Reading | the mixture of legends, legends and reality in time and space - reading Chen Yi's novel "Jokes" has a feeling

"Jokes"

Chen Yi

Published by Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House

Read Chen Yi's novel "Jokes" published by Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House in July 2021, cover up the sigh, look good and readable.

Writing the local stories of the four villagers, I think, there must be a shadow of Chen Yi's hometown in Quxian County. Chen Yiyun's pen is like a god, and he writes the ins and outs of the four villages and the sophistication of people's feelings. The beginning of the novel leads the reader to the legendary realm: the little grandson of the Jiang family, who is less than one year old, is taken away by the leopards in the mountains, and the whole village has been patrolling the mountains for many days and cannot do anything, and when there is no way out, Jiang Aiguo has returned unscathed. This baggage was thrown too early, I thought there was a story of the intersection of man and god, but no, Chen Yi was too smart and too thoughtful, deliberately hanging the baggage there, waiting for the reader to think and look forward to it.

In the 1980s, when reform and opening up began, Jiang Aiguo entered the public security system, repeatedly solved major cases, and became famous, but because he did not understand the world, he lived under the people for a long time. The Song Ai Party has made steady progress in the party affairs department. The most unfortunate was Chen Aimin, who was removed from his post and sent to the deep mountains and old forest rangers to prevent fires because of the mistakes in battlefield command, but finally he was able to turn over because he married the daughter of the county party secretary. Battle hero Kong Aijun, who experienced dazzling struggles and legends, became the commander of the air force of a large military region.

I have to say that the author's brain hole is extraordinary, the thinking space is large enough, there is a wealth of military experience and social practice, and there is a grand information base, which contains the stories and various characters that have been heard and witnessed. Chen Yi consciously or unconsciously used many legends and legends in his life to novels, such as Jiang Aiguo's infant was taken away by a mountain leopard and returned safely, such as a group of people encountering a group of chilian snakes in the mountains, such as encountering ten thousand magpies in the forest in Ali, Tibet, such as the shenmu and the third sister of the strange girl mentioned in the last chapter... These unnatural phenomena that are difficult to explain clearly in real life and absurd stories that are difficult to win people's trust are vivid and immersive in Chen Yi's pen, making it difficult for people to understand the author's intentions and intentions. This is actually an expression of his outlook on life, or a hint of some unknowability.

It must be mentioned that the novel vividly portrays the ecology of the officialdom of Dongyang Province. There are objective descriptions and criticisms of the internal factors and external environments that breed corruption, as well as extremely humane details and touching descriptions. The novel shows the evolution of good and evil in the characters' hearts step by step, delicately and hierarchically to the reader, convincing and even causing thinking and even sympathy for a certain character. I think this is the brilliance of the author, and this is the beauty of literary works that resonates.

I thought that the character Jiang Aiguo in the book was full of writing and had positive energy. Starting from the head of the criminal police team of the Qingfeng County Public Security Bureau, step by step, he has cracked many major cases, and his way of thinking is unique and different, and even the criminal investigation experts in Beijing have repeatedly lost under his hands. I wonder if he was abducted by a mountain leopard as a child and implanted a non-human key gene? Unfortunately, he is not sophisticated, straight and straight. In the official field of Dongyang Province, he was a clear stream and a breeze, but it was such a divine detective Bao Gong, who was hurt by the huge amount of 5 million yuan of unknown sources. Although he was later cleared of his grievances, he resigned in frustration.

Kong Aijun is also a character that the author focuses on portraying. He was born a general, was very good in the army, and experienced the test of war to become a combat hero. After that, the progress was rapid, soaring all the way, and became a god-like figure in Sijia Village and Qingfeng County. But such a promising general, but because of a beautiful woman, because of an unforgivable sin, it can also be said that a soul indulgence, and finally a foreign land. Love is priceless, but without root love, you can only drift around and wander the seas.

Why did the writer use "Jokes" as the title of the book? I'm always looking for answers. There are many jokes in the book, he wrote the stories circulated in society and exclusively mastered into the book, most of them are appropriate and natural, and he can't help but be funny and cheerful when he reads it, and I think the author's intentions are more than this. There are proverbs in the jokes, and there are philosophies in the jokes. Legends or legends, since they were born, are always the product of this era or a specific stage, with the imprint of this era. We must not believe jokes, but we can taste the situation, filter the exaggerations and ridicules, and perhaps we can appreciate different thinking from them.

"Jokes" also has flaws and flaws, such as chapter structure, such as character arrangement, such as rapid rhythm, detailed and heavy, and can be more rigorous and meticulous. Like Jiang Aiguo, whether he can be sent back so early by the leopard, etc., there are debatable points. Some old passages that have been circulating in society for too long are inserted into them, and they do not feel very new. This is Chen Yi's first novel, which cannot be completed and flawed. This book is informative, many stories are exclusive, it is a rare and strange book, a long novel worth reading and contemplating. (The author is the former deputy editor-in-chief of Chongqing Evening News, writer and critic)

Author: Xu Dali

Editor: Jiang Chuting

Editor-in-Charge: Zhu Zifen