangers of artistic creation in this era:
"Today, creation is a dangerous undertaking. Any public announcement is a performance act that exposes you to the passion of the entire era, and this is an era of not forgiving anything. ”
About love, sex and disillusionment
A few years ago, there was a passage circulating on the Internet: Although I smoke and drink, I am a good girl.
This passage, applied to Françoise Sagan, is simply tailor-made.
Sagan, born in 1935 in France to a wealthy family, grew up greedy for fun, mediocre grades, but liked to read proust, Faulkner, Sartre and other writers, and thus embarked on the road of creation.
At the age of 18, he wrote the novel "Hello, Sorrow", which won the French "Critics Award" that year, and was translated into twenty-two languages and adapted into a film within five years.
In addition to writing, she enjoys racing, gambling, alcoholism, and extravagant and indulgent life, and her unusual friendships with Sartre and former French President Mitterrand add to her mysterious aura.
Reading Sagan's novels, you can see the delicate descriptions of love, loneliness and worry by female writers, as if you can see your own shadow and the general mental state of French society at that time.
When Sagan died in 2004, Chirac, then president of France, said that "France has lost a very good and very sensitive writer, a writer who is very outstanding in our literary life."
The Little Green Book includes 4 short stories by Sagan: "Little Lover", "Stranger", "Lonely Pond", and "Lying Man".
It tells of a middle-aged woman breaking up with a young and handsome lover; her husband being suspected of infidelity; a woman examining herself by the pond; a dying man recalling his extramarital affair.
"They laugh and say that the best way to make a certain brand of laundry detergent sell well is to prove that this detergent can wash clothes grayer, because people need gray more than white, gray rather than dazzling, like the new and tired rather than durable."
Why are we married and why are we unfaithful? Perhaps Sagan's novel can give us some inspiration.
A poem by Auschwitz survivors
"After Auschwitz, it was barbaric to write poetry."
There is such a person, who survived Auschwitz concentration camp, took the memories of suffering that ordinary people do not want to recall, and repeatedly "recalled" and presented the past with poetry.
As a "rescued" "survivor" of Auschwitz, he said:
"The younger generation must listen to us: because we collectively witnessed a crucial and unexpected event that took place contrary to all prophecies... It can happen, it can happen in any corner. ”
But as a witness, he added:
"From the perspective of communication (in fact, the perspective of not being able to communicate), we survivors have a special experience."
Standing on such a cliff where communication is almost impossible but must be communicated, he wrote countless poems and memoirs.
This man, known as an Italian national treasure writer, was also the most interesting public mouthpiece of the 20th century , Primo Levy. Calvino called him "one of the most important and gifted writers of our time."
Arrested in 1944 for his anti-Nazi activities and deported to Auschwitz, he survived as a chemist and as a writer and prisoner of the Auschwitz 174517.
In order to let everyone remember that history, Levi wrote many works to recall his own experience, and after writing "The Drowned and the Saved", he fell from a building and died, which was considered suicide.
"Survivor" contains the beautiful and terrifying poems he once wrote, and even if he is painful and desperate, he must maintain the strength to love it after recognizing the truth of life.
"We have been drowned,
Eager to be together again
Walk freely in the sun. ”
In addition...
| Andy Warhol," "Fame"
The big names active in the art world in the 20th century were usually crossover experts.
Hailed as one of the most famous figures in the art world of the 20th century, Andy Warhol, an advocate and leader of pop art, has also written many humorous and pungent essays.
The inclusion of "Love (Old Age)", "Fame" and "Beauty" is the first time to be introduced into China.
The recent "Becoming Andy Warhol" exhibition has just ended in Beijing, about to start a trip to Shanghai, after reading this set of books to see the exhibition, and may have more ideas about Andy Warhol's artistic philosophy.
"Nowadays, even if you are an asshole, you can still be honored as a guest. You can publish books, go on TV, and get access. ”
| John Steinbeck, "Defender of Justice"
John Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1962. He wrote a total of 27 works in his lifetime.
Because the characters he creates are all grassroots members of society, portraying the brilliance of humanity they show in the face of difficulties: kindness, compassion, and courage to fight for survival, and they are loved.
The three short stories included in "Guardian of Justice", "Snake" and "Chrysanthemum" are all introduced into China for the first time, exploring mob violence, disturbing encounters and bitter betrayals, which are still thought-provoking even now.
"Everything has lost its vitality, everything has become so unreal, and the figures in the darkness seem to be stiff mannequins."
| John Berger, The Red Curtains of Bologna
John Berger is widely known as an art critic, author/producer of the best-selling/documentary The Way to See, and in addition to that, he is also a writer and poet.
The Red Curtains of Bologna is his first essay introduced to China, and he shows a storytelling perspective.
Remembering his beloved uncle, John Berg follows in his footsteps on a tour of Bologna and describes the scenery along the way in the form of a stream of consciousness, like a close-up in photography, and its fragments and flowing neuroticism are also reminiscent of the montage techniques of the film.
"I love him, and because of his calmness. He believed that in general and in principle, the best of the best lies in the future. ”
| Susan Sontag's Notes on the Camp
The feminist, on a par with Beauvoir, was a writer and critic known for his brilliance, keen insight and vast knowledge.
This time, "Notes on "Camp"" and "A Culture and New Feelings" are included.
Just as many avant-garde cultures of the 20th century are difficult to understand, "Campo", an art that is extremely stylized and not centered on secular beauty, is one of them.
Sontag, known as the "Queen of Camp," is the first commentary on "Campo" to take a serious look at it.
"Not in terms of aesthetics, but in terms of the degree of skill and stylization." "They don't have to be anything in the art of expression, at least not necessarily."
| Carson McCullers, The Troubled Boy
Carson McCullers, one of the most important American writers of the 20th century, completed "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" at the age of 22.
McCullers suffered from illness throughout his life and was paralyzed at the age of 29. Themes of loneliness, isolation and alienation permeate all of her work and are etched in all aspects of her personal life.
This time, three short stories are included in "Troubled Boy", "Sojourner" and "Family Dilemma", exploring the loneliness that surrounds her eternally.
"His hand reached over the body beside him, and in his affectionate and complex love, there was both sorrow and desire."
Beautifully surrounded by DuPont paper bags
The little green book was published for the first time in China, and the publisher also specially customized a cultural creation printed with penguin IP - a DuPont paper bag with full creative feeling.
Don't think it's just a stylish bag with a full score, it has a "story" on it.
The outer skin is 65 grams of DuPont paper, which is like a book page, but can withstand rain.
The natural folding of DuPont paper echoes the works selected in the Little Green Book, which are still shining through the wind and dust, and are often read (used) and often renewed.
The inside is 6 amperes pure cotton blank.
It's durable and full of personality.
Note: The black dots on the blank cloth are unique grains of pure cotton cloth and are not flawed.
On one side, the ripples of WIFI through the green line symbolize the signal sent by the vanguard guards who have broken free from the prison of thought to find their fellow believers.
This is a powerful invitation to modern people who are not willing to be mediocre and want to gain freedom of thought in trivial daily life.
On one side is a black diagonal line that crosses the vertical green line, representing individuality and rebellion, and in a world full of constraints, there are always pioneers of the times with pens as guns, seemingly deviant, but aiming to wake up sleeping people.
The English letters PM on both sides echo the English title of the Little Green Book, Penguin Modern.
In addition to being designed to be very practical, this bag is also very practical.
Two strap designs, you can either straddle the body or hold it on your hand, and on your back you are the "most unique boy" on the street, and you are also sending your own signal to the world.
Maybe you can also find your "fellow traveler" through this bag in the vast sea of people.
It is also very fitable.
Computers, mobile phones, notebooks, daily necessities... Once loaded, daily commuting is not a problem.
About Penguin Random
The little penguin in the picture represents the publisher of the "Little Black Book" - Penguin Random.
Countless book lovers around the world regard penguin Random's books as a guarantee of high-quality reading.
Penguin Publishers founder Alan Leyden
Once, most of the books on the European market were expensive hardcover books, and buying books and reading books was a luxury.
In order to make books available to those who truly love to read, Sir Alan Lane founded Penguin Press in London, focusing on the publication of classic and affordable paperback books, setting off a revolution in the publishing and cultural worlds.
As one of the world's leading publishing groups, the Penguin Random Family has published works by more than 80 Nobel laureates and hundreds of internationally renowned authors.
Penguin Random has saved the souls of countless people who are thirsty for knowledge, become the guarantee of classic good books, and lead the trend of reading culture for generations.
It's a real pocket book, short, you can read a book in two hours, make full use of fragmented time, and take it out to read a few pages anytime, anywhere.
The book is small enough to be taken down with one hand.
Eye protection paper, comfortable to read.
"This article represents the personal views of the author only"
Content combination, posting exchange: [email protected]