Talking about British bookstores

No.84 Charing Cross Road is known as "the Bible for book lovers". Up to now, it has been translated into dozens of languages and sold well all over the world, and has been adapted into film and television works many times.

The Max Cohen Bookstore mentioned in the book, located at 84 Charing Cross Road, London, England, attracts fans from all over the world to make a pilgrimage here every year. This seems to have become a code word for book lovers all over the world. Although the old bookstore has been baptized for a long time, its light has never faded. I believe that these fans came to Wan Li for themselves and Hailian to pay tribute to this bookstore.

This book mainly records a pure book relationship between helene hanff, a female writer in new york, USA, and Frank of Max Cohen book in London, England. This is not just a story between a book buyer and a book seller, but the fate of two people who know, know and love books. Their correspondence lasted for 20 years. After reading this book, the story of Hailian and Bookstore deeply touched and poked the reader's heart.

The reason why this book can impress readers and resonate with them is that it truly reproduces the contents of letters to the public. The words in the book have not been decorated and packaged, so when we read this book, we have a feeling of being there and returning to the author's time, as if those letters were addressed to us.

Today, we will take the intersection of Hailian and Bookstore as the main line to analyze this pure and touching story. In the fourth part of this paper, I will analyze Hailian's Treasure of Books, and give inspiration and thinking to our contemporary people.

1. Why did Hailian and Frank become attached across the Atlantic Ocean?

One is a writer who lives in new york, and the other runs his own bookstore in London. Two people who seem to have no intersection, because books have entered each other's lives. This may be the fate that exists in the darkness.

Although Hailian is not a well-off writer, she is addicted to books and has high requirements for paper quality, typesetting and binding of books. American books are either paper with rough printing and pale appearance, or rare books with expensive prices. So in new york, she always can't buy the books she wants to read.

By chance, one day, she saw an advertisement published by Marx Cohen Bookstore in a literary weekly. The advertisement says that the bookstore specializes in out-of-print ancient books. So Hailian tried to write a letter with a letter of intent. Hailian mentioned in the letter that if the other party happens to have these books, and the price of each book is not higher than 5 dollars, the other party can directly regard this letter as an order.

In this way, the letter crossed the Atlantic and reached Frank's hand 3000 miles away.

In the face of the unknown Hailian, Frank didn't doubt or neglect at all, and soon sent the books and invoices. In the later days, Frank found many classic and affordable books for Hailian, such as New Testament, Selected Poems of Oxford, Roman Dialogue and so on.

It can also be seen that the books that are now within reach are particularly extravagant for Hailian at that time. Perhaps because of this, she treasures every letter and book sent by Frank.

Hailian's experience of buying books is like our online shopping today. Now, which bookstore will deliver goods without your payment? I am afraid that we don't have. In those days, all their transactions were based on the simplest trust between people.

Hailian needs books, so Frank goes to the second-hand market to look for them. A 20-year-old book edge began.

Why can their correspondence last for 20 years?

In that era when there was no voice call and no video, the communication between Hailian and Frank lasted for 20 years, which was a miracle.

For Hailian, London, 3000 miles away, is closer than the bookstore on new york Avenue, because she doesn't have to go downstairs, just write a letter and she can receive the book. Although she and Frank's bookstore are separated by the Atlantic Ocean, the distance in her heart is within reach.

It can also be seen that the real distance is not the distance between time and space, but the distance between people's hearts.

Hailian only corresponded with Frank at first. Later, other employees in the bookstore, even Frank's wife and Frank's neighbors, joined the correspondence with Hailian. They talked a lot in the letter and told each other about their recent work. The reason why they have kept correspondence for so long is that they have already surpassed the relationship between buyers and sellers.

Although Hailian is not rich, she still uses her meager income to buy ham, eggs, beef tongue and other foods and send them to the bookstore. You know, at that time, just after World War II, Britain was in great need of supplies. These foods are precious to bookstore employees.

Hailian herself feels that it is of little significance to send these foods. She thinks that the books sent by the bookstore can get along with her day and night, and the meals sent by herself to the clerk can be finished in a week, so she thinks this is a rather uneconomical gift exchange.

The clerk in the bookstore hoped to stop sending food to Hailian and suggested that Hailian use the money saved to visit them in London.

This is also the biggest dream of Hailian. She dreamed that this day would come soon: she slowly stepped off the ship and train, set foot on the dusty sidewalk, walked into No.84 Charing Cross Road and took a look at "her bookstore". In order to be close to the bookstore, she also entrusted a friend who went to London to visit the bookstore on her behalf.

In that era when there was no video, Hailian could only draw a bookstore by imagination. Some people sympathize with Hailian, so it is so difficult to meet the bookstore staff. But I think Hailian is very lucky because she has become a part of the bookstore. How lucky it is to have such a group of friends expecting her to reach London on the other side of the Atlantic.

Although we live in a city now, bookstores are all over the streets. But how many people can have the luck of Hailian?

3. Where is the final intersection between Hailian and Bookstore?

How the dark line of fate will draw them is also the place that readers are most concerned about.

1968 10, Hailian still received a letter from Frank. But at that time, she never thought that this was the last letter written by Frank.

It was not until the following year (65438+10.8) that Hailian received a late letter from Frank's daughter, which mentioned a piece of news that made everyone feel sorry. It turns out that Mr. Frank died of illness a few months ago.

There is no mention of Hailian's mood when she saw this letter. She just said: If you happen to pass by 84 Charing Cross Road, please give me a kiss. I owe her a lot.

Maybe Hailian wants to play down this sadness. But we can easily imagine that she must be in tears, because the person who knows her best in the world has left. This feeling should be no less than Yu Boya's grief after losing his confidant Zhong Ziqi.

At this point, their 20-year correspondence is over. The beautiful and sincere alienation between them has always been fixed in that year.

During these 20 years, Hailian has been invited to London many times, but she has never set foot on the land she has been longing for for for a long time. She has never had the privilege of witnessing the elegance of this bookstore, nor has she ever had the privilege of greeting Frank before he died. This is also the saddest part of this book.

Someone once asked: There is love between Hailian and Frank, otherwise, how could they have corresponded for so long? But most fans, including myself, agree that the relationship between them is from avenue to simple bosom friend, and it is the book edge where knowledge and love books are intertwined.

4. The story of Hailian and Bookstore gives us contemporary enlightenment.

Hailian treasures books very much. To what extent?

Once, she received a book from Frank and couldn't put it down. Even she doesn't think she is worthy of that book. This passage in the book also gives us the answer.

With a shiny leather cover, quaint bronzing titles and beautiful printed fonts, it should be in a wooden mansion in the English countryside; An elegant old gentleman sat in a rocking chair in front of the fire, reading slowly and gently ... instead of letting himself live in a shabby apartment, let me sit on a crappy old sofa and browse.

It can be seen from this passage that in Hailian's eyes, books are already works of art and should not be wronged.

Hailian's treasure of books has also awakened our hungry reading culture. From the story of Hailian and Bookstore, I have two thoughts:

1. Read more books, because reading can make you know more people.

Fan Deng once said: Most people have experienced the problems that make you think hard-about love, promotion and entrepreneurship. And most of these problems have been solved and written into the book. It can be said that books are the outlet of most problems.

In life, we can't make friends with these talented people. After all, one's understanding of ideas is limited. In the book, we can get in touch with all the experts in all countries and all the time. The experiences of these characters have been polished by practice, which can help us avoid many detours and help us answer questions. Just like The Art of War is listed as a must-read book by some enterprises.

Some people don't blink when they buy movie tickets from 30 yuan, and they don't feel bad when they drink a cup of coffee from 40 yuan. However, when they asked him to buy a book from 25 yuan, he was reluctant to part with it, which I don't understand. Books should be regarded as the most cost-effective lifestyle at present. Spend tens of dollars, but you can accompany us for a lifetime. Just like Hailian, because of reading these books, her life is full and satisfied.

Although reading is not eager for quick success, it will gradually penetrate into our bodies and enhance our pattern and cognition. Reading is a lifetime thing. No matter what kind of difficulties and setbacks you encounter, there is always a book that can guide you to forge ahead.

This book needs to be reread.

As the saying goes, if you read a book a hundred times, you will understand its meaning.

When we read the first article, we often read it with the purpose of understanding the content. In this case, we naturally have no time to think. The second time and the third time, I have lost the burden of understanding, so I have more energy to think.

In addition, when we first started reading, our age and experience were not enough to help us fully understand the meaning of the book. Just like some classics, we will feel completely different when reading them in youth and middle age.

Teacher Xu Zidong, a famous expert in literature and history, said that he had read Lao She's Camel Xiangzi three times, and each time he read it, he had different feelings.

For the first time, he just looked at it as a story and saw Xiangzi who was oppressed and exploited by the evil old society.

The second time, he saw Lao She telling his personal destiny through Xiangzi.

The third time, he saw his own shadow.

So a good book is worth chewing and rereading. This is the truth that Confucius said in the Analects of Confucius that "review the old and learn the new".

Just like when we make friends and meet for the first time, we can only know her name, hometown, occupation and other basic information. But only by seeing each other several times can we really understand her character and conduct.

After reading the story of Hailian and Bookstore, we feel guilty for our lack of reading. Although our reading conditions are richer than those of Hailian, our hearts are not as full as Hailian. How lucky Hailian is to have such a book and a bookstore as spiritual sustenance.

I also hope this article can help us regain the habit of reading and find our spiritual sustenance. Although many of us have never been to London or seen No.84 Charing Cross Road, I believe everyone has their own No.84 Charing Cross Road in their hearts.