Sun Jie reads "The Murder of Mr. Ma" | The warm dreams of the old house fans

Southern Weekly

2024-05-27 04:00Posted on the official account of Guangdong Southern Weekly

The two authors of "The Murder of Mr. Ma" were interviewed by the media. Screenshot of the video.

A group of impossible CPs: Lao She and Di Renjie, who walked the streets and alleys in London in 1924 to solve a murder case; The victim is another impossible character: Ma Zeren, the protagonist of the novel "Erma". The mind-blowing premise comes from the recent novel "The Murder of Mr. Ma," published by Titan Books.

The novel unfolds from the first-person perspective of Lao She, a young scholar and writer from China. In the same footsteps as the novel "Two Horses", the story begins with a young Lao She walking through Hyde Park, and in the oratorium corner, supporters of various parties shout their own slogans and fight in chaos. Lao She returned to his residence. The landlord was Mrs. Windu, and she had a charming daughter named Marie, and of course, as you might have guessed, they had a dog named Napoleon.

Reading this, you probably can't tell whether this is "The Murder of Mr. Ma" or "Erma", and whether the protagonist is Lao She or Ma Wei.

At this time, Lao She was picked up by someone sent by Russell (don't doubt it, it's the Russell you think of), and Russell asked Lao She to go to the Metropolitan Police Station in Limehouse to rob the prison and rescue the detective Di Renjie. Yes, this great detective who lived in the twentieth century, dressed fashionably, proficient in English, suffering from an opium addiction, was called (also called?) Di Renjie. In the next story, Lao She followed Di Renjie to solve a serial murder case in a daze. Several Chinese veterans who had participated in World War I were killed one after another, and Di Renjie and Lao She racked their brains and caught the murderer with civil and military skills, saving an important property. Because among these Chinese veterans, the first to be killed was the old horse who opened an antique shop: Ma Zeren, so this story is called "The Murder of Mr. Ma".

The story itself is almost introduced here, and it's all spoilers. I didn't read this novel because of murder. I'm not very interested in how the suspense is written, whether there are any flaws in the case and the process of solving the case. What I'm interested in is this character who is completely suspended in character and implemented step by step spiritually, Lao She.

This is an old house in a dream.

Lao She was born in 1899 and is a Manchu. In September 1924, he was recommended by the church to become a lecturer in Chinese at the Oriental College of the University of London, during which time he began his writing career, writing his earliest novels "Lao Zhang's Philosophy", "Zhao Ziyue" and "Two Horses", and did not leave London until June 1929. Lao She in "The Murder of Mr. Ma" is the dream shadow of this real Lao She. He is also a Manchu, because he is a Manchu, so he has a good martial arts. He also taught Chinese at the university, but he was bored with teaching. He also rented a house in a foreigner's house, but he fell hopelessly in love with the landlord's daughter. This person is both Lao She and not Lao She. In the novel, this Lao She came to Di Renjie's side and accompanied him to solve the case from birth to death, just like Di Renjie came to London in the 1920s from the Tang Dynasty.

The Murder of Mr. Ma，by John Shen Yen Nee and SJ Rozan，Titan Books, April 2024

I don't know these two authors at all. According to the information, one of them is the former publisher of Marvel Comics and the former senior vice president of DC Comics (John Shen Yen Nee), and the other is a famous mystery writer (SJ Rozan) who has won many awards, and the president of the American Private Detective Writers Association. For me, these introductions are as incredible as Di Renjie and Lao She getting together to solve a case. But I know that these two authors, maybe just one of them, is a fake Lao She fan, he (or she) Lao She's life, many works like a number of treasures, these warm dreams from the suspense, fighting, killing between the lines of the paper broke out of the paper, people were surprised at first, and then excited, and finally picked up these incredible "stalks" one by one, giving birth to wisps of admiration.

Before the beginning of the novel, there is a small wedge (Foreword) "written in Beijing in 1966". It simulates the tone of Lao She, whose life has come to an end in troubled times, and mentions London in 1924 through the recounting of the dying old man. It's not an unconventional wedge, but it's touching, and it resonates with the author when you turn the first page of the novel. In fact, there is no need for a detective novel that seeks to sell well and win with excitement and suspense. However, the author grafted the beginning of the work to the end of Lao She's life, showing enough sincerity and warmth.

In chapter 39 of the novel, "I" (Lao She) is injected with drugs, and Di Renjie comes to save him. "I" hallucinated: a gray cat opened his mouth to speak to "me", and then many large cats appeared. They said, "We came from Mars to observe humans on Earth. I hope that one day you will come to the cat country on Mars and observe us. "The fantastical flicker of "Cat City" came unexpectedly and made people's hearts shake.

In the end, the case was solved. Lao She said that he wanted to write a novel about the life of Chinese in London, about the loneliness he felt about Ma Zeren in the process of solving the case, and about his unrequited love for Ma Li. The novel "The Murder of Mr. Ma" is connected to Lao She's "Two Horses" in this way, forming a perfect closed loop.

At this point, this Lao She, who is both Lao She and not Lao She, has actually settled down in a detective novel. It is said that "The Murder of Mr. Ma" is only the first part of the "Di Renjie-Lao She Series" by the two authors, so let's look forward to the follow-up a little.

Sun Jie

Editor-in-charge: Liu Xiaolei

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