I am a literary giant in Japan

Chapter 318: The Shocking "Norwegian Wood" (There will be another update in the afternoon)
The unreliable Tuangui Shirou is finally reliable for once.

Iwai Shunji took the "Art" and quickly dragged him to a nearby high-end cafe.

Convenience stores, park benches, KFCs, etc. are already crowded with people, all of whom are readers holding "Wenyi" in their hands and can't wait to read.

The two of them found an empty seat and sat down, tore open the transparent cover of the book, and started reading "Literature and Art".

Iwai Shunji skipped all the novels before "Norwegian Wood". Now his mind is only filled with this new "Kitagawa Hidefu" masterpiece by Mr. Kitagawa!
This time, Mr. Kitagawa once again wrote the preface to the novel himself, which is a rare occasion.

In the preface, he briefly reviewed his literary creation journey since March 1995.

Starting from the youth trilogy "Hear the Wind Sing" to the current "Norwegian Wood".

In two years and seven months, Mr. Kitagawa has written a total of 15 completed novels, and has two novels currently being serialized, as well as three TV drama scripts.

The total number of words in these written works adds up to more than 300 million. Most Japanese writers would not be able to write half of his words in their entire lifetime!

Seeing this, Iwai Shunji and the readers around him felt tears welling up in their eyes and sighed.

It turns out that without us realizing it, Mr. Kitagawa has already brought us so many classic works!

In fact, Kitagawa Hide himself felt that this was nothing to brag about.

First, he copied these works by copying texts, and the process required much less ideas, brainpower, and energy than the original authors.

Second, writing 150 million words a year would be considered just a qualified, full-time writer in the online literature circle of later generations.

It is said that in that circle full of perverts, there are many authors who write six to seven million, or even eight to nine million words a year!

If they traveled to Japan, wouldn't they be able to read all the famous works of world literature within a year?

But in the eyes of readers like Iwai Shunji, this is simply a miracle!
If he continues to write at this pace, by the time Kitagawa reaches the age of Ichiro Tanizaki, the number of words in his works alone will be more than the total number of words in all the "Tenka Ichipin" in the history of Japanese literature!
Is this still a human being? !

After reviewing his past experiences and awards, Kitagawa Hide mentioned his original intention of writing "Norwegian Wood" this time, as well as his inner fear and anxiety.

He hopes to present the best works to readers.

I don’t want to become complacent and stop moving forward after achieving my current success, like some of my predecessors did.

So he fell ill and almost died.

Between the lines, the flavor of the sickly beautiful young writer that Riko Kawata desires is ready to emerge, which is heartbreaking.

".Fortunately, at this point, I still have you by my side.

It is the spiritual strength you gave me that has brought me to where I am today.

So I beg you all, now, in the future, and even in the distant future, please stay with me until the end! "

After reading the last sentence of the preface, Iwai Shunji wiped away tears again.

It is rare for a man in his thirties or forties to shed tears, but Mr. Kitagawa's heartfelt words were so touching.

Looking at his literary creation experience, Shunji Iwai thought of his own life.

From feeling lost after graduation, to being full of confidence when joining Nikkatsu, to the first three years of mediocrity.

If he hadn't met Mr. Kitagawa at Kodansha that day and received his guidance, perhaps his life would still be a mess now.

Looking back on the past, Shunji Iwai is also filled with emotion.

Kitagawa Hide's preface also touched the hearts of countless people.

Therefore, just these few hundred sensational words are enough to quickly make readers feel sad and compassionate.

Then Shunji Iwai adjusted his mood and continued turning the pages.

What caught my eye was the title of the first chapter: "Remember Me Forever".

This seems to be Mr. Kitagawa’s summary of the preface, and it also seems to be what he wanted to say to his readers when he fell ill.

"I am thirty-seven years old. Right now, I am sitting in the cabin of a Boeing 747. This huge plane is diving down through the thick dark clouds, preparing to land at Hamburg Airport."

As Shunji Iwai read the beginning, he gradually became immersed in the story of the novel.

The story begins with a flashback technique rarely used by Kitagawa, starting with 37-year-old Toru Watanabe arriving at Hamburg Airport in Germany by plane.

To the melodious tune of "Norwegian Wood", Toru Watanabe recalled Naoko.

In this brief recollection of only a few hundred words, Naoko's eccentric, interesting, and somewhat neurotic personality comes to life on the paper.

"I hope you will always remember me. Always remember me as a person who was there for you."

"Of course I'll always remember it."

"Will you really remember me forever?" Naoko asked softly.

"I will always remember it." Watanabe Toru replied, "How could I forget it?"

Thinking of this, Toru Watanabe felt very sad.

Because Naoko never truly loved him.

At the end of this chapter, Toru Watanabe pulled himself out of his memories, with his last conversation with Naoko lingering in his mind.

So this is what “remember me always” means.

As Iwai Shunji read on, tears streamed down his face again.

He didn't know why, but when he saw the sentence "because Naoko never truly loved him", countless memories came flooding back like a tide, making it difficult for him to breathe.

He had a similar story in his mind, but it was still vague at that time.

Now that I have read Mr. Beichuan’s new book, those vague plots seem to have gradually become clearer.

This issue of "Norwegian Wood" was serialized into five chapters. He couldn't wait to turn to the second chapter, and was shocked by the chapter title!
Chapter 2: "Death of a Friend".

Toru Watanabe recalled the days when he was studying in Tokyo more than 20 years ago.

That was his first time leaving his hometown and coming to the big city. Everything was so strange, yet so interesting.

He called his roommate Shuiyue the "commando" because Shuiyue was very clean and even took down the windows of the dormitory to clean them.

This kind of personality that likes "comprehensive cleaning" is similar to that of a certain German art student unit, hence the nickname "Commando".

Mizuki and Naoko became a couple, and Watanabe Toru became the "third party" between them.

This is the "love triangle" that is most easily seen among young people today.

It is especially common among high school students in Japan. However, the first person to put it into entertainment works was Haruki Murakami.

Countless subsequent works were also deeply influenced by Norwegian Wood.

In those works, sometimes it is two women and one man (White Album 2), sometimes it is two men and one woman (Highschool of the Dead), and there is also a variation of two men and multiple women (Toradora and Tiger).
This kind of relationship between men and women is also reflected in "East Love" and "Long Vacation".

Therefore, when he saw this, Shunji Iwai felt a breeze of "Hideki Kitagawa" blowing in his face.

This is much more comfortable than reading the obscure "The Strange Bird Chronicle", the grand but tedious "Remembrance of Things Past", and the wonderful but extremely sad "One Hundred Years of Solitude"!

It’s not that “Norwegian Wood” is better than them, but that familiar taste is what Kitagawa Hide’s die-hard fans like the most.

The story of the threesome lasted throughout high school.

Although Mr. Kitagawa did not describe their high school life in detail, Shunji Iwai could clearly sense that Toru Watanabe had special feelings for Naoko.

But before seeing this, he had never thought that Naoko, who was reluctant to part with Watanabe Toru at the beginning, was actually the girlfriend of his best friend!

"This is really 'high school student'!" Dangui Shirou couldn't help but give a thumbs up.

He has also written many similar "stomachache" plots, but they are completely inferior to the flavor that Mr. Kitagawa has sketched out in just a few words.

Then, Mu Yue died.

On a sunny afternoon in May, just after lunch, Kizuki invited Watanabe Toru to play billiard together.

Watanabe Toru won the first game quite easily, and then Kizuki suddenly became serious and won the remaining three games.

As agreed in advance, Watanabe Toru paid the money.

What surprised him was that during the game, the usually talkative "Commando" didn't tell a single joke.

"Why are you so serious today?" asked Toru Watanabe.

"Only today, I don't want to lose to you!" Mu Yue smiled with satisfaction.

That same night, Mu Yue was found dead in the garage of her home.

He connected the rubber hose to the exhaust pipe of the N360, sealed the window with rubber tape, and then started the engine.

Toru Watanabe didn't know how long it took him to die.

In short, it was not until his parents returned home after visiting a sick relative and opened the garage door to drive the car that they discovered that he had already died.

The radio was on and there was a gas station receipt stuck on the windshield wiper.

There was no suicide note, and no idea of ​​his motive.

Since Toru Watanabe was the last person to see him, the police transferred him in for questioning.

The police officer did not seem to have a good impression of either of them. He probably thought that it was not surprising that a high school student who skipped classes to play billiards would commit suicide!
As a result, Mu Yue’s death was only reported as a small square in the newspaper, and the matter ended hastily.

The red N360 was soon disposed of by Mu Yue's parents.

A bouquet of white flowers was placed on Mu Yue's seat in the classroom, as proof that he had once lived.

This sudden death of the character made Shunji Iwai a little confused, but as he watched, he felt that Mr. Kitagawa's design was really brilliant.

At the end of the second chapter, the familiar classic statement of Beichuan style discussing "death" also appeared.

“Death is not the opposite of life, but a part of it.

Replacing it with words would seem much more tacky, but for me at that time, what I felt was not words, but a clot of air.

Death exists in words and in the four red and white balls standing side by side on the billiard table.

We go about our lives breathing it slowly into our lungs, like a fine dust particle.

Before that, I viewed death as something completely different from life.

I've always found this to be the most logical way to think about it.

Born here, die there.

And I am on this side, not that side.”

"This description is so classic! It will surely be engraved as a motto by countless people!"

Iwai Shunji almost stood up.

There are also many people in high-end cafes reading "Norwegian Wood" with rapid breathing.

They were also infected by the view of life and death described by Hide Kitagawa.

A depressing and sad atmosphere permeated, making it hard to breathe.

With only two chapters of content, the high quality displayed astounded Iwai Shunji.

At the same time, the "beauty of death" presented in "Norwegian Wood" is sprouting new life all over Japan like a spring breeze blowing across the earth.

The last paragraph of Chapter 2 is particularly moving.

Watanabe Toru's view on life and death completely collapsed after Kizuki's suicide.

".However, since the night when Mu Yue committed suicide, I can no longer view life and death so simply.

Death is no longer the opposite of life.

Death is already in my body, and no matter how hard I try, I just can't forget it."

"Because on that night in May, the death that imprisoned Mu Yue also imprisoned me.

I spent the spring of my eighteenth year feeling the clots of death in the air."

On the afternoon of October 10th.

Inside a small dilapidated building in Taipei.

Wu Junlin, who later became an Internet celebrity for the phrase "You say", was only 29 years old at the time.

His career was stuck when it was on the rise, and he stayed in the attic for several days, worrying about his new album.

Just when he was feeling bored, a Japanese magazine given to him by a friend attracted his attention.

(End of this chapter)