WASHINGTON D.C. — Book clubs and casual readers alike are reportedly engaging in a frantic, last-minute dash to consume the works of recently deceased Latin American literary giant Alfredo Echenique, 87, before they are inevitably quizzed on his contributions to the global canon.

Sources close to various reading groups confirm a surge in online orders for Echenique’s collected works, with many admitting they had only a vague, Wikipedia-level understanding of his oeuvre prior to his passing. “I’m halfway through *The Whispers of the Hummingbird* and honestly, it’s a lot of magical realism about a talking alpaca,” confessed Brenda Harrison, president of the 'Chardonnay & Chapters' club in Bethesda. “But if anyone asks, I’ve been a lifelong admirer of his profound insights into the human condition.”

Publishers, caught off guard by the sudden demand, are reportedly working overtime to print more copies, while online discussion forums are awash with hastily formed opinions and thinly veiled attempts to summarize plot points gleaned from synopses. “It’s a race against time,” explained Dr. Eleanor Vance, a cultural commentator. “No one wants to be the person who says, ‘Alfredo who?’ at the next dinner party.”

Experts predict this trend will continue until the next celebrated figure departs, at which point the cycle of performative intellectualism will simply shift targets.