"British and American Study" owns your unconscious: author Jennifer. Egan's New Work Continues to Explore Memory, Collective Consciousness, and Other Art Shorts

Author｜ Sway, Bambook (writer)

➤New Book Express

■ Astonishing the literary world with "The Madman in Time", Jennifer W., who was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Critics Award, and was selected as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Time Magazine. Jennifer Egan, who launched the sequel " The Candy House " after 12 years, continues to debating "time" and "pause", and continues to explore the limits of "memory" and "collective consciousness (Collective Consciousness)." " The Candy House " tells the story of a tech genius who developed a new technology called "owning your unconscious", so it became very popular. This new technology allows people to access every memory they have since birth, and even upload or share and exchange memories with others. Some people use this technology to track people's cravings and desires and use them; some people know that new technology is like a bright and attractive candy house, and avoid it.

Like "The Idiot in Time", Egan once again flexibly uses multi-perspective and multi-language writing techniques. The book includes the record company owner, the murderous dictator, and actress in the previous work, as well as suburban housewives and anthropologists. Waiting for new characters, as well as employees of technology companies whose inner world is unexpectedly gorgeous and psychedelic - every inconspicuous supporting role may play the leading role in the next article! The reader is like stepping into the multiverse through a role-playing game, seeing through the regrets and envy of the characters, as well as the longing and redemption. Although each story only shows how short-lived fragments of the characters' lives intertwine, if you can pick up the breadcrumbs that Egan left in each story, you can see how intricately and brilliantly the web of stories Egan has weaved when you wrap it up.

■ Over the past few years, renowned Scottish award-winning author Ali Smith has completed the writing and publishing challenge of the Seasonal Quartet, sealing the freshest social atmosphere in print while blending mythology, British history and personalities Life experience has received warm responses from all walks of life. The four-part series has just come to an end with " Summer " in 2020, and Ali Smith has sharpened his knife and published his latest novel " Companion Piece ", which is also closely related to current events, including plagues, city lockdowns, and even puns. A stalk, some book reviews called it "the fifth part of the Four Seasons".

Artist Sandy Gray suddenly receives a call from an old classmate who has been missing for a long time, asking her to help solve the puzzle of a pair of ancient 16th century locks. As if a magical force is pulling in the dark, COVID-19 in the 21st century is connected with the Black Death in the 13th century. What secrets does the genius blacksmith who created this pair of locks hide?

■ What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you pick up a book? Is it the theme, the story, the protagonist, or how good does it look on the shelf? Books not only let us know the world and teach us gorgeous words, but also are the daily objects that human beings frequently interact with. British literature professor Emma Smith’s new book, Portable Magic: A History of Books and Their Readers , combs through the object history of books, arguing that books are as real as their content, they are magical, loved and hated . Since Gutenberg opened the era of European printing, from Madame de Pompadour, the mistress of King Louis XV of France, to American star Marilyn. Monroe and today's public figures can create a certain image and even gain social status simply by holding a book or standing in front of a full bookshelf.

However, as the title quotes Stephen. Jin famously said: "Books are "magic that can be carried around". For example, during the First World War, the pocket version of the Bible in the iron book jacket not only protected the souls of soldiers, but also resisted the enemy's artillery fire. When the plague was raging, books were considered carriers of viruses and had to be sterilized or destroyed; at the beginning of the Wuhan pneumonia epidemic, the government suggested that people should isolate books purchased online for 72 hours. Interestingly, a group of scientists instead tried their best to collect dander and snot on the broken manuscripts, and used DNA clues to understand the life of the ancients. One of the investigations revealed the identity of the readers of a 1637 Bible, including a young man. Acne-plagued Nordics. The author, with his wise and vivid writing, exposes sections of the unknown history of books. Books are immortal because of their readers, and vice versa.

■ Hernan Diaz, an Argentine writer who was shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction with his debut novel " In the Distance ", received praise from the media as soon as his latest novel " Trust " was released this year. Expose the twisted relationship between wealth, power, and truth in four stories that intersect with reality. Set in the 1920s, " Trust " sees the Rasks as household names in New York City—husband Benjamin, a legendary Wall Street business tycoon, and wife Helen, the smart daughter of an eccentric high-class family, who are sitting on vast fortunes, but they don't know much about their husband's financial practices and their wives. Rumours of psychological problems are rampant.

The above plot is only the story of the novel " Bonds " in the book, which was a bestseller in New York in 1938. But when readers enter the second part of " Trust ", they will find that the plot of " Bonds " has many similarities with the unfinished memoirs of New York investor Andrew Bevel, and the third and fourth parts are the memoirs of a magazine columnist and The Secret Diary of Bevel's Wife. Of the four texts, who is credible? What is the truth about Andrew Bevel and his wife? Readers who like to strip and turn stories, please enjoy the surprises brought by this book.

➤Winning news

■ The 2022 Pulitzer Prize winners will be announced on May 9. The winner of the Fiction Award is Joshua Cohen, 41 years old this year. The award-winning work " The Netanyahus " is a funny historical fantasy novel, featuring Benzion Netanyahu, a well-known Jewish historian and father of the former Israeli Prime Minister, as an important character in the book. Combining fiction with real events, it is a comedy that combines identity and political issues. The judges said: "A sharp, witty, articulate historical novel about the ambiguity of Jewish-American life experiences that present ideas and controversies that are as varied as the plot twists."

The book has also been selected as the "2021 New York Times Notable Book", "Kirkus Best Novel of 2021", "Wall Street Journal Best Novel of 2021" . According to Publishers Weekly , orders for nearly 10,000 copies poured in at noon the day after the announcement of the winners (most of which came from independent bookstores), so publishers are rushing to reprint, just in time for June 6. Completed at the beginning of the month.

In addition, this history award made an exception with double winners, Nicole Eustace's " Covered with Night " and Ada Ferrer's " Cuba: An American History ", both winners are professors at New York University. " Covered with Night " takes readers to the summer of 1722, witnessing a murder of a white fur trader attacking an Indian native hunter, and gaining insight into the wonderful crime investigation that followed, as well as a series of challenges to the early definition of "justice" in the United States of cross-cultural negotiation. This book was also a finalist for the National Book Award.

" Cuba " explores the interaction between Cuba and the United States over the past 5 centuries. The content not only contains exciting stories and characters, but also combines the author's field experience for more than 30 years to complete an epic chronicle. This book not only covers the history of Cuba, but also records the influence of the United States on Cuba, the entanglements between multiple American presidents and the Cuban regime, and helps readers imagine new ways of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The full list of Pulitzer Prizes:

• Fiction Award: Joshua Cohen, " The Netanyahus "
• History Awards: Nicole Eustace " Covered with Night ", Ada Ferrer " Cuba: An American History "
• Biography Award: Oral by Winfred Rembert (1945-2021), written by Erin I. Kelly for Chasing Me to My Grave: An Artist's Memoir of the Jim Crow South
• Poetry Prize: Diane Seuss " frank: sonnets "
• Nonfiction Award: Andrea Elliott, " Invisible Child "

■ The Nebula Award, one of the three English science fiction and fantasy literature awards, held an online award ceremony on May 21. Willis (Connie Willis) and Neil. Hosted by Neil Gaiman. This year's awards include novels, novellas, short stories, short stories, as well as children's and youth fiction, outstanding dramatic presentation, and game screenwriting.

The winner of this year's Novel Award is American author P. Djèlí Clark's novel " A Master of Djinn ", which takes place in the Cairo metropolis in parallel time and space - here in 1912, Egypt has become a highly developed steampunk power . Since the legendary "Jahiz" opened the floodgates to a supernatural world decades ago, the world has been filled with elves, mechanical angels, aerial trams, and steam-powered eunuchs, but Jahiz has since disappeared without a trace. trace.

When a member of a secret brotherhood who worships Jasiz is murdered, and the murderer claims to be Jasiz, the Ministry of Alchemy, Magic and Occult Presence sends its youngest and ingenious detective, Fettma, to investigate , to prevent the chaos in Cairo from spreading further into a global crisis. Will Fettma catch the fake and restore peace? Or is her enemy really Jahizi, who built the city with one hand, but wants to destroy it with his back?

➤Industry news

■ To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the British independent publishing house "The Folio Society", a new award "Folio Book Illustration Award" was established this year to collect illustrators from all over the world to submit an illustration work for a specified text, with no registration fee , regardless of nationality and region, those who are over 18 years old and have not cooperated with Folio Book Club can apply. Winners will receive a £2,000 prize, but shortlisted finalists will receive a voucher for publications, as well as an art director review of the portfolio.

Folio Book Club is known for its exquisite binding and cover design, and it is good at visually giving new interpretations to classic literary works. Its publications include Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" series, Agatha. Christy and John. Le Carré's works also include Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's " Half of a Yellow Sun ", Hannah. Oran's "The Origin of Totalitarianism" and other contemporary literature. This year's "Folio Book Illustration Award" is titled "The Masque of the Red Death", a short story published by American thriller writer Edgar Allan Poe in 1842. Stories that transcend the times, dig dazzling new stars in the diverse and prosperous illustration industry in the 21st century, and hope to introduce the works of horror masters to the present and future generations through the unique depiction methods of illustrators. The registration deadline is June 22. For information, please refer to the official website of the publisher .

➤ Cross-media adaptation

■ horror master Stephen ． King (Stephen King's early thriller "Firestarter" ( Firestarter ) remakes the film, by "High School Musical", "High School Musical" Zike. Zac Efron and child star Ryan Kiera Armstrong co-star as a superpower father-daughter escaping from a mysterious organization. The Chinese translation of the film, "The Girl on Fire", was released in North American theaters on May 13, and the global box office exceeded 10 million US dollars in 10 days. A new Chinese translation of the original novel was also launched in early May.

Little Carrie was born with supernatural powers, and she could set fire to the surroundings with just her thoughts; in order to protect her daughter from being targeted by a mysterious organization, the Carrie family has been wandering around for 10 years. But as Carrie grew up, this power became so powerful that it could no longer be concealed, and was eventually discovered and hunted by a mysterious organization. As a result, little Carrie, who could not stably control her abilities, embarked on a thrilling escape journey with her father...●