WULOLIFE
"In the Watermelon Sugar" Author: [US] Richard Brautigan Publisher: People's Literature Publishing House
"In the Watermelon Sugar" Author: [US] Richard Brautigan Publisher: People's Literature Publishing House
Description
Introduction
"In Watermelon Sugar, things happen again and again, just like my life happens in Watermelon Sugar. I'm telling you this because I'm here and you're far away."
🍉Richard Brautigan, cultural icon of the hippie generation, "Hemingway of hippies", and legendary post-Beat writer.
🍉Haruki Murakami regards him as his enlightenment on the road of writing, saying frankly that "the quiet, gentle and humorous personal world he depicts is something that ordinary writers cannot imitate." Jarvis Cocker, the lead singer of the band Pulp, is his avid reader and has written an introduction to the new edition of his novel.
🍉In the Watermelon Sugar was written in 1964 and first published in 1968. It is the third novel in Brautigan's writing career. The novel has a variety of images, bizarre imagination, and multiple interpretation spaces. It can be regarded as a model text of postmodern literature and is regarded by many critics as another representative work of Brautigan after Trout Fishing in America.
🍉Donald Barthelme's translator and poet Wang Weiqing (pen name Shao Kuang)'s classic Chinese translation, revised and reprinted after 20 years, supplementing the missing chapters of the old version. Writer Zhu Yue recommends this book with his passionate introduction.
📖A few facts about "In Watermelon Sugar":
🍉The cover of the first edition of this book in 1968 did not have the title of the book, but was replaced by the first sentence of the novel (this sentence will appear as it is on the back cover of the simplified Chinese version this time).
🍉This book has been solemnly paid tribute to by many emerging writers such as Ray Mungo, Stephen Gaskin, Dean Koontz, Wally Lamb, etc. in their works.
🍉Bands and musicians such as Klaxons, Goodbye Kumiko, Deception, The Lovely Eggs, and TSIdiot have created songs of the same name to pay tribute to this book.
🍉British singer and actor Harry Styles' 2020 Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single "Watermelon Sugar" was directly inspired by this book.
📖Several legends about "In the Watermelon Candy":
🍉There are unconfirmed claims that the naming of Apple's iPod, iPhone, iPad and other products are inspired by the name "iDeath", where the story in this book takes place.
🍉There is also an unofficial claim that the spatial setting of Haruki Murakami's novel "The End of the World and Hard-Boiled Wonderland" was directly inspired by this book.
📖Media/Writer Comments:
🍉Richard Brautigan is unique. Perhaps when we are old, people will write about Brautigans, just as we write novels now. He created a new style, a new lens, something that we need, something that is pleasant and right. - San Francisco Examiner and Chronicle
🍉"In Watermelon Sugar" is a mysterious and even transcendent novel that cannot be summed up in one word. ——"New York Times Book Review"
🍉"In the Watermelon Sugar" is Brautigan's masterpiece. ——"Newsweek"
🍉The first time I read "In Watermelon Sugar" was about twenty years ago. I still remember clearly the surprise I felt after opening the first page and reading a few lines. Over the years, I have returned to this thin book again and again, drawing inspiration and sense of language from it. It has always had a mysterious attraction to me. ——Zhu Yue