Siyigu
Madeleine martin, an American writer who is good at writing historical novels, recently brought us a powerful novel about how books and bookstores changed people's way of life in the war and made people in London find strength and light in World War II.
The novel probably tells the story of 1939. At that time, Hitler's forces swept across Europe, and "World War II" was imminent. Grace, a young girl, and her friend Weiwei came to her dream London. Grace works as a clerk in Primrose Hill Bookstore by mistake. Not fond of reading, she met the handsome pilot George, and started her reading journey with the Count of Monte Cristo recommended by him.
During the blitzkrieg, the devastating attack almost reduced London to ruins. Viv went to the battlefield to join the army, and Grace joined the team of air raid defense inspectors after work. In the hail of bullets, the book gave her unprecedented strength and comfort. She began to read to people, and words brought people together, United as one and supported each other. On the night when they had to sleep in the subway station because of repeated air raids and power outages, they followed the stories in the book to find the light in their hearts and defeated the darkest times in war-torn London.
After World War II, Grace's bookstore miraculously survived the difficulties, and she also gained a happy love and her own career. Her bookstore continued to warm and inspire millions of readers in Qian Qian, and people renamed it "The Last Bookstore in London".
The plot of such a novel is naturally not a grand narrative about war, but an ordinary life of civilians. The element of war is only the background of this novel, and the main content is that the author also has a unique perspective on war. For example, the story here begins with the story of the protagonist Grace and her friend Fu Wei "floating in London". Grace's life experience is not good, her parents died young, and her family's property was occupied by her uncle's family. She had to flee from the countryside to Drayton and start a new life in London. The author's language is very vivid, lively and lively. For example, describing the mood of Grace and Weaver going to London, he wrote, "Like two orioles rushing out of a birdcage, they spread their wings and flew out of the railway station."
In addition, the description of young people's clothes and fashion, as well as the pursuit of big cities, also reflects the mood of "London drifters". For example, the author describes that everything they see in London is fresh, such as "the red body shines like Viv's red nails". They study urban fashion in order to adapt to the life in the metropolis, and are keen on the change of perfume, clothing and accent of "heart for you", which fully reflects the feelings of the two protagonists yearning for London. Yes, this is a big era, the life pursuit of small people. This novel, with its red image and ordinary narrative of little people, can naturally be compared with Zhang ailing's novels.
Of course, this is a historical novel, which needs to depict the elements of war, which also affects the narrative development of the novel. For example, at the beginning of the story, the author described the state before the London War, such as the image of the air raid shelter, which not only vividly reflected the London society at that time, but also paved the way for the subsequent plot development. In addition, the content of distributing food stamps to the people after the appearance of the king of England is also quite realistic.
When Grace and Vicky came to the big city, they certainly needed help. This is Mrs. Weatherford, Grace's mother's good friend.
With their help, they not only have a place to live, but also find a job. Among them, in Weatherford's Family, the author's description of the kitchen fully shows that people in London are lucky to live a small life despite the constant war. This narrative of the little people in the big era is a highlight of this novel. Among them, the protagonist, as a "London drifter", is in sharp contrast with their feelings about the metropolis. The author says, "The shopping mall is as big as the fields in Drayton." In this way, I am keen on life in big cities.
So, with the development of the plot, Grace didn't get a recommendation letter from her good friend Weiwei because of her uncle's narrow-mindedness, so Grace had to work in Primrose Hill Bookstore for half a year with the help of Mrs. Weatherford, get a recommendation letter and look for a better job. It was an unintentional job. Grace is not only modest, courteous, generous, helpful, hardworking and selfless (especially describing the scene where she came back from overtime and got caught in the rain, which reflects the noble quality of the protagonist), but also met the handsome pilot George in the bookstore, and George became the ferry for her study. So she likes to run a bookstore very much, so she cleaned the original "Primrose Hill Bookstore" completely and classified the books reasonably. With the new layout of the window and the development of gift certificate activities, Grace has made small bookstores full of vitality, and the management mode of bookstores is undoubtedly suitable for the management mode of modern physical bookstores.
However, the good times did not last long. When the war finally broke out, the author naturally had a grand narrative heart. For example, he wrote that the brave Fu Wei and Mrs. George Weatherford's only son (who later died) both went to the battlefield to join the army. This is the author's design, which will undoubtedly remind me of Zhang Ailing's novels. In this way, Grace's popularity is re-described, ordinary but great. On the one hand, although Grace didn't go to war because she had to take care of Mrs. Weatherford, who lost her only son, there were of course reasons of love. On the other hand, it is more important to get along with Mr. Evans, the bookstore owner like his father. Through reading books and working in bookstores, Grace deeply fell in love with bookstores and reading books, which made his life pattern broader.
So what influence did Mr Evans have on Grace? That's because Mr Evans is a man with a profound sense of justice, ideals and ambitions. The significance of running a bookstore is to keep a fire that represents different voices. This kind of fire is books, because Hitler banned many books in order to avoid trouble, such as Amanso. The sentence "burning books is just the beginning, killing people for it" reveals Hitler's dictatorship from all aspects. So Mr Evans put a lot of forbidden books and old books in his safe. The purpose is "some people give up their lives to protect books, and the ultimate goal is to protect people's hearts and lives from being strangled." This is a very noble and ideal job, and the protagonist naturally dare not neglect it, so he should inherit it well. Even Grace joined the air raid defense inspectors after work.
Then the story developed to the climax of the novel, that is, the war broke out, the bookstore closed down, people needed to hide in the air defense environment, and Grace was also in the rain of bullets, and the book gave her unprecedented strength and comfort. She also helps people who suffer physical and psychological pain by reading all kinds of powerful literary books in the air defense environment. Get spiritual comfort and a positive attitude towards difficulties. For example, she read Middlemarch, Emma, A Tale of Two Cities, Reading in the South, A Christmas Carol, Jane Eyre and so on. Among them, Reading South is an inspiring work, which tells the story of all walks of life uniting to rebuild their homes during World War I, so it is naturally inspiring to Londoners in World War II.
And in that difficult time, we can also read the kindness and helpfulness. All the other bookstores in the bookstore were destroyed by the war, but fortunately, "Primrose Hill Bookstore" escaped many times, but Grace was kind and enthusiastic. In order to let other bookstores continue to do business, it is really broad-minded to let other bookstores sell their books in Primrose Hill Bookstore. Naturally, this kindness touched the cynical and vitriolic colleague Mrs. naisbitt. In order to cooperate, she followed Mrs Weatherford to the orphanage to study for her children. This is a very harmonious atmosphere of war, and this novel is very touching and full of power.
At the end of the novel, Mr. Evans also taught Grace that "the beginning of life is born beautiful" and many evils are acquired ... "Here, Grace has a new understanding of her uncle's attitude. My uncle hates and drives Grace away because he can't get rid of his inner pain. It is because of this book and Mr. Evans' help that Grace reconciled with her uncle and Grace herself grew rapidly. The original work has enabled people in the war to find strength and light, and also enabled the protagonist Grace to grow and sublimate both spiritually and emotionally.
At the end of the story, sadly, Mr. Evans died of illness and Grace became the heir of the bookstore. But on the positive side, Grace resisted the pressure of war and insisted on reading for the citizens, which is reflected in the protagonist's reading for everyone. Therefore, the story in the book can find the light in her heart and overcome the darkest times in war-torn London.
The end of the story is a happy ending, because the war is over, her friend is back, and she has also gained a happy love and her own career. Her bookstore continues to comfort, care, warm and inspire thousands of people in Qian Qian and London. People renamed it "the last bookstore in London", which was very nirvana. Reading is a harbor for readers to escape from reality, and it also allows readers to reflect on the beauty of life in pain and fear.
This is a story about how little people grow up through books in the war of the great era. The author has successfully created an image of migrant workers in London and a brave image of Grace who is willing to inherit the fire of reading. In this way, the author explains that people in the war can find strength and light from Grace's growing love for books, humility, kindness, helpfulness and selflessness. She and the bookstore exist to "protect people's minds and lives from being strangled wantonly".