After writing down an eye-catching topic, I wanted to introduce a book in a decent way.
"Mr. Lehman", about the self-transformation of small people in the year of their establishment, is a humorous novel written by German singer Sven Regener in 2001, which became a phenomenon best-seller as soon as it came out, selling millions of copies in three years, and in Germany, which has a population of just over 80 million, it is undoubtedly a great achievement.
Chinese are relatively unfamiliar with German literature and music, it doesn't matter, anyway, Germans are not familiar with China, as Professor Huang Liaoyu, director of the German Department of Peking University, the translator of this book, once pointed out: "Germany's acceptance and appreciation of Chinese literature is lower than that of Britain, France, and Italy." A clear sign is that they are reluctant to give awards to Chinese writers. There are many literary awards in Germany, but when it comes to Chinese literature, they are very picky. "To exaggerate, Germans among contemporary Chinese writers also know Mo Yan and Yu Hua." Therefore, Huang Liaoyu described the significance of this novel for Germans: "Perhaps only when Cui Jian wrote the Wang Shuo-style novel, we Chinese to experience the joy of the Germans in this dynasty." ”
Sven Regener performance photo
Play the guitar well and play the pen holder
The story of "Mr. Lehman" is simple: at the end of the 1980s, Frank Lehmann, a bartender living in west Berlin's Kreuzberg district, was about to celebrate his 30th birthday, but found that his original life could not be sustained, and one trouble after another came. It all started when his friends stopped calling him "Frank" and jokingly referred to him as "Mr. Lehman."
Mr. Lehman was an unambitious and well-to-do man. Look at how he deconstructs the grand proposition: "When it comes to the content of life, everyone sees life as a container that must be poured into something, as a means to achieve some end, but the real truth is ignored, for example, life has its own value, for example, people who are always busy pouring content on life may not know what life is. ”
The content of life and the meaning of life, class leaps and value realization, the chicken blood and chicken soup extracted from these keywords are filled with mobile phone screens all the time, and they will not let us go for even a minute. A few days ago, I saw a mother ask this question: "Don't consider buying a house or thinking about getting married, play games all day, listen to rock and roll, write code, travel, will such a boy have a future?" "I instantly thought of Mr. Lehman and his parents. This question can be replaced by Sven Regenner's pen: "Without considering stable work and life, all day long know to stand at the bar, sell beer, drink beer, such a boy will have a future?" "Alas, the mother's mood is understandable, but the future is so illusory, where is there a step-by-step program?" Therefore, the Zhihu netizens who answered at the bottom (a group that is said to have an average academic qualification of 985 graduate students and an average annual salary of 500,000 yuan), some said that "a free and comfortable life is above everything", some said "According to the worldly answer, there is no future", and some said "The life you describe is my dream", thousands of people, and so on. Of course, the main tone is sneering at the people who ask questions, and don't forget that the community is the base camp for the highly educated youth of the city that flaunts independence and freedom.
Mr. Lehman is not a highly educated young man, and he can't make a few dollars by pouring wine, but he has a very "rare" quality: he has never considered the future. Or, for him, the present, the present, is the future itself.
Movie poster for "Mr. Lehman" (Chinese "West Berlin Love Song").
In the eyes of others, Mr. Lehman is confused, but he himself feels that standing at the bar, pouring people wine, drinking by himself, going home in the early morning, and getting up at noon, such a day is very interesting. In this regard, Mr. Lehman has his own theory: "Bar work is a good deed that benefits society. People go to bars as happily as they go to a museum or go to a concert. So, why does everyone want to be an artist or something else, and why doesn't anyone work in a bar wholeheartedly? ”
A heroic figure deserves praise, a despicable character should be attacked, they can all become the protagonists of literary works, so why can't a small person like Mr. Lehman, like ourselves, not? Sven Regenner proved the possibility that the truthful portrayal of ordinary life and small people can also be wonderful. Moreover, in such a novel, strictly speaking, there is no introspection, no criticism, no deliberate attempt to reflect the big times with small propositions, and even the Berlin Wall can collapse "without alarm". But who's to say that this is not the truth?
But when they reached the Oberbaum Bridge, someone did come from the opposite side. Sparsely pulled. Perhaps the first crowd had passed, Mr. Lehman thought, and the wall had indeed opened, and there would never have been more than one of them. He and Heiko went to stand with the inhabitants of Kreuzberg who were watching the bustle there. The person on the other side walked over in a kind and orderly manner, and then parted ways after coming over. It shouldn't be this atmosphere, Mr. Lehman thought.
— Excerpt from "Mr. Lehman", describing the scene after the fall of the Berlin Wall
Mr. Lehman is an ordinary man with many good qualities.
Scene from the West Berlin Romance: Returning home and encountering a vicious dog, Mr. Lehman subdues him by feeding it spirits
First of all, Mr. Lehman is smart and kind. He is clever because he has the ability to think critically and independently, and he must be deeply rooted in the various principles that the world believes in, rather than easily agreeing. For example, he is quite sarcastic about the motherly love that the world praises: "The mothers of the serial killers, who declare that they love their children more than anything, they get up early every day to visit the prison, just to let the fallen cubs eat their own food"; and the breakfast culture that the Germans are proud of, he also scoffs, "When they push the plates around, or separate the sticky sausage slices, or knock the eggs open, when they roll up the lettuce that was originally for people to see rather than eat, and stuff them into their mouths, When they cut cheese or break open a bun in slow motion, they are so religious and happy. "Kindness is because although he does not approve of the things he constantly slanders, he can still maintain a kind of tolerance and generosity, rather than chasing after him. For example, when he was about to argue his mother to the end, he was able to stop; for example, standing in the market hall restaurant, he made way for "eating early", and he felt guilty because he "took the back door" and occupied the "employee seat".
Secondly, Mr. Lehman is conscientious and responsible and moralistic. He was an admired employee of Elwin, a "capitalist" with many bars, a good old man trusted by his colleagues, and Karl's most loyal friend. Colleagues have something to ask for leave he can go on top, the boss is in trouble he stands up to fight people, Carl when he has a nervous breakdown, he does not leave. Although he has never experienced any thrilling big things (and Lehman does not despise it), Lehman has proved to us that he is cute and respectable.
West Berlin Romance Movie Scene: Rayman and Catlin share a bed
Moreover, Mr. Lehman is single-minded and sincere in his treatment of feelings. He loves Catelyn unreservedly, but he can't see that the other party is prevaricating and perfunctory with such ominous words as "I love you, but I didn't fall in love", so he will be so heartbroken when he meets the picture of Catelyn and Crystal Rainer affectionately together. But the Kreuzberg youth can be "mourned", not decadent, and he immediately declared to Catelyn: "It is not your turn to announce the blowing." This is my patent... Not only did I jump out of your love network, I didn't love you anymore. Then he turned around and walked away.
Also, Mr. Lehman is also very cute. He didn't care that he was just a bartender, but in order to "talk nicely" to his parents and save them from endless nagging, he lied that he was the restaurant manager. This is like Fang Hongwei in "Siege", in order to have an explanation for his father-in-law's family, he bought a degree from Clayden University, but he never used it to deceive. This is also like ourselves, when attending a classmate's meeting, a gathering of relatives and friends, or comforting our parents, we occasionally tell a small lie or exaggerate a little bit of the truth. So you see, Mr. Lehman, though cynical, is also humane.
West Berlin Romance Movie Scene: When Mr. Lehman's parents visit West Berlin, Lehman disguises himself as a restaurant manager and his friends play with him
Mr. Lehman is not a legend, and Mr. Lehman is not a legendary novel. If you follow the path of shaping the hero's protagonist, as long as the author gives Lehman some luck and opportunities with so many good qualities, he can transform himself into an inspiring positive energy role, just like "Zhang Hua was admitted to Peking University, Li Ping entered a secondary technical school, and I worked as a salesman in a department store", there is a "bright future". But Sven Regenner was dismissive of doing so. He was The German Bob Dylan, with the bohemian flame burning in his heart, since he wrote a novel, he had to play his own routine, Mr. Lehman had to go his own way, and "there must be a road before the car reaches the mountain."
After the advent of "Mr. Lehman", it was translated into sixteen languages and adapted into movies, radio dramas, audio books, comic strips, and many people were asking "Where are the kreuzberg youth going?" "What about the story after Mr. Lehman?" However, the cunning Sven Regener later wrote a prequel to Mr. Lehman, "The New District of Gürnan" and "Little Brother", without telling you how the founder said goodbye to Kreuzberg. Alas, perhaps Mr. Lehman would not have bid farewell to Kreuzberg at all? Or tasteless and boring after saying goodbye? Or does the author himself not know? Let your own Lehman tell you the answer.
The novel and the translator's temperament are in harmony, which is really encounterable and unattainable. "Mr. Lehman" was introduced to China by the People's Literature Publishing House in 2001 and was selected as the best foreign novel of the year; the novel was translated by Professor Huang Liaoyu, and won the "Third Lu Xun Literature Award , Excellent Literary Translation Award" because of its appropriate and exquisite translation. In addition to revising the original text, Teacher Huang also wrote a funny and beautiful "Reprinted Translation Sequence", which together with the original "Translation Sequence", became the best interpretation of "Mr. Lehman" and its German humor.
Author: [de] Sven Regener
Translator: Huang Liaoyu
Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press
August 2017
Price: 42 yuan