Chapter 32: Oshima Hikaru's New Work is Publicly Executed
Chapter 32: Oshima Hikaru's New Work is Publicly Executed
On the way back to the University of Tokyo, the two of them read the serialized part of Oshima Hikaru's new work "Tokyo Memories in 1973" side by side.
This time, Kodansha really spent a lot of money to promote Oshima Hikaru's new work after half a year's absence.
Half of the content of the entire book "Group Portrait" is related to this novel, and the famous writer Shintaro Ishihara, a permanent judge of the Akutagawa Prize, was specially invited to write a preface for it.
The first issue of the series contains approximately 2 words, which is twice as much as an ordinary serialized novel.
The two of them read it in one breath with great interest.
As the subway entered the tunnel, the pure white LED signal lights on both sides flashed continuously, reflecting their beautiful faces on the windows.
One is pure and cute, the other is cold and charming.
They looked at each other, and after watching it, they didn't know how to evaluate Oshima Hikaru's new work.
"Uh, not bad?" Jabami Rei tilted her head to look at Yumeko.
Mengzi frowned slightly and carefully looked around to see if there were people who were also reading "Gunzo". After confirming, she whispered, "I don't think it's as good as the previous books written by Mr. Oshima."
"Shh - stupid Yumeko!" Jaburi Rei used two fingers to pinch Yumeko's upper and lower lips with lightning speed, turning her mouth into a "duck mouth" shape, and then whispered a warning, "Be careful of Mr. Oshima's fanatical fans nearby!"
The fanatical book fans she was talking about are different from loyal readers like them.
Those people like to regard pure literary works as a source of spiritual sustenance for themselves, worship their favorite writers as gods, and their admiration for writers has reached a somewhat pathological level.
A few months ago, a fanatical fan of a certain writer stabbed someone to death with a knife after getting off the subway because the person made disparaging remarks about his "god".
After being arrested, this fanatical book fan not only did not repent, but also loudly said that the other party deserved to die and that he would do the same thing if it happened a hundred times.
Jabami Rei doesn't want to offend Oshima Hikaru's fanatical fans.
Mengzi shut up tactfully, but this was indeed her intuitive feeling.
She has been a fan of Oshima Hikaru's books since he made his debut in 1989. Over the past six years, she has read all of Oshima Hikaru's books over and over again.
Even though she was in financial difficulty due to paying off her debt to Kitagawa Hide, she did not miss any of Oshima Hikaru's published books.
So she felt she had a say in the book.
"Let's wait until we meet Professor Takeuchi and hear his evaluation of this novel. I believe in Professor Takeuchi's judgment." Jabami Rei actually had some doubts in her heart.
Honestly speaking, the pre-promotion work for "Memories of Tokyo in 1973" was so grand and the momentum was so huge. It was also Oshima Hikaru's comeback work after half a year, which gave her too much expectation for her work.
But the results seem to be a bit inconsistent with expectations.
It was like the filter in my mind suddenly shattered, revealing the naked side.
After getting off the subway, the two hurried to the main building of the Faculty of Literature Building No. 20, holding 1 copies of "Gun Portrait". Along the way, they attracted countless attention because of their bunny girl outfits and pure literature magazines.
Mengzi lowered her head even more. She always felt that the white miniskirt under her could not cover her buttocks, which made her feel uncomfortable.
But when she was changing clothes yesterday, Li-chan said that all the men must love her innocent look, which made her shyly think of sneaking back home wearing this outfit to see Kitagawa Hide's reaction.
While she was daydreaming, she followed Jabami Rei and finally arrived at Takeuchi Osamu's office.
After knocking on the door, they got a response and tiptoed in.
The two were dumbfounded as soon as they entered the door.
I didn’t expect that such a small office would be filled with big names in the literary world.
Even though Jabami Rei, who is usually cool and aloof, turns from a cold goddess into a well-behaved little rabbit when facing a bunch of respected, old-fashioned and serious literary giants.
With a blushing face, she and Mengzi put away "Group Portrait", then stood aside obediently, lowering her head and not daring to look at them.
"Haha, Aji, are they the literature students you most admire this year? They are both pretty cute.
Is this a bunny costume? It’s so trendy, it’s great to be young.”
The old lady named Keiko Kimura looked at them with a smile and said kindly.
She was also one of the literary giants who was invited by Kodansha to serve as a special judge for the Group Portrait Newcomer Award. She is currently a permanent member of the Japan Literary Society, executive director of Kawaide Shobo Shinsha, and specially appointed professor of literature at Waseda University.
Her most famous achievement is that she won the Group Portrait Newcomer Award and the Akutagawa Prize in 1968 for her debut work "Three Crabs".
"Professor Kimura, cough cough cough, the kids are here, please don't call me like that." Takeuchi Osamu's face turned red. He glared at Jabami Rei and then distributed "Gunzo" to other giants. "Anyway, let's take a look at Oshima Hikaru's new work first."
A group of old men and women glanced at Keiko Kimura and Osamu Takeuchi, smiled gently, picked up the brand new "Gunzo" and started reading.
Jabami Rei was most afraid of such gatherings where literary bigwigs gathered. She was thinking of secretly taking Yumeko away with her, but was stopped by Takeuchi Osamu and forced to act as a maid serving tea and water.
"Everyone, if you have any needs, just tell the two kids. You're welcome. They're young people, they should exercise more now." Takeuchi Osamu raised his eyes and glared at Jabami Rei again, as if to say, "Why are you embarrassing me again, girl!"
This glare frightened Jabami Rei so much that her legs went weak and she quickly followed Mengzi and started working.
"Haha, then we won't be polite." The old men and women laughed again.
After the laughter, the office became extremely quiet, with only the sound of flipping pages.
Oshima Hikaru's novel was only 20,000 words long, and even if they chewed it carefully, everyone finished reading it after half an hour. "Snap!" Takeuchi Osamu closed the "Gunzou", still with the same sullen face.
"Jabaka-san, Agatsuma-san, you have also read this novel, right?" Without waiting for the other giants to speak, he asked the two of them first.
"Ah, I've seen it." Jabami Rei was suddenly startled and looked at Takeuchi Osamu. Could it be that this stubborn old man wanted to test her at this time?
While silently praying "no" in her heart, Jabami Rei quietly retreated behind Yumeko.
"Why are you running? Tell me what you think." Takeuchi Osamu interrupted her little action with just one sentence.
"Aji is still as strict as ever with his favorite student." Kimura Keiko chuckled and looked at Jabami Rei, "Don't be afraid, kid, just tell me what you think."
"Yes!" Jaburi stood up straight immediately, rubbing the fuzzy little tail behind her butt with her hands, and said mechanically,
"I think Mr. Oshima's novel is still above his standard. The novel is about Tokyo in 1973. The sense of the times that comes from the beginning reminds me of the 1984 American movie "Once Upon a Time in America".
The film is based on David Arison’s autobiographical novel, “Rogue.”
"Okay, okay, are you just reciting some bullshit literary reviews? Stop it. Go back home tonight and rewrite a long review of more than 1000 words for me. Give it to me tomorrow."
Takeuchi Osamu interrupted her impatiently, and glared at his beloved disciple fiercely. Then his expression softened a little and he looked at Agatsuma Yumeko.
"My wife, what do you think?"
My wife Yumeko is in a trance.
After she came here, she kept thinking about a question.
Why do I feel so strongly that Mr. Oshima's new work is not well written?
And after Jabami Rei said those words, she finally understood!
A breath of modern times!
Isn’t this one of the highlights of Xiujun’s “Pinball in 1973”?
Only then did she realize that they had coincidentally chosen the same era as the background for their new novel.
Having read the manuscript of "Pinball in 1973", she had already had her pleasure threshold raised by Kitagawa Hide's novels. Her mind was filled with his description of Tokyo, Japan in 1973 and that dreamy yet real feeling.
In comparison, "Once Upon a Time in Tokyo 1973" is too superficial and ordinary.
No wonder I had such a big disagreement with Li-chan when we reviewed the novel for the first time.
Indeed, this novel has actually reached Oshima Hikaru's consistent standard. Even if she has not read "Pinball in 1973", she would also think it is a quasi-excellent work.
But after seeing better things, Mengzi found eating meal replacements a bit boring.
"Child, are you scared by your old professor?" Seeing that she didn't respond, Keiko Kimura asked worriedly.
Since he was young, Takeuchi Osamu's violent temper has been well-known far and wide, and his old friends sometimes can't stand the harsh tone of his voice.
This little girl in a white bunny costume looks more introverted and timid than the other one. Could she be really scared?
Mengzi came back to her senses and quickly bowed 90 degrees to apologize, then said softly and weakly: "I'm sorry, teachers, I was rude just now! I think Mr. Oshima's new work is above the passing line, but there are quite a few problems."
"Oh? Tell me in detail." Takeuchi Osamu nodded slightly, his tone much better.
Seeing that his attitude towards Yumeko was completely different, Jabami Rei on the side was so angry that her teeth were itching.
"I think Mr. Oshima wrote this novel in a hurry. It can be seen from the beginning that he was in a hurry to publish it without carefully polishing it." Mengzi didn't dare to look them in the eye, but she still mustered up the courage to express her most honest opinion in the field she liked.
"Also, I think the real sense of the times should be expressed with more delicate words and a combination of reality and fiction while adhering to the theme of the plot, rather than just using some empty descriptions and scenery, which would make people feel empty."
"Hmm" Takeuchi Osamu, Kimura Keiko and others fell into deep thought at the same time.
In fact, Agatsuma Yumeko's words also have the flavor of a literary critic writing a book review, but unlike Jabami Rei, she accurately pointed out the problems in Oshima Hikaru's novel and also proposed methods to modify and improve it!
This is truly remarkable.
Most literary critics only know how to find fault with everything.
What they say may not be correct, and even if it is correct, many people are unable to tell readers how to solve these problems.
But my wife Yumeko's words sounded as if she had read a similar novel, and that one was even better written.
After comparing the two, she was able to accurately identify ways to improve and enhance.
Those present were all true giants in the literary world (Takeuchi Osamu looked down upon the fake ones), some of whom were still publishing novels. Even those who had not written a book for a long time, like Kimura Keiko, still maintained the habit of reading a large number of literary works.
Therefore, they could fully understand the profound meaning behind Agatsuma Yumeko's words.
This basically covers their views on the novel.
"Azhi, you have brought up two good disciples." Keiko Kimura looked at the two of them kindly.
"Ahem." Takeuchi Osamu's face turned red again, and he quickly changed the subject back to Oshima Hikaru's new work. "What my wife said is not bad, and it is generally correct. What do you think of this novel?"
The literary masters expressed their opinions one after another and then began an ecstatic discussion.
Looking at this scene, Jabami Rei, who was standing like a minion, breathed a sigh of relief, as if she had successfully gotten away with it?
As expected, being a love-brained idiot is my lucky star!
She wanted so much that she couldn't wait to pick up Mengzi and kiss her hard on the lips!
But Mengzi had a bitter face, thinking to herself, this shouldn't be considered a spoiler, right?
It won’t affect Xiujun’s new work, right?
Well, when I go back in a few days, I will buy some of his favorite fried squid as an apology!
(End of this chapter)