I am a literary giant in Japan

"He's not coming?"

Arno on the stage looked stunned, his brain froze for a moment, and he didn't quite understand what George Severis said.

Some of the celebrities in the audience looked calm, while others looked puzzled. The entire concert hall was plunged into noise.

Over the past century, there have been many unexpected situations in the Nobel Prize.

For example, in 1931, Eric Axel Karlfeld, who was awarded the Literature Prize, died unexpectedly and became the first winner to be awarded the Literature Prize posthumously.

In 1935, Carl von Ossietzky, winner of the Peace Prize, was denied a passport by the German government and was unable to attend the award ceremony.

In 1964, Jean-Paul Sartre refused to accept a literature prize, as he had refused to accept any awards throughout his life.

In 1973, Vietnamese politician Le Duc Tho refused to accept the Peace Prize, and is the only person to have refused the award so far.

Therefore, the Nobel Prize officials also have many measures to deal with such emergencies.

But this time it's different.

José Saramago had previously agreed to attend and accept the award.

And last night, official staff of the Nobel Prize claimed to have seen Jose appear at the Stockholm Grand Hotel.

Unexpectedly, he suddenly disappeared at today's official award ceremony, as if he had evaporated from the face of the earth!
What’s even more terrible is that everyone knows that this literature award is actually meant to give Kitagawa Hideichi in the audience a warning so that he can clearly distinguish who is the king in the world literary world.

At this moment, Kitagawa Hide, who had not won any award, was not shortlisted, and was not even qualified to participate in the competition, was sitting in the first row with no panic or anxiety at all.

"What do you mean he won't come?" Arno lowered his voice and looked at George Severis, who was also in the first row, in confusion.

"It means I won't come."

Georges Ceferis would not pamper Arno.

He is a treasure of Greek literary world, a living fossil, who has money, fame and social status.

He also does not need to rely on the Swedish Academy and the Western literary world to survive.

This cool old man who loves sports cars, new things and new technologies won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1963.

For him, the only thing left in his life is his final conclusion in the hall of world literature.

But this is the job of latecomers. Neither Arnault on the stage nor anyone else in the audience is qualified to make a final judgment on him.

Therefore, he was not afraid of Arnault at all, and never colluded with people from Arnault's club.

"Oh. If the plane was fast enough, Mr. Jose might have arrived in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, by now."

George Seferis smiled jokingly and did not forget to add another stab.

The entire Stockholm Concert Hall was in an uproar.

Originally, the authorities wanted to use some reasons to explain and cover up Jose's absence.

Anyway, we just need to get through today.

But what Jorge Ceferis said made it clear to everyone that José Saramago not only knew that he was absent from the Nobel Prize ceremony, but also did it on purpose!

Such an outrageous thing has never happened in the hundred years since the establishment of the Nobel Prize!
“Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get.”

Kitagawa Hide said with a smile to Saito Rena who was standing beside him.

"What a wonderful metaphor. Where did you hear it from?" Saito Rena's eyes lit up, and she felt that this sentence was very suitable for everyone on and off the stage.

Even though she had learned about these things from Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi and others in advance, when she saw it with her own eyes, she still felt what Kitagawa Hide said.

This unexpected "chocolate" was sweeter than she had imagined!

"Ah, I just said it casually." Kitagawa Hide smiled awkwardly, then he remembered that "Forrest Gump" which was originally released in 1995 also disappeared due to the butterfly effect.

"As expected of Mr. Kitagawa, he can come up with a golden sentence at any time." Rupert Murdoch, chairman of the British News Corporation, who was sitting on the other side of him, came over and complimented him.

Don't be fooled by this old man's fawning look, he looks like a lecher from a gossip magazine.

But this is just the professional characteristic he exhibits.

Rupert Murdoch is actually a well-deserved legend in the world's media industry today.

In 1981, he bought The Times for 1200 million pounds and gradually became a famous newspaper owner in Australia.

By now, he has controlled two-thirds of Australia's newspapers and is the actual controller of Australian public opinion.

In addition, he also acquired a large number of radio and television stations and film and television companies, and his total personal assets exceeded 100 billion US dollars!
Now 1 US dollar can be exchanged for 150 Japanese yen. If converted into Japanese yen, Rupert's total personal assets would be calculated in trillions!

Compared with him, the Beichuan family's total assets of 2000 billion are not that impressive.

Even if the Kawaide family of Shizuko Kawaide is included, it would not even reach half of their total assets.

This is the terrifying financial power of the world-class chaebols.

The British News Corporation is not even the top media company and cannot compete with the Morgan Consortium and the Rothschild family in the United States.

The reason why Rupert, the leader of the super consortium, is so close to Hide Kitagawa is because he is a die-hard fan of Kitagawa's books.

As early as when the British Booker Prize was preparing to establish an international award, he strongly recommended Kitagawa Hide to win the award.

In order to help his idol win the award, he even abused public resources for personal gain, claiming in The Times that Kitagawa Hide is "the greatest new humanist in the world literary world after Goethe and Hugo!"

In terms of her licking enthusiasm, she is no less than Shizuko Kawaide who was enthusiastically supporting Kitagawa Hide in the literary forum at that time.

With these things as a prelude, Kitagawa Hide and his friends quickly became familiar with Rupert.

While Kitagawa Hide and Rupert were casually chatting about literature and possible future collaborations, Arnault on the stage finally couldn't hold back and was ready to forcibly end this "farce."

At this moment, an official staff member hurried onto the stage and handed him a handwritten letter left by José Saramago in the hotel room.

Seeing this scene, the concert hall, which had been noisy, returned to its dead silence.

Everyone wanted to know what was written in the handwritten letter left by Jose. The mood of watching the show was running high. Everyone stared at Arnault on the stage, making it impossible for him to get off the stage.

Arnault felt his scalp tingling when he was stared at by them. He felt like he was being publicly executed. He wanted to step down, but he couldn't.

Because just now, he was holding the microphone and excitedly saying something like "This is the eighth Nobel Prize ceremony I have attended, but I still feel very excited standing on this stage", "The Literature Award has always been my favorite and most anticipated award, no doubt about it" and other nonsense.

If he were to step down in such a hurry now, wouldn't that be slapping himself in the face?
"Didn't Mr. Arnault say that he would especially cherish every opportunity given to you to perform on stage because of this award?"

George Seferis in the audience did not forget to add another blow.

His voice was not loud, but since they were in the first row and the whole place was silent, every word of his words went into everyone's ears.

Now Arnault has no choice but to read it.

He glanced at George Severis, wondering why this former Nobel Prize winner was targeting him so much.

In terms of interests and positions, shouldn't George Seferis be an ally standing on his side?

You have to know that the bigger the trouble the Nobel Prize in Literature causes, the less valuable its past winners will be.

Early winners like George Cefils will inevitably be the ones most affected.

Arnault has seen many winners who have spent their entire lives tirelessly promoting the greatness of the Nobel Prize, and they even want to mention this on their epitaphs.

It was the first time for him to see a winner constantly tripping over his award at an awards ceremony.

Is he crazy, or am I crazy?
This idiot must be suffering from Alzheimer's!

Arno thought so.

But facing countless pairs of curious eyes, he couldn't pretend to turn a blind eye. He could only bite the bullet and open the envelope and take out the letter in full view of everyone.

“To the Nobel Prize Council and Jury, the Swedish Academy and the Arnault Club:
My name is José Saramago. I believe that people who know me don’t need me to introduce myself any further.

When this letter was read out, I thought it would be at the grand Nobel Prize ceremony.

I don't know who will read this letter I left, but I want to say sorry to him here -

I didn't come to the award ceremony, and I left a letter without any reason. I also want you to read it out in public. Please forgive my willfulness.

I know this is wrong, and I also know that many people may think that I am sensationalizing.

But after thinking about it all night last night, I decided to write it down and then took a plane back to Lisbon alone.

It was not any person or organization that prompted me to make this decision. Please do not make too many guesses or assumptions.

In fact, before 9 o'clock last night, I was still happily preparing my acceptance speech and looking forward to everything tomorrow.

No matter how controversial this award is, I think no writer can refuse it if they have the opportunity to receive it.

But after 9 o'clock, a novel placed at the door of my room completely changed all my thoughts.

The novel is called "Kafka on the Shore".

Kafka on the Shore?

Arno, who was reading the letter in a calm tone, suddenly paused and asked a question subconsciously.

How come he has never heard of this book?

However, some of the celebrities in the audience showed expressions of sudden realization and understanding after hearing these words.

This made Arnault on the stage feel more and more like a clown.

He really wanted to ask who wrote "Kafka on the Shore" and what the book was about, but now was obviously not the best time to ask.

Arno could only suppress the doubts in his heart and continued reading: "I believe many people have read this novel.

For various reasons, we cannot see it in many Western countries, but this does not affect its spread and greatness.

An excellent novel that is worthy of being recorded in the history of world literature will not be tarnished by these things. I don’t want to talk too much about this novel here. If you want to understand it, just read it and you will know.

What I want to say is that the shock and enlightenment it brought me were enough to make me deeply realize that——

If I have to pick out a work from the world literary scene in 1998 that is worthy of the Nobel Prize in Literature, I think it is only "Kafka on the Shore".

Anyway, it shouldn't be any of my works.

In comparison, my work is like a group of stars competing with the bright moon, not worth mentioning at all.

Therefore, I have decided to give up the Nobel Prize in Literature that has been awarded to me.

I don't deserve it and I never will.

After reading "Kafka on the Shore", I didn't even dare to come to the award ceremony, and I didn't dare to say these words myself.

The deep shame that arose in my heart made me want to escape Stockholm at all costs.

Sorry, I have to say sorry again.

I'm sorry to have made a fool of myself for all the people who came to watch the ceremony.

I’m sorry that the Nobel Prize officials have to bear the blame that they shouldn’t have to bear.

I'm sorry that this letter has put you in an awkward situation.

I'm very sorry.

But it is really hard for me to speak up, to attend meetings, and to speak these words to so many people face to face on a big stage. "

Arnault read it with deep affection, not because he wanted to, but because his professional ethics over the past seven or eight years made it impossible for him to break away from his own habits.

And he was indeed moved by José Saramago's letter.

It is hard to imagine how amazing this book "Kafka on the Shore" is that it made José make such a choice on the eve of receiving the award.

Having said that, if there are such writers and works in the world literary world, why am I completely unaware of it?
Could it be a newcomer who emerged in the second half of the year?

No no no, impossible.

So far, only that damned Kitagawa Hide has ever achieved such a horrifying achievement——

With the attitude of a newcomer who had just made his debut, he impressed a large group of old-school writers who had been famous for a long time.

Is there really another "Kitagawa Hide"?
Arnault on the stage had a lot of questions in his mind, but he didn't have time to think too much at the moment because there was still the last part of the letter that he hadn't finished reading.

“.In the end, I would like to end with the words from the preface to Kafka on the Shore.

I believe that everyone who has read it should be deeply touched by those words!

——The most acute and least compromising period in a person’s life is adolescence.

Although I am already twenty-six years old, I am gradually approaching the type of protagonist that I write most often.

But my heart is still growing wildly and firmly.

I am unwilling to surrender to this world, to fate, to the powerful.

He has been slandering me.”

After reading this, Arno's pupils dilated instantly, and he suddenly realized that he seemed to be doing something extremely stupid!

He quickly stopped talking and did not read out the last few paragraphs.

This is really stupid!

At this moment, he finally knew who the author of "Kafka on the Shore" was.

He finally understood what the bad news the maid was talking about!

What a joke!
Arno's hand holding the letter was shaking slightly.

There was dead silence under the big stage.

His wife, Tarina, and everyone at the Arnault Club were silent.

Many people know that "Kafka on the Shore" is a huge hit in the Western world.

They thought Arnault knew it too.

I didn’t expect that the couple didn’t know about it!

The celebrities in the audience were all smart people, and they immediately realized what a big mistake had happened.

I was eating melon, and I didn’t expect that the melon was bigger and sweeter than I imagined!

Even George Severis was stunned.

When he heard the last few words, he, who was very familiar with the preface to "Kafka on the Shore", felt that Arnault would not actually read those things out loud.

He actually studied!

And there was almost no break!

This fun seems a bit too much.

Arnault on the stage could no longer maintain his so-called gentlemanly demeanor and angrily crumpled the letter in his hand into a ball.

After a low murmur in the concert hall, some celebrities who really didn't know what was going on began to ask about the follow-up.

"Why don't you continue reading?"

"This preface sounds very interesting, it has the excitement of a young man."

"Yes, yes, there should be a sequel, why don't you read it?"

"You really don't know what will happen next?"

"what?"

"Young Kafka was written by Mr. Kitagawa!"

"Ah? But I've never heard of such a novel."

“It’s normal that you haven’t heard of it. Because this novel is a masterpiece that he wrote in just four days.

It seems like it was just yesterday that it was officially serialized in many well-known literary magazines.

Oh, and you’re Norwegian.”

"What happened to the Norwegians?"

"Don't you know? Norway, Sweden and some other countries and regions that are close to the Arnault Club have completely blocked Kitagawa Hide's novels.

Especially this book, Kafka on the Shore. Because of the words in the preface, it was directly listed as a banned book by your government and literary circles.

"I see. This is the first time I've heard of these things."

"So what is the rest of the story? Why did this novel make Mr. Jose give up the Nobel Prize for Literature? I really want to read it. I really want to read it right now."

"A sequel to the preface?"

At this moment, Olivia, who looked like a little princess, suddenly stood up.

In her hand, she held a French translation of "Kafka on the Shore", which was a private collection edition specially customized for her by Kawade Shobo.

Because everyone was sitting, even the petite Olivia quickly attracted everyone's attention after she stood up.

Including Arnault, who was already angry and embarrassed on the stage.

Everyone looked at her in confusion, not knowing what she was going to do.

Olivia cleared her throat and opened Kafka on the Shore in her hand.

Although she had memorized the preface by heart, she still held the book and read it word for word in a voice as sweet as a wind chime.

".To the Nobel Prize judges and everyone at the Arnault Club who have been slandering me, this book is a reflection of my feelings and a reflection of my values"

When she read this, she paused deliberately, then turned her head and accurately found Kitagawa Hide in the first row of people.

"hiss--"

The following few sentences exploded like a bombshell in the Stockholm Concert Hall.

Heard of, not heard of, known, unknown.
At this moment, everyone truly felt the youthful spirit that Hideki Kitagawa showed in the preface!
That sharpness he mentioned!

then.

Olivia continued reading.

Reading with her were George Cefils, Ma Yueran, Knut, Aung San Suu Kyi and other world celebrities who had continuously supported Kitagawa Hide.

Their voices were like thunder, resounding again in the concert hall that had just been silent!
“I refuse to admit defeat.

The same goes for readers who are willing to enjoy the novels I write.

I hope that you who are reading these words feel the same way. "

Beside Kitagawa Hide.

Saito Reina's pleasant voice also sounded at the same time.

As she read, she turned to look at Beichuan Xiu's expression, her eyes full of admiration and respect. (End of this chapter)