Su Jian Kan Xiao Street Author: Luo Yu (Douban netizen)

From Babel's "Odessa Story", to Naipaul's "Miguel Street", and then to Cao Naiqian "I Can't Help Me Until the Night I Miss You", the freedom that such a novel form gives writers is enviable: in an era when long novels are preferred, playing with concise short stories to test one's skills can avoid the creative system that is difficult for new writers. A huge amount of work; the plots of the short stories are independent of each other, but the style and atmosphere are consistent; the familiar environment can be used as a natural greenhouse for the story, and the plots and characters are like a group of wild mushrooms, growing randomly and appearing well-proportioned; bits and pieces in memories They can also be used as materials, and there is no need to overwork your imagination.

Not only writers, but also contemporary readers who are busy in the business world and cherish time like gold can also feel the convenience. It is no longer possible to have a lot of free time and read a long masterpiece in one go. If you want readers to read a novel from beginning to end without forgetting the plot, the author has to go out of his way to suspense the "thought" again and again. It is best to add some romance and Horror adds to the taste. In this way, reading is vigorous and thrilling, like a roller coaster - but it is over. The writer leaves nothing behind, and the reader leaves nothing behind. In contrast, Su Tong, who has been famous for a long time, writes "street stories" such as "The Story of Toon Tree Street", which actively provides the possibility of chewing slowly in a fast pace.

The novel tells the story of the 1970s, which is still in the memory of many Chinese people. More than ten years later, China's population began to divide rapidly. Today, the out-of-school children of migrant workers in the shacks and the little Internet worms speaking Martian language in the tall buildings next to them no longer have the same language. The 1970s seems to be the last era in which "communities" can be divided by geography: although people living together have their own tragedies, these tragedies can be put into the same novel without too much "tension": Escape The old people who have survived historical disasters are living in a low profile in the world; the adult men who are numb to their duties indulge in their good or bad hobbies after work and only use belts to communicate with their children; the housewives fight against the poor material conditions with hard work and thrift, and Spread rumors, compare and envy to fight against the spiritual poverty that accompanies hard work and thrift... Teenagers are the most pitiable group of people, or in other words, the tragic ending of life is often revealed at this time.

Su Tong’s favorite characters all have absurd and tenacious yearnings: the little boy who wants to turn into a cat, the little girl who likes flower umbrellas, the bow-legged guy who wants to be a cavalry, the little cripple who wants to be a gang leader... And Su Tong The God of Destiny in the novel likes to make fun of them. Perhaps mediocrity and drifting with the crowd were the survival philosophy with Chinese characteristics of that era; perhaps Su Tong preferred tragedy and told how the seeds of hope took root, sprouted, flourished, and eventually bore the fruit of tragedy. In any case, this "Toon Tree Street Story" does use gray as the main tone, and the few strokes of blue, red, and pink can only reflect the strength of the gray God of Destiny.

People being slaves to things is not only a shortcoming of the commercial society, but such stories are even more generous in the commercial society. In "The Story of Toon Tree Street", the tragedy caused by things not only has the characteristics of the times, but also bears the imprint of Su Tong: anything that others do not have must be the curse of the owner, whether it is an umbrella or a pair of shoes, a A wooden horse or a few Cuban knives can push the storyline to a life-threatening climax. Sometimes it's like a stereotypical detective series: suspects appear one by one, and depending on who the photographer gives a close-up shot of, he is undoubtedly the real murderer. The God of Destiny in Su Tong's novels has a touchable temper after all - and because of his involvement in the ecological community of Toon Tree Street, this book is ultimately inferior to "Miguel Street" and "Odessa Story".

Ai Su Tong Author: Yu Gezi (Douban netizen)

In the Bengali audio and video class this afternoon, the class played Bengali songs with a cheerful rhythm. That passionate voice sang, Girl, you are so beautiful that I dare not look directly at you.

I spread out a piece of white paper and scribbled on it, feeling a strong and messy desire for expression. You see how lovely this world is, you can love or hate, you can be heartbroken, you can be ecstatic, you can tell the person you love at the right time and place that you are so, so beautiful. Or, you can also smile and dance around in all directions.

We have reduced the world to an ordinary street, walking through it every day, obtaining food, clothing, emotional comfort, laughing and cursing, all written in articles.

We expand the ordinary streets into a world. Every story is full of meaning. Behind every story, there is a smiling angel.

Spent some afternoons and late nights reading Su Tong's "The Story of Toon Tree Street". The one I love the most is called "Snowy Pig Head". This is a tearful smile. You watch him tear his life apart for you to see, showing you the barrenness and cruelty hidden under the tender life, but you clearly see the touching warmth in this barrenness and cruelty. .

And probably this is the true nature of life.