I am a literary giant in Europe

Chapter 339 Wind-up Bird (Seeking monthly votes and subscriptions for May Day!!)
The story takes place in an unknown metropolis.

It could be London, it could be New York, it could be Paris, or even Tokyo.

This city is a melting pot of all races and is in complete chaos.

The protagonist, Alex, and his friends form a gang that intimidates residents, commits rampant violence, and acts with impunity.

The social order is chaotic.

The police force is practically non-existent.

The story is told in the first person and begins in a room where a few bad guys are planning their actions for the night.

They attacked an old man who came out of the library.

They looted a remote store and then fabricated an alibi.

On their way home, they beat up a drunkard.

Then they engaged in a fierce street battle with another group of thugs...

In short, this is a group of social scum with no moral compass.

They took pleasure in torturing others, and even broke into a private home to beat the homeowner, LJ's wife.

Do no evil!

……

"A wind-up cardinal?"

Little Li watched half of it and felt a chill run down his spine.

He looked up at Liu Jin and asked, "What do you mean?"

You'll understand after you read it!

Leonardo DiCaprio hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Was it based on Deron Williams' story?"

"Yes!"

"But I feel like Deron isn't that bad."

Do you think that bad seed is a good person?

"That's a piece of trash!"

Liu Jin shrugged, lay down on the bed, and remained silent.

He's a little tired!

That night, Leonardo DiCaprio and the other three stayed at the hotel.

The hotel has four floors and many guest rooms, but apart from Liu Jin, there are basically no other guests.

More than a decade later, Liu Jin lived here.

But by then, Hermes had grown to nearly 10,000 people and had become Hermes County.

At that time, Hermes was a tourist town, attracting many visitors.

Even back then, the hotel was never fully booked... Now? There are absolutely no tourists this season.

Seven days of writing.

The plot of the story kept flashing through my mind like a movie.

Images from Kubrick's films also constantly filled his mind.

Text and images appear one after another.

They are constantly verifying something from each other.

Liu Jin completed this work almost entirely through this process of constant comparison and verification.

"A Clockwork Orange", also known as "The Clockwork Orange".

However, he did not use that name.

The name 'A Clockwork Orange' comes from an old London slang term.

The novel's author, Anthony Burgess, once offered this explanation: the wind-up orange itself doesn't exist; old Londoners used it to describe something strange. It signifies the application of mechanistic morality to a sweet, juicy living thing.

So another meaning of this book title is "a person who is wound up like a clockwork toy".

Is it real?
Not sure!
Anthony himself was very good at creating bizarre language vocabulary.

In the original work, he created more than two hundred Nachachi words to create a surreal social atmosphere.

Those strange words all appeared in Liu Jin's mind.

It can be said that after completing this work, Liu Jin has evolved into a master of the Nacha language.

Despite having Kubrick's films and original works as a foundation, Liu Jin's creative process was not easy.

He spent seven days writing under extreme conditions, constantly comparing the film, the original work, and reality... He also made many changes based on the original work.

It added more slang from the UK, US, France, Spain, and Japan, while trying to downplay some scenes of sexual violence.

It's worth noting that the original work was once banned due to its scenes of sexual violence.

It was put into the library, then taken off the shelf, and then put back in, but children under sixteen still need to be accompanied by a parent to borrow it.

Dealing with texts depicting scenes of sexual violence is actually quite challenging.

These words, in particular, fill almost the entire first half of the book, making it extremely difficult to weaken or reduce them.

It took Liu Jin two days to adjust before he finally decided to use Hemingway's detached writing style, which was considered a successful adjustment.

This also makes the tone of the book even more gloomy.

Those violent scenes are bloodier, more cruel, and may even cause physical discomfort.

Leonardo DiCaprio experienced this discomfort.

When Liu Jin woke up the next day, he found Xiao Li sitting on the balcony, pale-faced and staring blankly.

"Leon!"

Liu Jin called out to him.

Only then did he react.

"Amos, your book..."

His eyes were bloodshot; he must have been up all night.

However, he couldn't find the right words, and after a long time, he said, "You should adapt it into a movie."

Movie?

Who will film it?

The most suitable person passed away in 1999.

Among Hollywood directors today, Liu Jin really can't think of anyone who would be suitable.

Even Spielberg probably couldn't capture Kubrick's essence...

So, forget it!
Liu Jin had already decided that if he couldn't find a suitable person, he would rather never let the book be adapted into a movie.

……

"Now I understand why it's called the Wind-Up Cardinal!"

"Ok?"

"The state bird of West Virginia is the cardinal."

It represents a living, vibrant, useful, free, and dynamic organism. When this organism is wound up, it is accepted, but it is no longer vibrant... No, if it weren't wound up, wouldn't its previous sins be praised? Kate, Toby, and Matt looked at Leonardo DiCaprio in surprise.

What he said today was somewhat profound.

Are you discussing Amos's new book?

Because the computer belonged to Liu Jin, Matt and the others didn't have a chance to read the work.

Little Li managed to share a room with Liu Jin through sheer shamelessness, allowing him to be the first to see it.

Liu Jin nodded and said, "Excessive freedom can trigger a series of violent events; restricting freedom can lead to the loss of human autonomy, turning people into non-human beings. Restoring freedom can lead to a survival crisis due to an inability to adapt to society..."

Haha, doesn't this remind you of the raven in "The Shawshank Redemption"?

Little Li thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.

"However, it's even more profound!"

This is a paradox of freedom: people want to have freedom, yet they are forced to restrict it; extreme freedom of individual will leads to the expansion and rampant spread of desires, while extreme control over human free will leads to the complete loss of freedom.

do you mean this? "

"more or less!"

A smug look appeared on Leonardo DiCaprio's face.

Seriously, Americans are absolutely fascinated by this kind of topic.

Democracy and freedom, like a shot of adrenaline, always attract attention and discussion.

In fact, A Clockwork Orange was created in 1969, before the trends of democracy and freedom had yet taken hold in the world.

This book was banned, primarily because of its descriptions.

While the discussion about freedom sparked heated debate, it wasn't actually that intense.

By the 1980s and 90s, the freedom movement had become widespread.

The book's influence was thus amplified...

Liu Jin believes that if this were done now, it might spark wider discussion and attract more attention.

"Mr. Amos, if I may ask, may I have a sneak peek?"

"Of course!"

Liu Jin downed his freshly squeezed juice in one gulp and laughed, "Kate, no need to be so polite. Just call me Amos, like you would Leon. I'll take the computer down and print it out at the front desk and bring it to you."

Kate Lewinster's eyes lit up.

"Can you make a photocopy and binding like you did in Toulouse?"

"what?"

Unable to contain his curiosity, Little Li asked, "What do you mean by photocopy and bound version?"

"Hehe, I heard it from a French friend. He said that Mr. Amos has a habit of printing out each work that he considers satisfactory, binding it, signing his name on it, and giving it to a friend."

It may not be as precise and beautiful as a formally published novel, but it is a very beautiful form of communication.

At this point, she couldn't help but laugh.

"Mr. Amos may not realize that his signed and bound copies are now very expensive."

Last September, a bound copy of "The Old Man and the Sea" appeared on the London market and was sold for £50,000.

"what?"

Liu Jin was shocked.

A bound copy of "The Old Man and the Sea"?
There probably aren't many people who have it...

Ms. Delphine had a copy, which she now treasures in her café; Ms. Julie had a copy, and the rest belonged to Joannup.

There are only three signed bound copies in total.

Is it Ms. Julie?
Probably not. Liu Jin hasn't contacted her since she left Toulouse.

But he believed that Ms. Julie would not do such a thing.

that……

Joannup doesn't need to go that far!

Fifty thousand pounds is nothing to him, and it's not enough to justify selling his signed bound copy.

He wouldn't do something so tasteless.

But if it wasn't him, who else could it be?
After much deliberation, Liu Jin felt that Qiao Anpu was the most suspicious.

"I didn't expect that... No problem, I'll sign it."

"I also want!"

"And I!"

Tobey Maguire and Matt Damon spoke in unison.

Little Li stared longingly at Liu Jin, as if to say: I want one too!

……

I found the hotel owner and borrowed his photocopier to print four sets of bound copies.

While printing, the hotel owner even took a group photo with Liu Jin and Xiao Li.

Originally, Liu Jin wanted to ask him if he would sell his hotel.

But after testing the waters, I finally gave up on the idea.

The owner of this hotel clearly intends to make it a family business to be passed down through generations.

In his words, "Hermes will definitely become more and more prosperous in the future, and I believe this hotel will definitely be passed down."

Yes, this hotel will indeed have information on the Chengche app in the future.

But is business booming?

Liu Jin was a little skeptical.

Hermes Beach is nothing special.

There are also two beach towns on either side, especially Redondo Beach, which is much more famous than Hermes Beach.

Another important reason is that there are too many Mexicans here.

No offense intended, but the future is a little unsafe.

Even after dark, you can still see some pedestrians on the streets.

But more than a decade later, when Liu Jin lived here, there was truly no one there at night...

Apart from one donut shop and one McDonald's that were open, all the other shops were dark and gloomy; how could they possibly be doing well?

Furthermore, Liu Jin had always been hesitant about buying a house in America.

I want to buy this hotel because of nostalgia.

But if the other party is unwilling, he will not force them.

America's political environment is too chaotic for the future!

……

(End of this chapter)