怎样在中国发大财

    在小说开篇，商业巨头沃尔特回忆说，小时候，他梦想着有朝一日能够拥有一整栋楼。随后，他就粉碎了这个想法，不是因为对于一个小男孩来说，幻想这些事情过于荒谬，而是因为，“我本不该为自己设定一个如此渺小的志向，也不应该等待这么久才去追寻这些梦想，”他说。沃尔特讲述了一些轶事，比如一位报社记者如何在一次采访中冒犯了他（这位企业家的反应是，若干年后收购了这家报社，炒掉了那位策划这次采访的编辑）。沃尔特从其人生的每一个关键时刻汲取了类似这样的教训，这本书的其他四位主人公似乎也在经受其自身事业和生活教程的考验。

    随着故事的迂回发展，这几位人物逐渐遭遇，但从未粘连在一起。这种处理手法会让读者的情绪有点中断，但通过这些偶遇，我们得以领略一些有趣的思维花絮，从中可看出中国和其他国家的不同处事态度。

    比如，当商业杂志在题为“亨利•林及其家族——多元化控股”的文章中提到贾斯汀家族的公司时，贾斯汀觉得这个短语“带有一种谴责意味，似乎他们积累财富的源泉是不确定的，并且很有可能是令人讨厌的。”他的父亲骂了他一顿：“你太敏感了。你为什么那么在意别人的看法？”但他的确在意，正如他痴迷地浏览一个博客上关于他自己的负面评价：“在家人的栽培下，贾斯汀•林变得毫无爱心，冷漠无情。为了达到自己的目的，贾斯汀•林将不惜一切代价；他将像踩死昆虫一样踩死你。”

    在另一个颇具启迪意义的时刻，颖慧意外地收到了一封将她称为“女强人”、“龙后”、“女终结者”和“兰博”的电子邮件，她随之经历了一种源自其成功女商人身份的刻薄的性别歧视。在整部小说中，欧大旭始终以一种带有冷幽默和一定可信性的方式，用心刻画这些人物的事业计划和他们的高级聚会。

    这本书不急不躁地抓住了读者的心魄。一开始，在介绍小说人物时，它过于频繁采用了类似于维基百科的手法，总结陈列他们做过的事情。但一旦你认识了每位人物及其个人野心，故事情节就令人愉悦地飞驰起来，尽管一些人物比其他人更加光彩夺目。贾斯汀的尴尬和自我怀疑真实且直露的，一如颖慧的愿望——这位女富豪希望比她更成功的同僚能够认真对待她。但对于风光不再的加里，我们很难产生足够的同情心。

    除了正面评价外，这本书也受到了一些指摘。对于不那么惊心动魄的冲突终局，一些评论家多有诟病。《纽约时报》(The New York Times )称它是“一本不断酝酿，但从来没有沸腾起来的大部头。”《卫报》( The Guardian )写道：“全书的节奏几乎没有变化。”这些批评是公允的。但尽管如此，整体的阅读体验并没有因悬而未决的故事情节而受到破坏。欧大旭为我们讲述的是一段旅程，“抵达”并非这部小说的重心。抵达那里，是所有（而不是一半）的乐趣所在。对于那些有意领略上海的创业热情的读者来说，《五星级亿万富翁》本身就是一场盛宴。（财富中文网）

    译者：任文科 

    In opening the book, business titan Walter recalls that, as a child, he dreamed of one day owning a whole building. Then he shatters that idea -- not because it was absurd to hope for such a thing as a boy, but because, as he says: "I should never have been so modest in my ambitions, nor waited so long to pursue them." Walter shares anecdotes like the time a newspaper reporter offended him in an interview. (The entrepreneur's response is to buy the paper years later and fire the editor that commissioned the interview.) Walter extracts a lesson like this from every key moment of his life, it seems -- as the book's four other central characters struggle through their own business and life tutorials.

    As the story weaves on, characters bump into one another, but never in a way that sticks. It's a bit of an emotional disconnect -- but then through these encounters we get entertaining tidbits of perspective that are telling of attitudes in China and elsewhere.

    When Justin's family's company, for example, is mentioned in business magazines as "Henry Lim and Family -- Diversified Holdings," he feels the phrase carries "with it an accusation, as if the source of wealth they had amassed was uncertain and, most probably, unsavory." His father scolds him, "You're too sensitive ... What do you care what other people think?" But he doescare, as he obsessively reads the negative comments about himself on a blog: "Justin Lim has been trained by his family to be uncaring and ruthless ... Justin Lim will stop at nothing to fulfill his aims; he will crush you like he crushes insects."

    In another revealing moment, Yinghui experiences the caustic sexism that comes from being a successful businesswoman when she accidentally receives an email in which she is referred to as "Ultrawoman," "Dragon Queen," "Terminatress," and "Rambo." Throughout the novel, Aw manages to paint his characters' business plans and their high-class parties in ways that are both drily funny and eminently plausible.

    The book takes its time in grabbing you, and at the beginning too often introduces its characters with a factual, Wikipedia-like summary of the things they've done. But once you come to know each character and their individual ambitions, it speeds along nicely -- though some characters shine more than others. Justin's embarrassment and self-doubt are real and raw, as is Yinghui's desire to be taken seriously by her more successful peers, but it is difficult to muster much sympathy for fallen-idol Gary.

    In otherwise positive reviews, some critics have dinged the book for its less-than-thrilling resolution. The New York Times called it "a long book that simmers without ever coming to a boil," and The Guardian wrote that "the pace is too unvarying." Such criticism is fair. But that said, the overall reading experience doesn't suffer for the book's unresolved storylines. Aw's novel is about the journey, not the arrival. Getting there is all, not half, the fun. For those who want a taste of Shanghai's entrepreneurial obsession, Five Star Billionaire is a banquet unto itself.