Who is Sinclair Lewis?

He was the first Nobel laureate in the United States, winning the Nobel Prize at the age of 45 for his work Babbitt.

Zhuang Yan looked at the book in his hand again, our Ryan has not read it, but looking at Sinclair's appearance, he should not be famous now, as for whether he will win the Nobel Prize like later generations, Zhuang Yan is not clear, after all, the world is different.

Sinclair's expression was embarrassed, and he probably knew that it was not too embarrassing to take his book to Zhuang Yan for an autograph.

"Do you just need to sign?" Zhuang Yan asked with a smile.

Sinclair squeezed out a smile, looked at Zhuang Yan and said, "If Mr. Zhuang Yan can read my book, then I will be very honored." ”

Sinclair himself blushed when he said such a thing. Zhuang Yan is his favorite writer, and he knew that he was coming to New York today to sign the sale, so he came here early in the morning. Originally, he wanted to bring Zhuang Yan's book to sign it, but somehow, he brought his book with him.

This is a book he published in 14 years, and the response is mediocre, but he thinks it is written well, so he moved the idea of letting Zhuang Yan read it.

Originally, he worked in a newspaper, but after writing a book, he was out of control, so he simply quit his job and wrote full-time at home.

Running to other people's book signings will make people look at their books, which is obviously a very excessive thing, and he also proposed it with the mentality of giving it a try.

But Zhuang Yan smiled and said, "Yes, then I will accept your book, and if you still want to sign it, I can give you another copy." ”

After saying Zhuang Yan, he asked Yao Qian to take a copy of Sophie's world, signed Sinclair's name and handed it to him, and then asked Yao Qian to write down Sinclair's phone number.

"Leave a contact information, if you have any thoughts after reading your book, I can also contact the author and ask. ”

Sinclair wrote down his phone number as if in a dream, then shook hands and bowed, he didn't quite understand Chinese etiquette, and he did everything he knew anyway.

Zhuang Yan looked at the future Nobel Prize winner in his early thirties in front of him, at a loss like a hairy boy, and he also felt funny.

After this episode, the signing session went on normally and worked until more than 11 o'clock in the evening, when the signing session was over.

When he went back, Zhuang Yan didn't forget the book Sinclair left behind, and took it back to the hotel with him.

On the way to the hotel, Yao Qian was very curious about today's events, "Boss, this Lewis is also a writer? ”

Zhuang Yan smiled, "Probably just came out, there are no famous works." ”

"Then boss, why do you want to leave his book, open this opening, in the future, those little writers will come to opportunistically when they seize the opportunity, then you don't want to be busy to death. ”

"No, just this one today, I won't accept it again if there is such a thing in the future. ”

Jokes, if it weren't for the fact that Sinclair was likely to win the Nobel Prize in the future, Zhuang Yan would certainly not have kept and given books, and he was not the Virgin Mary, shining all the time to the world.

However, this reason is naturally impossible to tell Yao Qian.

After returning to the hotel, he took the time to flip through Sinclair's book, and I have to say that it does make sense that this guy is not famous now. This is a typical popular film with a romantic atmosphere, there is not much attraction in the plot, it is also not outstanding in consciousness, and the writing skills are not very outstanding.

Of course, even later on, Sinclair's writing skills were mediocre.

The current Sinclair has some level, but this level is not enough for him to gain a foothold in the literary world.

Zhuang Yan remembered that Sinclair's first popular book was related to women's issues, and it happened that women's rights were more prevalent in those years, which made him famous.

Now that women's rights are no longer an acute issue, probably his street will not be as popular as in another world.

Of course, Zhuang Yan does not dare to assert that Sinclair will be eliminated by the times, after all, excellent and in-depth writers will conform to the times and get out of the crowd.

Maybe there is no street, he may also have a small street, or the street is not linked to women's rights, and it can already resonate a lot, after all, this book is not an argumentative essay on women's rights, and there are many profound things in it.

The next day, Sinclair came to Zhuang Yan's hotel in an excited mood, and he received a call from Zhuang Yan early this morning, in which Zhuang Yan invited him to the hotel for a talk.

No one could refuse the invitation of one of the youngest and most acclaimed writers of our time, so Sinclair waited for the meeting time from the morning with his watch pinched and looked at the dial.

In the café on the second floor of the hotel, Zhuang Yan looked at Sinclair in front of him with a smile, and the latter looked a little reserved. The age of the two is exactly the opposite of the current state, no matter how you look at Zhuang Yan, it should be the person who is restrained, but it is really difficult for him to have such a restrained mentality now.

"Your book is very good, and I won't mention the writing, after all, I don't have a thorough study of English, and it is not a big problem in terms of writing skills alone. But the work is missing something, too romantic, too popular, have you been very short of money lately?" Zhuang Yan said with a cup of coffee, with a posture of an elder pointing out a junior.

Sinclair, on the other hand, was humbly taught, and he said with a red face, "As you can see, Mr. Zhuang Yan, in fact, my book is indeed a bit popular, and I can realize this myself, and I really want the book to sell better." ”

"Don't be embarrassed, even as a writer, survival is the first problem, and only when the problem of survival is solved and there is excess energy will art be born. Zhuang Yan tapped his fingers on the edge of the coffee cup, and what he said was actually the "game theory" produced by art.

This "game theory" was proposed by Schiller and Spencer, to the effect that the real reason for the occurrence of art is actually the impulse to play for the purpose of appearance.

Why do you have the urge to play? It's because of excess energy. The game is to vent the rest of your energy. In other words, it is only when people are detached from the lowest needs and solve the problem of survival that free play will be produced, and it is this non-utilitarian and purposeless game that promotes the development of art.

Of course, this theory is not accepted by everyone, and there are two other theories, one is "witchcraft" and the other is "labor".

Zhuang Yan felt that both the "Game Theory" and the "Labor Theory" had merit, but he did not strongly stand on the side of a certain theory, and he now told Sinclair that this "Game Theory" was just to tell Sinclair a truth, that only when he was full of food could he create a good work. 11