Among all sentient beings, how many friends and confidants do you feel? The world is very noisy, but there are many people who feel the loneliness that is difficult to find. Some feelings have become distant and indifferent because of the erosion of the years. Even friends who used to be together often will drift apart for various reasons and end up not hearing each other. Therefore, consistent friendship has become precious, and the ancients have complained that there are few voices and broken strings. And there are two people who have never met before, but who have maintained a friendship for twenty years and are talked about by people. 84 Charing Cross Street is a thin book that faithfully presents their friendship to the reader by revealing their correspondence.
1. The friendship between writers and booksellers
Helene-Humph, a poor female writer in New York, although she has little talent for writing, has a high taste for books, especially loves ancient books, and the vulgar bookstore in New York cannot satisfy her, and the erosion of love for ancient books makes her secretly associate with an old bookstore in London. From 1949 onwards, he began a twenty-year correspondence with the head of the bookstore, Frank Del, which made him a good story for book lovers.
A customer who loves ancient books, a bookseller who does the ancient book business, the bridge between them is the love of ancient books. This friendship, which had never been seen before, but was only a letter exchange, did not feel bored and tired with the passage of time, and their friendship was like aging, and the longer it lasted, the more fragrant it became. Twenty years later, the world has changed dramatically. But the unhurried letters between them were not affected in the slightest, as if the years were the plastic wrap of their friendship.
After the precipitation of ancient books over the years, those books that have experienced vicissitudes have a charm that travels through time and space, because of the touch and reading of his predecessors, making ancient books valuable. Helen bought a book that said, "I hate reading new books," so she introduced the book's former owner as a confidant. She loves to read with her predecessors who have a sharp heart. Helen spat on Frank about the bad books, praising the books that satisfied her, like casually nagging at an old friend.
Helene's personality is cheerful, and her witty remarks are hilarious and humorous, full of a relaxed and joyful atmosphere. The tone was sometimes a bit domineering, and she claimed to be commanding Frank. Frank was polite and restrained at first, calling the other party Miss Hanfu, and then affectionately calling dear Helene, and the distance was suddenly much closer.
Second, the regret of not being able to meet
Some people are rich, but they are misers who are not pulling out. Some people are not generous themselves, but they are helpful. Helene is the latter kind of person. She lived in an old apartment, wearing a ripped sweater and sweater, because there was no heating, so she had to wear thick clothes to keep out the cold. It can be seen that she is a person with poor conditions and a poor life, but it did not take long for them to correspond, and she sent the staff of the London Antique Bookstore the food they lacked. Such as ham, canned, eggs and other substances. At that time, London was in short supply and rationed, and people there sometimes did not see a single piece of meat in full for months. Helen sent them supplies for several years. It was a heavy friendship, but Helene grinned and proudly thought that she had earned, she thought that the food would soon be eaten, and the books could be kept for a long time, so it was a very good deal. This reflects the nature of the bookworm and a good mentality.
For a long time, although Helen's desire to go to London was so strong, and the people in the London bookstore were so eager to come to her, she was slow to reach the land of dreams. Because of financial hardship, because of some out-of-the-box situations, such as visiting a dentist and other unexpected expenses, she was unable to raise enough funds. Her reverie about the London bookstore had to ask her hiking friends to visit the bookstore that she felt very kind and missed for her, and to meet her old friends who had been friends for a long time.
God was as if he had been trying to trouble them until Frank died of illness in 1968, and the heavens and men were eternally separated, and the two people who had been friends with God for twenty years did not see each other after all. Fate is always so yin and yang, not to make people happy, leaving behind irreparable shortcomings, but also the more it adds charm, so that future generations have a long aftertaste. People were touched by this and went to the bookstore address to find it. Let their friendship survive in another way.
The friendship between them is very pure, only limited to books, not involving love. However, a subtle breath of love is always surging forward. In fact, there are also reveals in the book, and Hanf once quipped that Frank did not let the other employees in the store sign it because he wanted to receive the love letter alone. Other clerks also called Frank's Miss Hanf. In a later correspondence, Helen said that you are the only one in this world who knows me. From this, we can see Frank's position in Helen's heart and rely on him.
3. The publication of 84 Charing Cross Street has made Helian a success
After Frank's death, Helen published a collection of letters exchanged between them, named after the bookstore address 84 Charing Cross Street. The book became a bestseller after publication. Helene, who had always been an obscure little writer, was so discredited that her room was full of letters from readers. Frank in the Spirit of Heaven, Presumably will feel very comforted.
In 1971, after the book was published, the British publisher invited Helen to London. Helen finally arrived in England, where she had been thinking about day and night. Years of wishing came true, but the person of correspondence could no longer talk to her personally.
In 1981, Charing Cross Street was converted to a stage play. In 1987, it was made into a movie.
According to Katie: Helen Hanfu, born on April 15, 1916, died on April 9, 1997. Never married. According to Zhang Lixian, in the movie, Helian's lover died in World War II and never married. Maybe the movie has changed, and what Katie said is true.