Literary Master 1983

Chapter 324 The Neruda Case Comes to a Close
It turns out that I was the one who killed humanity.

It turns out, I was the parasite. I stole their land from the sun, leaving them to live in barren land.

Moreover, I do not deserve to be forgiven because I know how “my ancestors” were treated by Native Americans throughout the United States after they were forgiven.

Book critics immediately wrote reviews.

In New York, a female book critic who graduated from Yale University with a degree in literature was so moved after reading the novel that she wrote "The Elephant Leaps Out of His Refrigerator":
“For a long time, Native Americans have been systematically exterminated in the United States, but people act as if it never happened. This race not only makes up a small percentage of the national population, but also has the lowest college enrollment and employment wages in the country; some people complain: How much more subsidies should we give to Native Americans? They are a bunch of unproductive parasites!”

"But we've forgotten why Thanksgiving was established in the first place. It was to thank the Native Americans for welcoming us into this land! And where are they now?"

Yellowstone National Park! The Rocky Mountains! All places with beautiful geological landscapes but unsuitable for human habitation!

“There was a type of pigeon that once roamed the entire North American continent, called the passenger pigeon. This pigeon is very similar to ordinary pigeons, but its breast is bright red, making it look colorful, and its back is grayish with a bluish tinge. The number of passenger pigeons was once enormous, and it was a native species of North America, estimated to be at least 200 million... Hundreds of years ago, when passenger pigeons formed huge flocks and flew over the forests of North America, the flocks blocked out the sunlight, and the ground was shrouded in darkness.”

"Now, there are no more passenger pigeons in the world. The last passenger pigeon died in a zoo in 1914, and all the newspapers and television stations in the United States reported the news. But at the same time, at least 70 to 100 million Native Americans were exterminated across the United States, leaving less than 250,000 people, and no one reported it."

“We have been indifferent to this, you could say we have been mediocre in indulging our own sins. Today, Yu Qie has exposed this old story, he has made the elephant leap out of the refrigerator, and made people see these facts.”

Subsequently, more people wrote reviews analyzing the novel's brilliance.

This includes Jason, the founder of The New York Review of Books (who spearheaded the publication of Lolita in the US), Janice (Pearl Buck's daughter), who has long been interested in Chinese writers, and Albert Zuckerman, a legendary American literary agent (author of The Bestselling Novel Writing Guide)... Many people, but none of them wrote as well as the reviewer of The Elephant Leaps Out of His Refrigerator!
The film crew had become numb.

None of these people are familiar to Chinese people. They may seem like ordinary individuals, but upon inquiry, it turns out they are either Pulitzer Prize winners or capitalists with tens of millions in assets.

Shao Qi, a member of the film crew, keenly felt that this seemed different from what she had seen before regarding the popularity of Chinese people in the United States. For example, Chinese Peking Opera troupes were once warmly welcomed in the United States, but she couldn't describe the difference.

Liu Xiangcheng told her, "Because the welcomes you saw before were just formalities, but this one is real."

"What is considered polite?" Shao Qi asked.

Liu Xiangcheng took a deep breath and said, "Yu Qie is truly delving into this place. His novels are not read by people in China who know his name. For example, the President of the United States, or diplomats, because these people say, 'I am reading Yu Qie's novel,' just like the President of Brazil says, 'I love Chinese football.'"

"You know it's fake."

"Only when the true pillars of society can't help but comment, and the comments are directed entirely at Americans, does that mean he is indeed a world-class writer. Because his work is becoming part of global popular culture, and America is also a part of the world."

Shao Qi suddenly realized what was going on and later requested that introductions be included for those book reviewers in the documentary.

The result surprised her greatly: those people were indeed very influential.

It's as if there's a club of geniuses in the world, so much so that all the talented people know each other.

Janice's mother was Pearl S. Buck, an American white female writer who won the Nobel Prize in Literature for her writing about rural China.

Albert had a physicist working for him who wrote popular science articles; his name was Stephen Hawking. He wasn't very famous for his novels, but he was very influential in the physics community. He proposed the theory of "black holes."

Jason has some connection with Yu Che—Yu Che had previously been furious about Oracle being omitted from the Metro magazine. Jason, on the other hand, is the publisher who spearheaded the cheap book revolution in the United States.

……

Now they all quickly took notice of the book.

Harper showed Yu Qie all the brilliant book reviews, and Yu Qie picked out "The Elephant Leaps Out of His Refrigerator" and asked who this person was.

“Michiko Kakutani, the chief book critic for The New York Times. She’s been following you for a while; she knew about you even when you were still in Japan.”

"Japanese?" Yu Qie was surprised.

How can a Japanese person be the top book reviewer for such a newspaper? And criticize Americans like that?
Harper said, "Michiko Kakutani is very influential in her field. She has a nickname: 'The Judge of Book Reviews.' She speaks very harshly and sternly, so people are honored to be reviewed by her. In the United States, 'being reviewed by Kakutani' is a popular term. She is also a Pulitzer Prize nominee."

"Should I feel honored?" Yu Qie suddenly asked.

"No, you and she are equals... well... maybe even a little taller. Definitely a little taller!"

Harper's tone shifted several times within seconds.

In terms of influence, Yu Qie cannot be compared to Michiko Kaku, who has a major international newspaper as her mouthpiece. However, one is a creator, and the other is a critic... these cannot be compared.

Yu Qie truly didn't know who this Komachiko was. After all, he wasn't an American in his previous life, so it was impossible for him to know these native Americans.

The success of "Metro" finally brought the Neruda case, which was far away in Chile, to a close.

Historically, this case was investigated for two years; it was a massive undertaking. An international research team and a local forensic team conducted the investigation. First, a certain pathogen was found in Neruda's body. Then, to determine if Neruda himself carried this pathogen, they went to Paris, France, for further investigation, since Neruda had served as Chile's ambassador to France for a period (a typical Latin American diplomatic selection mechanism)...

Then, the medical records in France couldn't be found either.

All of this was too coincidental. The forensic experts found nothing, and after two years of investigation, they finally forced the Chilean government to admit that the possibility of an unnatural death was highly likely.

That completes 99% of the task.

It took another six years for the remaining one percent to finally produce a definitive report: the probability that Neruda was poisoned was one hundred percent.

Now there are even more coincidences, because Chile sent agents to hunt down Yu Che. So when the forensic examiner discovered that his French medical records had also disappeared, the Chilean government hastily admitted it:

Yes, we have done those things.

There is a small group of very bad extremists who did this, and it has nothing to do with the government; we were completely unaware of it.

Since the failed assassination attempt on Yuche, the Chilean government has been using delaying tactics, finding itself in a dilemma.

On the one hand, Yu Qie hid near Boston University.

Are you going to kill him? Do you think Chileans are going to commit a shooting at an American university?

It must be understood that they were themselves supported by the Americans, and creating such an incident would hasten the downfall of the government. On the other hand, the investigation is getting closer and closer to the truth. Yu Qie's "The Death of Neruda" is as if he saw everything; the forensic team followed his account and quickly obtained the test results.

The Chilean government can only wait; they are waiting for the day when Yuche loses its influence.

Like the defector writer Gu Hua, he was waiting for Yu Qie to lose his influence so that his career could still turn around. However, Yu Qie stayed there and wouldn't leave unless he was satisfied.

Moreover, his influence is growing.

Not long after "2666" won the National Book Critics Circle Award, "Metro" has generated a much greater response than "2666." This book is easy to understand yet profound, and is Yu Qie's latest representative work in the Western world.

And it's even part of a series?
Am I going to be repeatedly whipped on the spot?

Admit it, we already have so many problems, one more won't make a difference.

None of us will have a good ending; let's just hold on for as long as we can.

Several people were sent to act as scapegoats, the most important of whom was Chile's second-in-command. He resigned because of this, and the whole of Chile was in an uproar.

Our country's great writer Pablo Neruda was actually poisoned to death!

What Yu Qie said is true!
The entire Latin American literary world erupted like a volcano, with everyone writing articles denouncing the Chilean government and praising Yuche's keen observation. Then, they paid tribute to the writer Neruda. When Márquez heard about this, he cried for days, feeling as if his life had been a lie.
"In the end, I did nothing."

"As Márquez said."

The massacre occurred not because he discovered the address, but because he was led there.

His good friend was poisoned to death, and he thought he had died of cancer.

He didn't understand women either. While Márquez was indeed a serial cheater, he was also dumped many times.

Some of the reasons are simply absurd.

He didn't act arrogant or domineering towards women at all.

“I’m not like you. You were exceptionally talented from the start, and you quickly became number one in every field you entered. Compared to you, I’m a failure.”

Marquez broke down in tears on the phone, recalling his experiences in his youth:

“When I was your age, I went to Paris to study. I met a generous woman who was so beautiful that I had an affair with her... But we broke up quickly because she advised me to change careers. She thought I could never succeed as a novelist.”

Yu Qie couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"After I won the Nobel Prize for 'One Hundred Years of Solitude,' Columbia Television interviewed passersby and happened to meet a prostitute. She said she heard about my award from a client and was proud of me. I considered it the greatest compliment of my life! But I never tried to do anything for my readers!"

"If it were you, what would you do?"

Yu said, "I will make sure there are no more prostitutes in this country and that all human traffickers are shot."

"That's it! That's exactly what I'm saying!" Márquez exclaimed excitedly. "That's you!"

Despite the imposing portrait of him in the Márquez Museum, Márquez felt that he had never been a man for a single day.

why?

Previously, Márquez was somewhat satisfied with himself, but now that Yu Qie's experiences have raised people's expectations for the writer's stories, Márquez has also begun to feel dissatisfied with himself.

Do I have that much influence?
But what exactly did I do?!
Carmen bought mobile phones for every writer under her wing. A frustrated Márquez dialed Yuche's number and had a long talk with him.

He said, "Looking back today, I've accomplished nothing. Winning the Nobel Prize is indeed a curse. I haven't had a good day since."

What can Yu Qie do?
We can only offer some consolation to Márquez.

No one is perfect, and Márquez has already done a great job.

That month, Márquez flew from Colombia to the United States. Sensing that Yu Qie would soon be leaving the United States, he hurried to him to discuss his novel writing.

Upon arriving in Boston, he went straight to Yuche's place, knocked on the door, and said, "I want to write a novel about the Latin American war of independence, involving Simón Bolívar, the founder of Gran Colombia."

Simón Bolívar?

The Colombian who plans to unify Central America and even parts of South America?

Yu Qie remembered this novel: "The General in the Labyrinth".

This is a representative work from the later period of Márquez's career. Here, Márquez abandoned his fancy magical realism writing style and instead wrote something that resembled a documentary novel.

He spent a great deal of time investigating and creating the image of a liberator. Through his depiction of Bolívar, he expressed his regret over the eventual demise of Gran Colombia and praised the Latin American wars of independence.

“You can write novels like this, and you will write them very well. In China, some people think you have betrayed your own nation, but I know you haven’t. It’s just that ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’ is too famous. I wish you can write this book even better.”

"Your blessing is effective; everything you say will come true." After saying this, Márquez stayed for a while longer before leaving.

The film crew is still here, and this time it's finally Shao Qi's turn to shine.

Because Yu Qie had previously defined "magical realism" in China, he considered it a Western term. To emphasize the real tragedy occurring in Latin America, he coined the term "Latin American realism."

But that wasn't enough. The popularity of magical realism prompted many domestic writers to imitate it.

The conversation between Yuche and Márquez shows that Márquez was not a "traitor" to Colombia. He actually loved his homeland.

Shao Qi immediately wrote an article and sent it back to China, recording the conversation between Yu Qie and Márquez, which was sure to generate a response.

(End of this chapter)