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Authors: Thomas Glavinic
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impression of himself. If he were crying in the very last pictures of him, it would be bound to vex his mother. Contrary to instructions, the boy began to cry and, like his gap-toothed brother before him, hopped up and down on the spot.
The cameraman angrily complained that hopping up and down did not make a suitable contribution to a nice film, still less render it easier for his mother to take leave of a son. Couldn’t he imagine how distressed she would be to see him like this? In floods of tears, the boy whimpered something unintelligible. The cameraman told him to enunciate more clearly.
The long-haired brother now said, audibly, that he didn’t want to die and he possessed a savings book into which his grandmother had long been making regular payments. If he were released at once, he would let the cameraman have this savings book.
How did he propose to send it? he was asked.
He could, for instance, entrust it to the postal service, replied the anguished boy. The cameraman rejected this offer. Besides, he said, the savings book wasn’t enough. Hadn’t he anything more valuable? The long-haired brother talked of a money box. His parents sometimes put coins in it, and it hadn’t been taken to the bank for months. It occurred to the hog-tied brother that he possessed a similar savings book. He also owned an expensive bicycle, which he would relinquish in the cameraman’s favor. The latter replied that this was insufficient too, and ordered the long-haired brother to climb the tree. The response was a loud, protesting wail.
Heinrich, helping himself to a handful of chips, said, How frightful. That man must be the devil incarnate.
The camera showed the long-haired brother weeping and slobbering in close-up. The camera wobbled. The croaking voice bade the long-haired brother to look at the camera. If he continued to resist, the salting of the hog-tied brother’s abdominal cavity would commence at once. Then it would be the rest of the family’s turn. Reference was also made to the cameraman’s knife.
Accompanied by outraged exclamations from Heinrich, the long-haired brother could be seen starting to climb the tree, still weeping and bawling at the top of his voice. How terrible, said Heinrich. What can be going through the boy’s mind? Is he thinking the same as we would?
I asked what we would be thinking.
It’s awful, he said; they ought to pass laws that could prevent such things.
I asked what he meant but was shushed in reply.
Now that the long-haired brother had taken up his position in the treetop, the cameraman proceeded to question the hog-tiedboy. You’re on television, my boy, he said. Kindly tell our viewers what you feel about the fact that your brother is about to jump off a tree.
Boohoo, the boy replied.
This is revolting, said Heinrich. He asked if I would object if he briefly freeze-framed the film because he proposed to get himself another portion of ice cream from the kitchen. Not at all, I said. He inquired if I would like some too. I thanked him but declined. I wasn’t hungry and felt no desire for any ice cream. He retired to the kitchen, to return shortly afterward and deposit his bowl of ice cream on the table. Then he restarted the film.
The interview with the hog-tied boy wasn’t over yet. He made another reference to his savings book. This prompted the cameraman to ask about his grandmother. Did she suffer from diabetes or heart disease, and didn’t they, the two boys, consider it seemly to behave less hysterically? After all, these pictures might be made available to their grandmother and give her a heart attack. The cameraman wanted their grandmother to be able to say that the two boys had handled themselves well. He could picture the old woman sitting in front of the television. She would clasp her hands together and say, It had to be this way, but they both behaved well.
The camera voice called to the long-haired boy up the tree. It was time for him to put on a good
The cameraman angrily complained that hopping up and down did not make a suitable contribution to a nice film, still less render it easier for his mother to take leave of a son. Couldn’t he imagine how distressed she would be to see him like this? In floods of tears, the boy whimpered something unintelligible. The cameraman told him to enunciate more clearly.
The long-haired brother now said, audibly, that he didn’t want to die and he possessed a savings book into which his grandmother had long been making regular payments. If he were released at once, he would let the cameraman have this savings book.
How did he propose to send it? he was asked.
He could, for instance, entrust it to the postal service, replied the anguished boy. The cameraman rejected this offer. Besides, he said, the savings book wasn’t enough. Hadn’t he anything more valuable? The long-haired brother talked of a money box. His parents sometimes put coins in it, and it hadn’t been taken to the bank for months. It occurred to the hog-tied brother that he possessed a similar savings book. He also owned an expensive bicycle, which he would relinquish in the cameraman’s favor. The latter replied that this was insufficient too, and ordered the long-haired brother to climb the tree. The response was a loud, protesting wail.
Heinrich, helping himself to a handful of chips, said, How frightful. That man must be the devil incarnate.
The camera showed the long-haired brother weeping and slobbering in close-up. The camera wobbled. The croaking voice bade the long-haired brother to look at the camera. If he continued to resist, the salting of the hog-tied brother’s abdominal cavity would commence at once. Then it would be the rest of the family’s turn. Reference was also made to the cameraman’s knife.
Accompanied by outraged exclamations from Heinrich, the long-haired brother could be seen starting to climb the tree, still weeping and bawling at the top of his voice. How terrible, said Heinrich. What can be going through the boy’s mind? Is he thinking the same as we would?
I asked what we would be thinking.
It’s awful, he said; they ought to pass laws that could prevent such things.
I asked what he meant but was shushed in reply.
Now that the long-haired brother had taken up his position in the treetop, the cameraman proceeded to question the hog-tiedboy. You’re on television, my boy, he said. Kindly tell our viewers what you feel about the fact that your brother is about to jump off a tree.
Boohoo, the boy replied.
This is revolting, said Heinrich. He asked if I would object if he briefly freeze-framed the film because he proposed to get himself another portion of ice cream from the kitchen. Not at all, I said. He inquired if I would like some too. I thanked him but declined. I wasn’t hungry and felt no desire for any ice cream. He retired to the kitchen, to return shortly afterward and deposit his bowl of ice cream on the table. Then he restarted the film.
The interview with the hog-tied boy wasn’t over yet. He made another reference to his savings book. This prompted the cameraman to ask about his grandmother. Did she suffer from diabetes or heart disease, and didn’t they, the two boys, consider it seemly to behave less hysterically? After all, these pictures might be made available to their grandmother and give her a heart attack. The cameraman wanted their grandmother to be able to say that the two boys had handled themselves well. He could picture the old woman sitting in front of the television. She would clasp her hands together and say, It had to be this way, but they both behaved well.
The camera voice called to the long-haired boy up the tree. It was time for him to put on a good
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