I am a literary giant in Japan

"hiss--"

Machimura Nobutaka took a deep breath.

I'm coming.

Mr. Beichuan’s signature writing style and the familiar flavor of "No Longer Human" are here.

After reading the introduction and preface, Machimura Nobutaka felt a chill down his spine and a sense of fear that made him not know where to put his hands.

The preface and introduction to "1Q84" fully express Mr. Kitagawa's attitude and views on the "Tokyo Subway Sarin Gas Incident."

In this part, he presents the victims and perpetrators he recently interviewed to readers in their original form.

"In a sense, this can also be considered an interview-style documentary writing, right?"

Machimura Nobutaka muttered to himself while holding the manuscript paper.

He had seen Nagai Kazufu on TV these days promoting this rare writing technique.

After all this talk, it is nothing more than that this kind of writing style is extremely difficult and requires huge investment. It is more common in the relatively mature Western literary world, but rare in the backward Japanese literary world.

Nagai Kazukaze considers himself to be the "first person to try something new" and the "master" of this type of writing in Japanese literary circles.

As a politician, Nagai Kazukaze didn't care whether what he said was true or false. He would just put a question mark on it and wait for data feedback.

But now Teacher Kitagawa directly brought a sample over.

While reading "1Q84", he could clearly feel the impact that the "interview-style documentary" writing style brought to him.

The high-ranking Machimura Nobutaka seemed to be able to see through the manuscript that the victims had become numb.

They have lost interest in life and are living like zombies.

Eat, drink, sleep, work, complain.

This miserable life keeps repeating itself over and over again, and you can see the end at a glance. There is no hope at all.

However, the perpetrators sit in the special care room of the prison as if nothing had happened, with food and drink, and they can live easily just by recalling their past lives every day.

Just as Mr. Kitagawa wrote in the first case.

The victims were clearly the victims of the incident, but they had to endure a lot of "secondary disasters".

Being disabled due to sarin gas and unable to work normally, not only will they not receive tolerance from society and people around them, but they will also be "looked at differently" by them.

The perpetrator was clearly at fault, but he was not blamed and received no substantial punishment.

Teacher Beichuan doesn't think that arresting them and locking them up together constitutes punishment.

If this can eliminate their sins, Mr. Kitagawa made a radical suggestion: "Why not lock up all the victims who can't survive?

At least in this way, they no longer have to face such a bad social environment, and they don’t have to make a lot of efforts to have a hot meal. "

Every word is heartbreaking.

"Alas, I haven't even started reading this novel yet, but my mood has become so heavy."

For the first time, Machimura Nobutaka was a little hesitant to continue reading Mr. Kitagawa's manuscript.

I don’t know what a cruel story “1Q84” will be.

Chapter 1 of "84Q": Aomame Don't be fooled by appearances.

"The taxi's radio was playing a classical music program on FM radio. The music was a symphony called "SINFONIETTA" composed by Janacek.

It's hard to say whether this kind of music is appropriate to listen to while in a taxi stuck in a traffic jam.

The driver didn't seem particularly interested in the music.

The middle-aged driver, like an experienced fisherman standing at the bow of a boat observing the ominous tides and waves, could only stare at the endless line of cars in front of him with silence.

Aomame leaned back in the back seat, closed her eyes and listened to the music.

The name of this heroine is so strange.

Nobutaka Machimura plucked up the courage to watch it and was shocked to find that "1Q84" was not as cruel as he had imagined.

At the beginning of the novel, the familiar "Beichuan Xiufeng" blew in his face, making him feel comfortable instantly.

Almost everyone who likes Kitagawa's novels truly loves the strong "Kitagawa Hideshi style".

Since "Norwegian Wood", only the recent "Kafka on the Shore" has that intoxicating flavor again.

Unfortunately, "Kafka on the Shore" is more like a novel that fills Western literary content with a Japanese background, and it seems to have been created to open up more overseas markets.

Of course, this is not to say that Kafka on the Shore is bad.

It's just that compared to novels that are the favorites of Japanese readers, such as "Norwegian Wood", it is a little bit inferior.

The sales of "Kafka on the Shore" in Japan also proves this point.

Before this, Nobutaka Machimura was worried that Hideo Kitagawa would continue the style of "Kafka on the Shore" to write "1Q84".

Now it seems that my worries were completely unnecessary.

"Mr. Kitagawa really understands the readers' minds."

After returning to the familiar "Kitagawa Hidefu", Machimura Nobutaka's previous depressed mood was immediately swept away.

"1Q84" introduced the plot in a way that was most comfortable for fans of Kitagawa Hideo's book, and soon made Machimura Nobutaka addicted to it.

The name of the heroine is Aomame, which is too difficult and strange to pronounce.

Green beans are written as "qingdou" and pronounced as "qingdou", which is often mistakenly read as "edamame" or "broad bean".

Aomame's life was filled with scenes of people apologizing with a wry smile after pronouncing her name incorrectly.

Afterwards, they would pretend to be surprised and say, "Oh, what a strange surname."

In fact, if they are not face to face, the other party will most likely joke and complain about her name with her best friends.

“I felt like a lone castaway thrown into the ocean alone.

If I had not been born with this last name, my life might not be like this. For example, if I had a common last name like Sato, Tanaka, or Suzuki, I might have been able to live a more relaxed life and look at the world with a more tolerant eye. "

Reading Aomame's inner monologue, Machimura Nobutaka could understand her thoughts and predicament very well.

Because the same is true for Nobutaka Machimura, who grew up in the Machimura family.

"So you are the only son of the Machimura family."

"The Machimura family has been in Hokkaido for such a long time, they must have accumulated a lot of wealth and connections."

"The young master of the Machimura family, hehe, is indeed someone who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth."

Before coming to Tokyo to work, Machimura Nobutaka, like Aomame, was looked at strangely by countless people because he was the only son of the Machimura family.

In the eyes of outsiders, he is the prince, a lucky man born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and a man destined to inherit the Machimura family.

Because of this, from childhood to adulthood, until he entered the government, Machimura Nobutaka could never get rid of the Machimura family halo above his head. He did not want to be dominated by this surname for his whole life.

Therefore, when faced with the final choice, he resolutely gave up the more promising Ministry of Finance, gave up the path that his parents had paved for a long time, and plunged into the Ministry of Education.

If he had not done better and better in the Ministry of Education and had not become the Minister of Education by relying on Ryutaro Hashimoto, he would probably have been considered a sinner and traitor to the family!

"If you can't keep your position, you won't be worthy of entering the family ancestral hall and being supported by your descendants after you die!"

His father told him this before he died.

From then on, the position of Minister of Education became Machimura Nobutaka's obsession.

《Chapter 2: Tengo’s Different Idea》

"This is a typical double-line narrative structure of Hideka Kitagawa. As expected, Mr. Kitagawa's writing skills have long been honed to perfection. It feels so comfortable to read."

After reading the opening of the "Aomame Arc", Nobutaka Machimura found that the second chapter directly switched to the perspective of the male protagonist Tengo, but the switching method was very smooth and did not make people feel uncomfortable at all.

Starting with "The End of the World and Hard-Boiled Wonderland", Mr. Kitagawa gradually introduced the multi-line narrative writing style into the Japanese literary world, and continued to improve it in one work after another.

Today, this writing style has become one of Mr. Beichuan's unique styles, and is also being madly borrowed by other authors.

After seeing Mr. Kitagawa use what he was good at in "1Q84" again and again, Machimura Nobutaka's anxious heart was finally settled.

He was afraid that Mr. Beichuan would make some innovations in this new book which was supposed to represent the "official attitude".

"Tengo's earliest memory is when he was one and a half years old.

His mother took off her shirt, untied the straps of her long white petticoat, and let the man who was not his father suck her cherry.

There was a baby lying in the crib, probably Tengo, and he looked at himself as if he were a third person.

What exactly did it mean when a man who was not my father sucked my mother's cherry? I was only one and a half years old at the time and I had no idea what it meant. "

As he read on, Machimura Nobutaka's heart, which had just been at ease, became anxious again for some unknown reason.

The heroine is given a strange surname and always has to endure the contempt and jokes of people around her.

The male protagonist suffered memory trauma in his infancy, so much so that long after he became an adult, he would always flash back to that afternoon and see that vivid scene.

This flawed design of the male and female protagonists, combined with the Aum Shinrikyo cult and the "Tokyo Subway Sarin Gas Incident" mentioned in the novel, as well as the short stories written in the opening preface, always makes Machimura Nobutaka feel uneasy.

Teacher Kitagawa seems to be laying the groundwork with delicate brushstrokes, and then preparing to use a terrifying big move?

This is what Machimura Nobutaka's intuition told him.

Unable to figure out Mr. Kitagawa's intention for the time being, he could only continue reading.

The opening story of the Tengo Arc is much longer and more realistic than that of the Aomame Arc.

This is in line with Mr. Beichuan's consistent style of combining the real and the imaginary.

Aomame's story is like a dream, which gives people a sense of curiosity and expectation;
Tengo's stories are rooted in the real world and are filled with things that readers can see and touch.

Tengo is a young author who has submitted his works many times and almost won the Newcomer Award from Wen Yi Magazine and made his debut.

Although he has not been successful yet, he was noticed by editor Xiaosong and became a "tool man" to help Xiaosong review manuscripts.

Although he has not officially become a debut writer, he has already reviewed the manuscripts of other new writers like a judge and teacher.

This kind of black joke in the publishing industry is hilarious and also makes readers realize that the Japanese literary world is not clean either.

At least compared with the era of Ichiro Tanizaki, the vested interests in the era of Hide Kitagawa are still as corrupt as ever.

".All I want to do is fool the literary world.

They gathered in a dark cave, ready to make some moves. They praised and flattered each other, licked each other's wounds, talked nonsense, and sang the praises of the mission of literature. They were a group of stubborn but helpless guys. I wanted to laugh at them heartily.

Don't you think it's fun to get behind the system and make a fool of themselves?"

Komatsu told Tengo what he wanted to do.

To revise the manuscript "Air Chrysalis" by an unqualified new female writer into an award-winning manuscript, and a manuscript of the level that can win the Akutagawa Prize.

After doing all this, when the novel won the award and the news was broadcast on TV, and everyone was cheering, he suddenly rushed out and poured a basin of cold water on everyone, grinning and telling everyone: "Is the novel good? Is it worthy of the award? It was clearly written by me, the editor!
What? You guys can praise the works written by new writers, but what I wrote is just a bunch of shit? "

Tengo did not feel very happy about such thoughts and actions.

Because he has never seen the literary world.

And when he learned that a man as capable as Komatsu would attempt to walk the tightrope due to childish motives, he was speechless for a moment.

Komatsu's outrageous remarks left Machimura Nobutaka speechless for a moment.

"Mr. Kitagawa really loves to satirize the Japanese literary world." Machimura Nobutaka knew that "1Q84" also carried a mission -

As the top book of "Wenyi", it competes with "Flowers of Hell" by Nagai Kazufu.

But only Mr. Kitagawa, the number one figure in today's literary world, would dare to blatantly include his own personal opinions in a novel.

"This is really crazy." Machimura Nobutaka couldn't help but talk to himself after reading the first chapter of "Tengo Chapter".

北川老师这次寄来的《1Q84》依旧不是完整版，而是仅有24章的《BOOK1（4月-6月）》。

After reading all 24 chapters in one breath, Machimura Nobutaka looked up again and found that the sky had unknowingly become dark.

"If this novel were to be serialized like this, it might have a completely unexpected and horrific effect."

This is what Nobutaka Machimura said about "1Q84" after watching the film.

From the perspective of a pure reader, based on these 24 chapters alone, he can conclude that this is another top-notch work worthy of being enshrined in the Japanese literary world.

It is in no way inferior to "The Dancing Girl of Izu", "Norwegian Wood" and "No Longer Human".

But as the Minister of Education, he did not dare to present it to readers in its entirety.

It contains too much about the dark side of society and politics, the truth behind Aum Shinrikyo, and those cruel realities.

The characters of Aomame and Tengo are very interesting.

Aomame has a dual personality of good and evil. On the one hand, she helps all living beings in reality to gain a healthy mind, body and physique. On the other hand, she defies the constraints of the law and ruthlessly deprives others of their lives.

On the one hand, Tengo is cautious and prudent, and on the other hand, he is unrestrained and free. He is honest and kind to others, but incompetent, greedy and selfish at home. Beauty and ugliness are perfectly balanced in him.

These are all very interesting points. When combined with the historical event of the "Tokyo Subway Sarin Gas Incident", there is a strange beauty that is a mixture of fantasy and reality.

The problem is that the core of the novel is to denounce the government's incompetence and accuse the cult of persecuting the people. Every word between the lines shows Mr. Beichuan's original words:
"I cannot accept that the remnants of the Tokyo Subway Sarin Gas Attack are not being sentenced to death."

Is this something that can be shown to the public at this stage?

But once this novel is published, it will become a hit and will eliminate people's fear of the subway.

From a strategic perspective, it is the best way to prevent the consortium from using trams to plunder the wealth of public transportation.

"Please connect me to the Prime Minister's residence."

After much deliberation, Machimura Nobutaka decided to report to Obuchi Keizo first. (End of this chapter)