I am a literary giant in Japan

In order to teach his eldest son a lesson from this incident, and also to help him gain favor within the Democratic Socialist Party, White Dumont decided to entrust the important task of "promoting" Kitagawa Shu to Pete.

Pete knew the significance of this matter and that he needed to rebuild his image in front of his father and the senior members of his party through this task. So he nodded seriously and promised to complete the mission flawlessly.

Meanwhile, after enjoying a delicious candlelight dinner with Olivia, Kitagawa Hide took the little girl for a stroll on Goethe Street, hoping to get some information about the Wertheimer family from her.

The Chanel Group has experienced rapid growth in recent years, especially after the turn of the millennium. With the emergence of the internet economy and online shopping, the Chanel Group has enjoyed a second spring in the global market, becoming an indispensable presence among top luxury brands.

These leading global companies wield significant influence in the Western world. Even if the entertainment industry isn't their primary focus, a mere flick of their finger is enough to make way for top news corporations.

If "July 22" suffers severe setbacks in the Western literary market, Kitagawa Hide, who only has connections with the Autry family in the United States, will really have a hard time handling the situation.

If the Chanel Group is willing to lend a hand, then everything will be much easier.

The exceptionally intelligent Olivia quickly realized that Kitagawa's new book might anger a large number of white aristocrats.

The publication and distribution of that novel would be severely hampered.

He seemed to be subtly inquiring about the direction of the Chanel Group, hoping to find a leading trust in the Western business world to help him manage the Western literary market.

Olivia smiled sweetly, and immediately wove a perfect plan in her mind.

She absolutely will not allow Kitagawa's new book, which challenges the Norwegian Democratic Socialist Party, to run into obstacles everywhere!
After discussing these miscellaneous matters, Kitagawa Hide steered the conversation back to a promise he had made to Olivia when they first met.

When they first met in France, the girl was still a willful and spoiled princess. Even after learning that Kitagawa Hide had a girlfriend, she took the initiative to confess her feelings and hoped to become his lover!
The fifteen or sixteen-year-old Olivia left a deep impression on Hideki Kitagawa, indirectly contributing to the creation of "In Search of Lost Time".

However, Miss Hilbert Swann, who is based on Olivia, has a small role in "In Search of Lost Time" and is not entirely described according to her personality.

Hideki Kitagawa once promised to create a work tailored for Olivia, so that the whole world could truly get to know this little witch from the Wertheimer family.

After much deliberation and an in-depth conversation with the adult Olivia, a popular novel that perfectly suited Olivia's needs came to Kitagawa Hide's mind.

On September 15, 1955, Vladimir Nabokov's most famous work, "Lolita," was published and widely distributed by Olympic Publishing House in Paris, France.

This novel was initially banned in the United States and was once listed as an "absolutely forbidden book" by the titans of American literature. It was regarded as a monstrous and unclean book by many self-proclaimed high-minded literary figures.

But no matter how much the American literary world denigrates this work, and how much other countries' literary circles avoid discussing "Lolita," the French still love it to death.

Lolita sold nearly a million copies in less than a month after its publication in France, and topped various bestseller lists throughout the year!
In order to buy the original books from the Paris-based Olympic Publishing House, many French people traveled from all over the country to Paris overnight, queuing until dawn, just to be the first to open the bookstore and snap up the original books that the publisher promised to print only 150 million copies!
The forbidden love and bold, explicit depictions of desire in "Lolita" really resonated with the French.

They considered themselves romantics and regarded love as the most important thing in life. The tragic love story of "Lolita" perfectly matched all the feelings they wanted.

After the novel "Lolita" became a huge hit in France, publishers in dozens of other countries risked being criticized by their domestic literary circles to buy its overseas publishing rights.

The results are obvious.

Every publisher that published "Lolita," regardless of the country or literary market, made a fortune in the 50s, becoming like ships sailing against the current during a literary winter.

Three years later, thanks to the tireless efforts of many parties, the U.S. authorities lifted restrictions on Lolita.

In 1958, Time Press finally published Lolita, and in the month of its publication, Lolita soared to the top of The New York Times bestseller list!
This novel pioneered the "Lolita" element and the "Lolita" style, which have influenced subsequent generations. Even after 2020, these elements remain a top trend in the literary market and an enduring highlight.

Even more outrageous, 42 years after the novel was first published, in 1997, Lionsgate in the United States and AMLF in France co-produced a film of the same name.

Due to content issues, the film version of "Lolita" could only premiere in Italy and was only shown in a limited number of theaters during certain periods.

Even so, Lolita still grossed tens of millions of dollars at the Italian box office and won countless awards at various film festivals.

Nearly 70 years later, in 2024, the year Kitagawa Hide traveled from, "Lolita" remains a top-tier film that achieved both box office and critical success.

Its original novel has been reprinted many times and has become an indispensable work of popular literature in the history of American literature.

Kitagawa Hide initially wanted to use "Léon: The Professional," since the cold-blooded killer Léon and the little girl Mathilda in the movie are deeply rooted in people's hearts and are a classic screen couple that ranks among the top in the history of world cinema.

However, this film only has Luc Besson's screenplay and no original novel, so its influence on later generations is not as profound as that of "Lolita".

Hideaki Kitagawa had already used similar plagiarism techniques in his films and books like "The Villainess" and "Children in the Dark."

Compared to film and television adaptations based on original works, this kind of work created out of thin air puts Kitagawa Hide's personal writing ability to the test, and also tests the market acceptance of this parallel world.

Overall, given that there's a better option like "Lolita," there's no need for him to choose "Léon: The Professional" as a substitute.

However, Luc Besson's masterpiece, which grossed over $2000 million worldwide, is still worth copying; perhaps I could hand it over to one of my students to write about in the future.

"Really?! Kitagawa-nii, you won't lie to me this time, right?" Olivia's eyes lit up, and she became excited instantly.

Although she had been stood up by Kitagawa Hide since she was fifteen or sixteen, until she was twenty, she still looked forward to and believed him every time Kitagawa Hide mentioned it.

"Of course it's true. When have I ever lied to you?" Kitagawa Hide replied without batting an eye.

To completely reassure the little girl who was starting to suffer from the aftereffects of "crying wolf," Kitagawa Hide simply told her the general plot of "Lolita."

Anyway, this novel isn't as sensitive as "July 22nd," and it was originally a birthday gift he wrote for his little girl, so it's okay to tell her.

Olivia was very interested, but this time she decisively stopped Kitagawa Hide, not wanting him to give away too many spoilers, which would make her less surprised when she saw the physical book.

Hearing that Kitagawa Hide already had a detailed concept and setting, she knew that the novel could be written at any time.

Kitagawa specifically brought up "Lolita" to reassure himself, to show that he wouldn't stand him up this time.

Olivia felt that it was enough for her to be certain of this.

After discussing *Lolita*, dusk fell, and the streets of Stockholm were no longer peaceful. Suspicious men and women, shrouded in long black robes, began to appear in the alleys. In this remote little country, the crime rate is actually higher than in developing and underdeveloped countries. And because most of its citizens are well-off and have plenty of free time to commit crimes, many are mentally unstable and might suddenly do bizarre things.

The large number of idle, liberal leftists in Norway and Sweden is also a result of their unique national systems and atmosphere.

Kitagawa Hide didn't dare to wander around Stockholm under the cover of night with the young and beautiful Olivia, so he hailed a taxi and had it take him and the girl back to the five-star hotel arranged by the Faculty of Arts.

Olivia had seen all sorts of messy things in France—the French weren't exactly known for their sharp minds, and many were into drugs and crime—so she wasn't afraid.

She wanted to stroll around with Kitagawa Hide a little longer, but Kitagawa insisted on taking her back to the hotel.

As she watched the various night scenes rushing past the car window and becoming reflections, the usually lively Olivia suddenly became quiet.

When will I see Kitagawa-nii again?

She stroked the cold car window and couldn't help but feel melancholy.

The next morning.

Hideaki Kitagawa went back to the Swedish Academy alone and had a brief exchange with the lifetime judges of the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Knut and others were very optimistic about "Childhood," believing it to be a masterpiece that was destined to be made.

The only thing that worries these elderly people is that Alyosha's autobiographical trilogy consists of three parts, with the later works, "My Apprenticeship" and "My Universities," still in their infancy. They are unsure whether Kitagawa Hide can maintain the extremely high quality of "Childhood."

Many famous works have suffered from poor reviews for their sequels, causing the original works to plummet in literary and historical status, ultimately leaving them in an awkward position of being neither here nor there.

If it weren't for the Nobel Prize in Literature next year, they wouldn't be so worried about the last two parts of Alyosha's autobiographical trilogy.

But now their fates are intertwined. What should they do if Kitagawa Hide suddenly does something big?
Kitagawa Hide understood the concerns of these elderly people, so he briefly recounted his experiences of collecting folk songs in Nizhny Novgorod and Kazan.

He couldn't spoil "My Apprenticeship" and "My Universities," but he could let these literary giants understand his creative ability and determination.

Hearing that Kitagawa Hide had meticulously designed the plot and details of the two works, the group of elderly people at the Swedish Academy were immediately relieved.

At the end of the brief exchange, Sher, as the chairman of the judging panel, still brought up the matter of the open class with some concern.

The left-wing forces are a significant force that cannot be ignored in Sweden and Norway.

Moreover, these people are closely related to powerful families in countries like the United States, and many of them even control a significant amount of discourse and resources in various sectors.

If he offends this group, Sher believes Kitagawa Hide should also consider whether it will affect the subsequent release of Alyosha's autobiographical trilogy.

If a work fails to achieve groundbreaking critical acclaim, then these lifetime judges cannot easily take sides and force Kitagawa Hide's name onto the Nobel Prize in Literature trophy.

Shel was implying, intentionally or unintentionally, that Kitagawa Hide could temporarily refrain from releasing that "spirited work."

It's never too late to release something like this; there's no need to release it at this particular point.

Upon hearing this, Kitagawa Hideaki was about to repeat what he had said to Knut, but Knut, who had been silent for a long time, stood up first and quoted directly: "The ladder of human progress is literary works, not literary awards."

His passionate interpretation and insights left Sher speechless.

The other lifetime judges were also shocked and impressed by Kitagawa Hide's words.

Like Knut, they have worked for the prize for a long time, taught at the Swedish Academy for a long time, and enjoyed the pleasure of being top figures in the world of literature. So they have gradually become confused about whether they are serving the world of literature or serving the Nobel Prize in Literature.

In recent years, there have been more and more controversial awards, not only literary awards, but other awards have also been questioned by various sectors.

Ultimately, it's because these so-called judges have lost their way.

Knut's words immediately jolted them all awake.

The alarm bells ring continuously, serving as a wake-up call.

"Your teacher Kitagawa is right. Being too fixated on the award itself will only ruin it."

The ladder of human progress is literary works, not literary awards.

That's so well said!

You are a true literary figure, Professor Kitagawa.

I apologize for my previous arrogance!

Shastan Ekman, who had previously harbored hostility towards Kitagawa Hide, suddenly stood up.

An elderly woman in her seventies or eighties actually took off her felt hat and bowed respectfully to Kitagawa Hide, leaving everyone else speechless!
Shastan Ekman was known for her arrogance and conceit.

Of the eighteen lifetime judges, only she and Katharina (Arnault's wife) were women.

Katarina is her husband's puppet and maintains a neutral stance on any literary works.

Sassine is a notorious "fiery temper," and anyone who meets her will get a taste of her own medicine. If you're unlucky enough to be targeted by her, you'll definitely have your lips tingling from her spiciness.

Now that even the most difficult person, Xia Siting, has acknowledged Kitagawa Shu, Ma Yue Ran, who was observing from the side, felt that Kitagawa Shu was truly in the bag this time.

As long as Alyosha's autobiographical trilogy and his new book don't cause any trouble, everything will be fine. (End of Chapter)