Chapter 17: Finding Gold in a Cesspit

Yashiro Toshihiro bit the tip of his pen, but his eyes did not leave the magazine on the table, and he rubbed the stubble on his chin in distress.

He was a book reviewer, or a literary critic, and his main job was to flip through various literary books, including periodicals and magazines, and publish professional reviews in newspapers.

Japan publishes nearly 40,000 types of books every year, and the number of copies issued could fill the warehouses of the entire Tokyo metropolis.

Without objective and fair opinions, most readers could only search for books in the dark.

Under these circumstances, the profession of book reviewer emerged, and its main purpose was to serve as a guide for good books, provide new book information to readers, and play a role in promotion and publicity.

Because the newspaper subscription rate in Japanese households is very high, the circulation is as high as 27 million copies.

With such a reader base, many books could sell more than 3,000 copies immediately after a simple review, hence the saying "three thousand book reviews."

However, precisely because of the obvious promotional effect on books, many large publishing houses often hope that newspapers will say a few good words about their books in the form of sponsorship or advertorials.

Like now, the "Tokyo Daily News" where Yashiro Toshihiro worked had received a sponsorship payment from Mantanshe, hoping that the newspaper's book review column would help promote their literary magazine "New Novel."

The newspaper's business department accepted the corresponding funds and immediately arranged the specific work for Yashiro Toshihiro.

Not only did they ask him to write some good things about "New Novel," but they also asked him to try his best to maintain the newspaper's objective stance.

These requirements filled his heart with annoyance.

These bastards, wanting to say good things while maintaining their own stance; why don't you write it yourselves? If you have the ability, write me a colorful black.

He was indignant, but still opened the magazine in his hand, trying to find some advantages.

After all, the newspaper's revenue pressure would be passed on to him; if he didn't write well, he probably wouldn't even be able to eat dried salted fish by the end of the month.

He took a sip of water, flipped through the content of the "New Novel" in his hand, and read the story "The Footsteps of Searching" in the first column.

Since this story is placed in the first column, it should still have some level; let's put aside my prejudice and take a look.

He lowered his head and began to ponder while reading.

The background of this story is in Hokkaido, and the local customs and practices are written quite well; it seems the author's writing ability is still qualified, and this aspect can be praised.

Oh, a conflict has occurred; an Australian businessman who came to invest locally was framed, and his business partner requested a police officer who was on vacation to investigate the case, but when he arrived at the scene, he was not allowed in; tsk tsk, it's getting interesting...

Why are there still so many environmental descriptions? Forget it, forget it, let's see how he solves the case.

He endured his impatience, let himself read to the end, then stood up and slapped the book onto the table with a "bang."

What the hell, the police found a few small clues and solved the case; then why write such a long landscape setup? And the conflict, except for not being allowed into the scene, the other plots didn't even have a ripple.

He felt he had wasted a precious half-hour of his life, was furious, and wished he could write a book review suggesting the other party just change the name to "Hokkaido Sightseeing Guide" to avoid wasting readers' time.

After a while, he sighed and picked up the book again.

The other party is a client who cannot be offended, and he is just a small employee of the newspaper; where does he have the power to write whatever he wants? Better to look carefully and try to find some gold in this cesspit.

He actually held no hope in his heart, but still forced himself to flip to the next page, prepared to continue wasting his life.

"Little Ornament and Yoko," this title is a bit interesting; is it a dual protagonist? Discussing my death from my perspective right from the beginning, this technique seems rare...

No, prepare for the worst first, so as not to waste expectations again.

He picked up his pen and made a mark on the magazine, preparing to make a note; the depiction of the different treatment of the same twins here seems to be able to be combined with the social phenomenon of child abuse.

Then, he saw Yoko meet Grandma Mitsuko and receive a gift, and later be misunderstood by her mother as stealing, threatening to kill her; seeing this, his thinking was also tightly gripped, and he couldn't help but follow the plot.

A series of conflicts occurred: Ornament knocked over a vase but planned to frame Yoko, Yoko sought help but accidentally learned of Grandma's death, Yoko and Ornament swapped clothes, until Ornament walked up the stairs wearing Yoko's clothes...

"Bang," she fell from the upstairs to the ground.

Seeing this, Yashiro Toshihiro finally realized; it turned out the corpse seen at the very beginning of the story referred to the younger sister, Little Ornament; good guy, a foreshadowing buried for so long.

But this story seems a bit scary.

No, it should be a bit of warmth buried in the horror.

He put down his pen, freed himself from the influence of the plot on him, then breathed a sigh of relief, and began to ponder constantly; if it were this work, it seems it could be praised.

Unlike the previous long-winded Hokkaido police travel story, this "Little Ornament and Yoko" not only has a tight plot and constant conflicts, but also explores human nature very deeply.

Let alone being placed in a third-rate magazine like "New Novel," it should be able to be published even if sent to a larger magazine, right?

But are those editors at the "New Novel" editorial department idiots?

This story is written so well, not placed in the most important first column for vigorous promotion, but instead ranked behind; could their brains have been pickled into dried salted fish?

Forget it, this is the publisher's own business; I'd better think about how to praise it.

First talk about the social phenomenon of child abuse, then lead to this story, then discuss the viciousness of human nature based on the content inside, and finally write a little about the beauty contained in the pain.

Hmm, that's about it; it should be about the length of a press release.

Also, if I want to discuss human nature, it seems I can write longer; so should I write 3,000 words?

Forget it, better call the business department to confirm first.

He drank the water in the cup in one breath, then picked up the receiver and dialed.

"I am Yashiro Toshihiro from the Cultural Special Topics Department; I want to ask about the requirements from the 'New Novel' side; I want to write a book review recommendation based on 'Little Ornament and Yoko'."

"It's not possible? The requirement from that side is to promote 'The Footsteps of Searching'; are they sure they didn't make a mistake?!"

He frowned and said again: "Please confirm with the other party again; please, I don't want to make a mistake here."

He hung up the phone and sat in his chair waiting.

After a while, the phone on the table rang, and he picked up the receiver.

"What? The 'New Novel' editorial department is sure to promote the story 'The Footsteps of Searching'."

"They require the book review of 'The Footsteps of Searching' to be half a page, and whether to write 'Little Ornament and Yoko' doesn't matter?"

"Hope I can highlight the connotation of the work and the quality of the protagonist; alright... I understand."

Yashiro Toshihiro hung up the phone and curled his lips helplessly; he finally dug gold out of the cesspit, but the other party asked him to go back to eating feces; it was simply unbearable.

For the sake of a living, it seems he has no choice.

He picked up "New Novel," looked at the "Akiwara Yuto" in the author column of "Little Ornament and Yoko," and began to think.

Should I use my authority to write a short message for him?

It's a pity that it's written so well and no one pays attention! ===== CHAPTER 18 =====