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Jules Romain

Sixth of October

The first part of the tetralogy "People good will"

PARIS GOES TO WORK ON A CLEAR MORNING

The month of October 1908 remains memorable to meteorologists for its unprecedentedly beautiful weather. U statesmen memory is shorter. Otherwise, they would have fondly remembered this same month of October, because it almost brought them with it, six years before its due date, world war with all the excitement, excitement and all kinds of reasons to distinguish themselves, which such a war generously gives to people of their craft.

Already the end of September was amazing. On the 29th, the thermometer showed the average temperature for the height of summer. Since then, warm south-easterly winds have persisted throughout. The sky remained cloudless, the sun was hot. The barometer stood at 770.

On the morning of October 6th, those Parisians who get up early came to the windows, curious to know whether this incredible autumn was still setting records. It was felt that the day had come a little later, but it was just as cheerful and friendly as yesterday. The sky was as hazy as the finest summer morning. The courtyards of the houses, with trembling walls and glass, sounded with light. This made the usual noise of the city seem clearer and more joyful. In the dark apartments on the ground floor it seemed as if you were living in a seaside town, where the hum from the sun-drenched coast spreads and penetrates into the tightest alleys.

The men shaving in front of the windows wanted to sing and whistle. The girls, combing their hair and powdering their hair, enjoyed the music of the romances that rang in their souls.

The streets were full of pedestrians. “I don’t take the subway in this weather.” Even the buses looked like empty cages.

It was still cooler than the day before. Walking past pharmacies, still closed, people looked at large enamel thermometers. Only eleven degrees. Three less than at the same hour yesterday. Almost no one was wearing a coat. The workers came out without woolen vests under their blouses.

Somewhat worried passers-by looked in the sky for signs of a more dramatic change, evidence of the imminent end of this kind addition to the summer.

But the sky remained incomprehensibly clear. However, the Parisians did not know how to question him. They didn’t even notice that during the night the direction of the smoke had changed slightly and that the wind from the east-southeast had clearly turned north.

Myriads of people flocked to the center. Many crews rushed there. But others, in almost the same number - carts, hired carriages, carts - were heading to the periphery, rolling through the outskirts, through the suburbs.

The sidewalks, no longer washed by the rain, were covered with dust as fine as ash. There was a lot of dry manure and straws packed between the cobblestones. With each blow, the rubbish flew into the air. Bad fumes wafted from the river, in which the water stood low, and from gutters.

People read newspapers as they walked. And just at that moment, when they raised their feet over the puddle and smelled the languidly sickening smell, they caught their eyes on a note entitled: “Parisian sewage.”

“The stagnant black waters of the Seine are simply fields of irrigation. The streets are not watered, they are hardly swept; Indescribable aromas emanate from the basements, and the sewer system, this ingenious system, having become spoiled and upset, works so poorly that it stimulates general infection, epidemics, and also, should I say it? scary word? - cholera..."

Yes, should I say it? For several weeks now, cholera has been raging in St. Petersburg. True, the newspapers have just reported news that is more or less reassuring: the number of new diseases has dropped to 141, deaths have dropped to 72. And they say that the borders are strictly guarded. But how can customs guards fight germs? This modest figure for St. Petersburg mortality forms an unpleasant combination with the smell of Parisian Wastewater.

And besides, much closer, in Rabat, a mysterious epidemic began, as they say - either the plague or yellow fever. Positively, you won't get into trouble with Morocco. Some soldier, going on leave, will probably manage to bring the plague here, and it will immediately take root here because of this truly African October. We should definitely stop holidays in Morocco and everywhere else. Three days ago the matter with the German deserters in Casablanca took a bad turn, but this morning they write that Bulgaria declared its independence yesterday, October 5, and Austria is talking about annexing Bosnia-Herzegovina. “Historic day” - newspapers print in the headline. Thus, yesterday, October 5th, we passed through a historic day. True, aside. This time we were somewhere completely on the edge of history. But evil fate, probably, sooner or later you will want to push us into the thick of it. But how can this be? Bulgaria was therefore not independent? What did they teach us at school? Distant memories.

Paris lies gently on the hills on both sides of the river. He winces. The crowd flocks to the center. In the early morning it flows mainly from the western slopes and heights: jackets, work blouses, corduroy pants and jackets, caps everywhere. The old people read the article by Jaurès with importance. This morning Jaurès is moderate, prudent, peaceful. He protects the Turks. Regrets the shamelessness of the Bulgarians and Austrians. He fears that the Greeks, Serbs and Italians will follow their example. Calls them to prudence. Middle-aged comrades are interested in the report on the first meeting of the General Confederation of Labor in Marseille. In the crush, trying not to bump into a stall, a lantern or the broad back of a woman selling vegetables, they laugh to themselves at the butads of Citizen Pato. Once again the bourgeois gentlemen will become afraid.

And young workers, apprentices, errand boys (“Looking for an errand boy with a recommendation from their parents”), are captivated by the exploits of the aviators, especially Wright.

Read? “Wriit” lifted a young man weighing 108 kilos and made two circles?

Four days earlier, on Friday, October 2, Wright set a distance record. It flew 60.6 kilometers and stayed in the air for 1 hour 31 meters 25 seconds, circling around two pillars. Farman set a speed record. It reached 52.704 kilometers per hour, circling in the same manner. The next day, October 3, Wright managed to stay in the air for about an hour with a passenger; and the passenger, Franz Reschel, published in Le Figaro a description of his impressions, which was reprinted by almost all newspapers, even the militant organs of the extreme left. But Mr. Reshel's impressions were truly fascinating. He described the strange, wonderful dizziness that befell him when he felt himself gliding at a height of more than 10 meters above the ground. He was surprised to note that, despite the speed of 60 kilometers per hour, he did not have to squint. By the end of the test, Mr. Reschel could not control his excitement. His heart trembled, tears flowed from his eyes.

The apprentices and young comrades found that Mr. Reshel had a weak heart. But there were, of course, the opinion that the future of aviation is unlimited, that its progress will be stunning. Everyone was just complaining that Paris had become terribly cramped. Construction works subways, which little by little had spread everywhere a kind of fortification made of boards and earth, with artillery of cranes, completely cluttered the streets and blocked the intersections. And at the same time, this tunneling undermined the soil in all directions and threatened Paris with failure. (On the same October 3, part of the courtyard in the Cité barracks collapsed onto the Chatelet-Orléans metro gallery under construction, and the horse of one municipal guardsman suddenly disappeared into the abyss.) So, a few months or a few weeks earlier, in March or even July 1908, it was still possible to understand that engineers were fussing and exposing people to such dangers because of the wormholes of the subway; but really, on October 6, in this autumn, when aviation was ripening like a wonderful fruit, one could not help but wonder whether it was still worth burying so many millions and even horses of municipal guardsmen in underground canals, while it was obvious that in 1918, not Later, good half Parisian street traffic will be carried out in airplanes at a height of 10 or 20 meters.

IN morning hours there was a kind of rotation in this huge influx from the periphery to the center. Starting from eight in the morning, the main mass was no longer coming from the east, but from the north-east side of the city, or rather even from the north. The rotation then continued from north to northwest. The beginning of the movement seemed to move, like a halo carried by the wind, from Montmartre to Batignolles, from Batignolles to Ternes. The same thing was observed symmetrically in the south, where the main influx, first directed from Javel and Vaugirard, then sought to descend along the Rue Rennes and the Boulevard Saint-Michel.

At the same time, the appearance of the crowd and its interests changed. Office workers and officials appeared in suit jackets. Jackets were then worn with narrow and slightly rounded lapels. Three buttons. The vest, very high, could be colorful, especially at this time beautiful autumn. The collar is starched, double, very high. Ties with a ready-made knot were still very common back then. This kind of tie always seemed to have come loose and was hanging accidentally on a cufflink. There were also many bow ties and quite a few plastrons. The longitudinal fold on the trousers was often missing. The margin at the bottom, simulating lapels, was considered a somewhat frivolous dandy or fashion for young people. The bowler hat was apparently inseparable from the elegant suit. Felt hats, with lowered brims and a bow at the back of the head, or very soft ones, a la Clemenceau, with a very narrow ribbon, as well as wide-brimmed ones of various styles, were favored by gentlemen with freer habits. But many wore out their straw hats, boater or Panama hats.

Longest ever published literary works in the entire history of publications - a novel called “People of Goodwill”. Its author is a French writer, author of poetic and dramatic works, a scientist - Louis Henri Farigul, who became known under the pseudonym Jules Romain.

Some statistics

The novel “People of Goodwill” was published over 14 years, from 1932 to 1946, the publication included 27 volumes. According to estimates, the volume of this epic work was just under five thousand pages, and the number of words in it exceeded two million. To this considerable figure we can add a name index and a table of contents, which together occupy another 150 pages. Therefore, the number of words in the novel is approximately 2.5 times that of the Bible.

Jules Romain, a supporter of the “right” political ideas, in his work tried to give detailed description, assessment and explanation of contemporary events that took place in France in the first third of the twentieth century (the novel covers the period from 1908 to 1933) from the point of view of his beliefs.

This difficult task was solved by introducing a huge number of characters into the text, total number more than four hundred, and real-life personalities in it coexist with fictional ones. Having collected in one book typical representatives of different walks of life and professions, the author takes them through the vicissitudes of difficult times and observes how their lives change.

In addition to the huge volume and quantity characters, distinctive feature the novel is the lack of a clear storyline. Each character acts in life circumstances in their own way, their stories intersect only in in rare cases. The plotlessness of the novel is not accidental. Romain used it like new artistic technique, already in the preface to the book, criticizing such works as “Roland” and “Proust” by his compatriot Balzac and other books that reveal an idea through the prism of an individual character.

Criticism of the novel “People of Good Will”

According to the author, the work should have reflected history and mood European society, however, the novel was negatively assessed by critics, and Romain was accused of distorting facts. This can be explained by the fact that right-wing beliefs were completely discredited after the end of World War II; accordingly, such a view of the events of the times described in the novel could not find support in the literary community. However, “People of Goodwill” is a novel that gives, although tendentious, a very detailed picture of the life of an entire generation, so it is worth reading for those who are interested in history, sociology and philosophy.

Jules Romain.

Sixth of October

Jules Romain

Sixth of October

Translation by I. Mandelstam

Romain Jules. Collected works: In 4 volumes.

T. 4. Book. 1: People of Good Will: Sixth of October. The Crime of Kinet: Novels /

Translation from French by I. Mandelstam, M. Levberg. – M.: TERRA. 1994

Mandelstam Isai Benediktovich

PARIS GOES TO WORK ON A CLEAR MORNING

The month of October 1908 remains memorable to meteorologists for its unprecedentedly beautiful weather. Government officials have shorter memories. Otherwise, they would have fondly remembered this same month of October, because it almost brought with it, six years ahead of schedule, a world war with all the excitement, excitement and all sorts of reasons to distinguish themselves that such a war generously gives to people of their craft.

The men shaving in front of the windows wanted to sing and whistle. The girls, combing their hair and powdering their hair, enjoyed the music of the romances that rang in their souls.

The streets were full of pedestrians. “I don’t take the subway in this weather.” Even the buses looked like empty cages.

Somewhat worried passers-by looked in the sky for signs of a more dramatic change, evidence of the imminent end of this kind addition to the summer.

Myriads of people flocked to the center. Many crews rushed there. But others, in almost the same number - carts, hired carriages, carts - were heading towards the periphery, rolling through the outskirts, through the suburbs.

People read newspapers as they walked. And just at that moment, when they lifted their foot over the puddle and smelled the languidly sickening smell, they caught their eye on a note entitled: “Parisian sewage.”

“The standing black waters of the Seine are just irrigation fields. The streets are not watered, they are almost not swept; indescribable aromas emanate from the basements, and the sewer system, this ingenious system, having deteriorated and become disordered, works so poorly that it stimulates general infection, epidemics, and also, should I utter this terrible word? - cholera..."

And besides, much closer, in Rabat, a mysterious epidemic began, as they say - either the plague or yellow fever. Positively, you won't get into trouble with Morocco. Some soldier, going on leave, will probably manage to bring the plague here, and it will immediately take root here because of this truly African October. We should definitely stop holidays in Morocco and everywhere else. Three days ago the matter with the German deserters in Casablanca took a bad turn, but this morning they write that Bulgaria declared its independence yesterday, October 5, and Austria is talking about annexing Bosnia-Herzegovina. “Historic day” - the newspapers print in the headline. Thus, yesterday, October 5th, we passed through a historic day. True, aside. This time we were somewhere completely on the edge of history. But evil fate will probably want to push us into the very thick of it sooner or later. But how can this be? Bulgaria was therefore not independent? What did they teach us at school? Distant memories.

And young workers, apprentices, errand boys (“Looking for an errand boy with a recommendation from their parents”), are captivated by the exploits of the aviators, especially Wright.

- Read? “Wright” (Wright) lifted a young man weighing 108 kilos with him and made two circles?

Four days earlier, on Friday, October 2, Wright set a distance record. It flew 60.6 kilometers and stayed in the air for 1 hour 31 meters 25 seconds, circling around two pillars. Farman set a speed record. It reached 52.704 kilometers per hour, circling in the same manner. The next day, October 3, Wright managed to stay in the air for about an hour with a passenger; and the passenger, Franz Reschel, published in Le Figaro a description of his impressions, which was reprinted by almost all the newspapers, even the militant organs of the extreme left. But Mr. Reshel's impressions were truly fascinating. He described the strange, wonderful dizziness that befell him when he felt himself gliding at a height of more than 10 meters above the ground. He was surprised to note that, despite the speed of 60 kilometers per hour, he did not have to squint. By the end of the test, Mr. Reschel could not control his excitement. His heart trembled, tears flowed from his eyes.

The apprentices and young comrades found that Mr. Reshel had a weak heart. But there were, of course, the opinion that the future of aviation is unlimited, that its progress will be stunning. Everyone was just complaining that Paris had become terribly cramped. The construction work of the metro, which gradually spread a kind of fortification everywhere from boards and earth, with artillery of cranes, completely cluttered the streets and blocked intersections. And at the same time, this tunneling undermined the soil in all directions and threatened Paris with failure. (On the same October 3, part of the courtyard in the Cité barracks collapsed onto the Chatelet-Orléans metro gallery under construction, and the horse of one municipal guardsman suddenly disappeared into the abyss.) So, a few months or a few weeks earlier, in March or even July 1908, it was still possible to understand that engineers were fussing and exposing people to such dangers because of the wormholes of the subway; but really, on October 6, in this autumn, when aviation was ripening like a wonderful fruit, one could not help but wonder whether it was still worth burying so many millions and even horses of municipal guardsmen in underground canals, while it was obvious that in 1918, not later, a good half of Parisian street traffic would be carried out in airplanes at an altitude of 10 or 20 meters.

In the morning hours there was a kind of rotation in this huge influx from the periphery to the center. Starting from eight in the morning, the main mass was no longer coming from the east, but from the north-east side of the city, or rather even from the north. The rotation then continued from north to northwest. The beginning of the movement seems to be

There are many records set by books. Known about the thickest and most long books, about books with record-breaking circulation and the largest books in the world. Some of them are initially published with the goal of becoming the very best.

Longest books

When talking about the longest books, you can mean the length of the book in terms of duration, or you can mean its actual (physical) length.

It should be noted that it is difficult to imagine a person who would devote years of his life to creating an actually long book. Usually writers strive to convey the meaning of their work, even the longest of all, with the depth of words and thoughts.

"People of Goodwill"

For fourteen years, starting in 1932, Jules Romain wrote a novel called “People of Good Will.” It contains at least two million words. The novel was published in twenty-seven volumes. It is recognized as the longest in the world. The table of contents, which occupies as many as fifty pages, causes a very mixed reaction.

Spirituality, criminality, poverty, wealth, culture and politics can be found in the novel. In twenty-seven volumes, the author described the lives of four hundred heroes, touching on events from 1908 to 1933. Unfortunately, literary world did not accept this work quite as the author wished. After the publication of the novel, it was subjected to severe criticism. The idea was expressed that the author distorted the events of that time, misunderstanding history.

"Fantastic"

The length of the book with the title “Fantastic” is one kilometer, eight hundred and fifty-six meters. This is the longest (physically) book in the world. It was created by four hundred people from the educational city of Castello. This “experiment” also involved the center’s teachers and even the families of all the participants.

The book was made from papyrus and wound around a pole. The record was registered by one of the notaries of the city of Castello. It includes eleven fairy tales, the main idea which are poverty and wealth.

The thickest books

There are several record-thick books. One of them is “WIKIPEDIA”, which is articles from the Internet collected in one printed edition. There is an assumption that this collection of articles was published only so that the book of five thousand pages would be included in the Guinness Book of Records. It is doubtful that such a thick book can be read - it is completely impractical to use.

Another record-breaking book is the world's thickest edition about Miss Marple, printed in the form full meeting essays. The works of Agatha Christie, collected in one book, fit on four thousand thirty-two pages. The spine width of this edition is three hundred and twenty-two millimeters, and the weight is eight kilograms. Despite the fact that such a gigantic book is most likely unsuitable for reading, it was published in the amount of five hundred copies.

Books with the largest circulation

It is not for nothing that the Bible is called the book of books. It has been republished many times in all countries of our planet. Its popularity not only does not fall, but continues to increase. To date, the number of published copies of this book is approximately six billion.

Another book whose circulation can easily be called one of the largest is Mao Zedong’s quotation book. Its circulation is one billion copies. Usually this book is published with a red cover, for which in Western countries the quotation book is often called the “Little Red Book”.

John Tolkien's book, written in the fantasy genre, The Lord of the Rings, which is in third place, lags significantly behind in terms of circulation. Its circulation is one hundred million copies. The circulation of a book called “The American Spelling Book” and the “Guinness Book of Records”, which are in fourth and fifth place in the ranking of books with the largest circulation, are approximately the same.

Sixth place in the ranking is occupied by the World Yearbook with a circulation of eighty million copies, and seventh place by the Anthology children's reading McGuffey." The circulation of this book is sixty million copies. The book “Basics of Child Care” was published in a circulation of fifty million copies. “The Da Vinci Code” took ninth place in the rating with a circulation of forty-three million, and in tenth place of honor is the work of Elbert Hubbard with a circulation of forty million. Its title is “Message to Garcia.”

The largest book in the world

According to the Guinness Book of Records, the largest in the world printed book is "A Giant Visual Odyssey Through the Kingdom of Bhutan." The dimensions of its pages are one hundred and fifty-two by two hundred and thirteen centimeters. The total weight of this book, consisting of one hundred and twelve pages, is almost sixty kilograms. Today, only eleven copies of it have been created.

To print one book, you need to spend a roll of paper, the length of which is comparable to the length of a football field. The technology for printing this book was invented and developed by Michael Hawley, a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Anyone can order the book by paying thirty thousand dollars.

There are others amazing books. For example, the most expensive volume of poetry was the publication of Edgar Allan Poe’s book “Tamerlane and Other Poems.” .
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Jules Romain

Sixth of October

The first part of the tetralogy "People of Good Will"

PARIS GOES TO WORK ON A CLEAR MORNING

The men shaving in front of the windows wanted to sing and whistle. The girls, combing their hair and powdering their hair, enjoyed the music of the romances that rang in their souls.

The streets were full of pedestrians. “I don’t take the subway in this weather.” Even the buses looked like empty cages.

Somewhat worried passers-by looked in the sky for signs of a more dramatic change, evidence of the imminent end of this kind addition to the summer.

And besides, much closer, in Rabat, a mysterious epidemic began, as they say - either the plague or yellow fever. Positively, you won't get into trouble with Morocco. Some soldier, going on leave, will probably manage to bring the plague here, and it will immediately take root here because of this truly African October. We should definitely stop holidays in Morocco and everywhere else. Three days ago the matter with the German deserters in Casablanca took a bad turn, but this morning they write that Bulgaria declared its independence yesterday, October 5, and Austria is talking about annexing Bosnia-Herzegovina. “Historic day” - newspapers print in the headline. Thus, yesterday, October 5th, we passed through a historic day. True, aside. This time we were somewhere completely on the edge of history. But evil fate will probably want to push us into the very thick of it sooner or later. But how can this be? Bulgaria was therefore not independent? What did they teach us at school? Distant memories.

And young workers, apprentices, errand boys (“Looking for an errand boy with a recommendation from their parents”), are captivated by the exploits of the aviators, especially Wright.

Read? “Wriit” lifted a young man weighing 108 kilos and made two circles?