BEIJING, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) -- The works of the famous Czech writer Hlabar have recently begun to gradually become known to Chinese readers, and at the just-concluded Beijing International Book Fair, the writer, who was called "the greatest writer of our time" by Milan Kundera, once again attracted a lot of attention.
Hrabar photographed in October
Born in Zhydnice, near Brno, Austro-Hungarian, Bohumir Hrabar received a doctorate in law but did not work in law. He was a successful author in his lifetime, and was later assembled into a collection of 19 volumes, which sold well in the Czech Republic. His 77 books, which have been distributed in 27 languages in 33 countries around the world, have been nominated for the 1994 Nobel Prize in Literature, including "Too Noisy Solitude", "I Have Served the King of England", "The Pearl of the Bottom", "The Watched Train", and "The Celebration of Edelweiss". Hrabar's work has been adapted into plays and films, with the film of the same name as the novel "The Watched Train" winning the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1966, and the film Lost Wings Sparrow, based on "House Sale: The House I Don't Want to Live In," which won the Golden Bear for Best Film at the 1990 Berlin Film Festival.
Hrabar is the sad king of Czech literature, and his legendary life and popular writing color make him the most Czech writer with the most Czech taste. Czechs say that Milan Kundera's articles are too deep and heavy to read, while Hrabar is like an acquaintance sitting at your table in a beer hall, telling countless strange stories, humorous and philosophical, which is the pure Czech taste. At the event, Mr. Xing briefly introduced the overall situation of Chinese translation and promotion of Hrabar's works in the past 25 years, in 1993, he had done hrabar album in "World Literature", which attracted the attention of people with hearts, and later the "Too Noisy Loneliness" single book, "I Once Served the King of England", "The Pearl at the Bottom" were successively launched in China, setting off a wave of Hrabar fever in the Chinese reading circle.
At the Beijing International Book Fair, a literary exchange event jointly sponsored by Beijing Publishing Group, Beijing October Literature and Art Publishing House and the Embassy of the Czech Republic in China attracted the attention of many readers.
Qiu Huadong, a famous writer and executive vice president of the Lu Xun Academy of Letters, said of his feelings about reading Hrabar's novels, "His novels have a special tone, this tone, kind, casual, humorous, the first sentence can bring you into his novels, and then tell you, and then something happens." It can be said that the opening of his novel is very small, and after entering, you will find that his novel world is dense and meticulous, writing the fate of small people, but reflecting the feelings of home and country and the fate of the nation. In addition, reading Hrabar's works, you can often feel the tearful laughter and helpless sense of humor in his works. ”
Hrabar's masterpiece "Too Noisy Solitude" was photographed in October
The kindness, casualness and humor of Hrabar's writings are deeply loved by czechs, who say that Milan Kundera's articles are too deep and heavy to read, while Hrabar is like an acquaintance sitting at your table in a beer hall, telling countless strange stories, humorous and philosophical, which is the pure Czech taste.
Regarding the "humorous" nature of Hrabar's works, the famous writer Shi Yifeng said, "Hlabar's humorous presentation of suffering and absurdity is a tradition of Eastern European literature, and we can see this atmosphere from "Good Soldier Shuaike". My personal favorite is Hrabar's I Have Served the King of England, in which he writes about grand things with great ease, an ability that many writers cannot do. ”
On the evening of the 25th, in another sharing activity about Hrabar, poets, translators, editors-in-chief of "World Literature" and editor-in-chief of the "Blue Eastern Europe" translation series were happy, famous scholars and biographical essayists Zhi An, and playwrights and directors Guo Shixing conducted in-depth exchanges and discussions on Hrabar's works as guests of the event. Ludwigt, Political Counsellor of the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Beijing, attended the event and read excerpts from Hrabar's works in Czech.
Talking about the feeling of reading Hrabar's works for the first time, Guo Shixing's favorite is "Too Noisy And Lonely", which is the painstaking work of Hrabar,he wrote this book with his lifelong accumulation, which is worth reading repeatedly. He was also deeply moved by "I Once Served the King of England", after watching this film and then reading the novel, Guo Shixing came up with the idea of adapting Hrabar's work into a play, and interpreted Hrabar from the perspective of drama, analyzing the drama in his work, as well as divinity and self-redemption.
Guo Shixing frankly said that Hrabar's things must be different things on the stage, but it is also very difficult, and this needs to be carefully considered and considered. He also mentioned that Hrabar's works write about the setbacks, premature deaths, and speculations of life existence, similar to Lao Tzu's meaning of "the heavens and the earth are not benevolent to all things as dogs", and are deeply influenced by Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching.
Zhi'an pointed out three characteristics of Hrabar's work and emphasized his creative inspiration for Chinese writers.
He believes that most of Hrabar's works come from his experience, that he is not a person who writes by imagination, or mainly from fiction, but from experience, which is the first and greatest enlightenment for Chinese writers. Second, there is a position in the works of Milan Kundera, and this position is one that we are particularly accustomed to, that is, the position of the intellectual, who writes intellectually. But the most interesting thing about Hrabar's work is that it stands in the position of a small person, which is also the Czech literary tradition. Third, Hrabar's works use a low-angle upward view rather than a high-angle look-down, the most typical of which is "I Have Served the King of England" and "The Train under Close Surveillance", he stands in the lowest pit in the world to see the world, but the world he writes is a world under the overlook, he starts from an upward perspective, but he can look down on the whole world, and finally presents it higher than this world, which is a particularly peculiar reversal.
At present, Beijing October Literature and Art Publishing House has published 8 works by Hrabar, including "Too Noisy Loneliness", "I Have Served the King of England", "A Strand of Hair", "Sweet Sorrow", "The Town Where Time Stands Still", "Wedding Banquet", "New Life", and "Cabin in the Forest".
Han Jingqun, editor-in-chief of Beijing October Literature and Art Publishing House, believes that "the reason why Hrabar is charming is not only the sad and arrogant lyrical temperament of his works, not only in the pearl-like luster of the suffering and pure happiness of those small people at the bottom of society in his works, nor is it only in the stubborn tenacity of his art and poetry, with a witty and mocking posture to fight against the mediocre life, and his way of life as an artist is a charming existence, prompting us, an artist. How his life is integrated with his creations, and they grow into each other. For Hrabar, falling in love with him and falling in love with his work is simply one thing. (End)