Read Online The Funeral Party by Ludmila Ulitskaya - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Ludmila Ulitskaya
Tags: Contemporary
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still was fairly hopeful of recovering some of the money.
It was the beginning of winter. When she gave Alik the cheque he was overjoyed: “I’m lost for words, I can’t thank you enough, now we can pay the rent and finally buy Nina that fur coat.”
Irina was furious; she hadn’t given him money she had earned by the sweat of her brow to buy fur coats. But there was nothing to be done, half of the money was blown on a coat. Nina and Alik were like that; they never did anything by halves.
“Bloody bohemians,” Irina fumed. “Perhaps they haven’t eaten enough shit since they’ve been here.”
Exhaling the hot breath from her lungs, she decided that she would help them in future with small sums, in response to their immediate needs. She was a single woman with a child after all, and not nearly as rich as they seemed to think she was; it was hard enough for her to earn the damned stuff in the first place.
When Libin came up to her she already had her chequebook out. Over time the small sums grew unnoticed, like children.
NINE
The bearded men walked out to the street. Gottlieb didn’t feel drunk at all, but he had forgotten where he had left his car, and the place where he expected to find it was occupied by someone else’s long-backed Pontiac.
“They’ve towed it away, they’ve towed it away!” Father Victor laughed like a child, without malice.
“You can park here, why would they tow it away?” Gottlieb said peevishly. “You wait, I’ll look round the corner.”
The rabbi displayed no interest in which car they would be driving him back in, he was more intrigued by what the funny man in the cap was saying: “With your permission, I’d like to go on,” Father Victor was in a hurry to share his thoughts with his unusual companion. “The first experiment was successful, you might say. The diaspora proved exceptionally valuable for the entire world. Of course you’ve brought back together what’s left of you over there, but so many Jews have assimilated, diluted, there are so many of you in all countries,in science, culture, the arts. In some ways I’m a Judophile. Every decent Christian must respect the chosen people. You understand how important it is that Jews have poured their precious blood into every culture, every nation. And from this what do we get? It’s a worldwide process! The Russians leave their ghetto, and the Chinese. Mark my words, from these young American Chinese we’re getting the best musicians, the best mathematicians. I’ll go further—mixed marriages! You see what I’m saying? It’s the creating of a new people!”
The rabbi appeared to understand quite well what his opponent was saying, but he didn’t by any means share his thoughts on the subject and merely chewed his lip. Three glasses or four. He couldn’t remember, at any event it had evidently been a lot.
“We’re living in new times! Neither Jew nor gentile, and in the most direct sense too!” the priest said happily.
The rabbi stopped walking and wagged a finger at him. “That’s it, that’s the most important thing for you isn’t it—no Jews.”
Gottlieb finally drove up in his car, opened the door for his rabbi, then rudely drove off leaving Father Victor alone on the street in a state of deep mortification. “Look how he twists things, I meant nothing of the sort.”
TEN
People didn’t so much disperse as melt away. A few stayed behind to sleep on the carpet. One of those on the carpet that night was Nina; this night was Valentina’s.
Alik fell asleep as soon as the guests left, and Valentina curled up at his feet. She could have slept there, but as though to spite her, sleep didn’t come; she had noticed that alcohol had lately had the strange effect of driving it out.
She had arrived in New York in November 1981. She was twenty-eight, 165 centimetres tall, and weighed 85 kilograms. She didn’t reckon in pounds then. She was wearing a black hand-woven wool-embroidered shirt from the
It was the beginning of winter. When she gave Alik the cheque he was overjoyed: “I’m lost for words, I can’t thank you enough, now we can pay the rent and finally buy Nina that fur coat.”
Irina was furious; she hadn’t given him money she had earned by the sweat of her brow to buy fur coats. But there was nothing to be done, half of the money was blown on a coat. Nina and Alik were like that; they never did anything by halves.
“Bloody bohemians,” Irina fumed. “Perhaps they haven’t eaten enough shit since they’ve been here.”
Exhaling the hot breath from her lungs, she decided that she would help them in future with small sums, in response to their immediate needs. She was a single woman with a child after all, and not nearly as rich as they seemed to think she was; it was hard enough for her to earn the damned stuff in the first place.
When Libin came up to her she already had her chequebook out. Over time the small sums grew unnoticed, like children.
NINE
The bearded men walked out to the street. Gottlieb didn’t feel drunk at all, but he had forgotten where he had left his car, and the place where he expected to find it was occupied by someone else’s long-backed Pontiac.
“They’ve towed it away, they’ve towed it away!” Father Victor laughed like a child, without malice.
“You can park here, why would they tow it away?” Gottlieb said peevishly. “You wait, I’ll look round the corner.”
The rabbi displayed no interest in which car they would be driving him back in, he was more intrigued by what the funny man in the cap was saying: “With your permission, I’d like to go on,” Father Victor was in a hurry to share his thoughts with his unusual companion. “The first experiment was successful, you might say. The diaspora proved exceptionally valuable for the entire world. Of course you’ve brought back together what’s left of you over there, but so many Jews have assimilated, diluted, there are so many of you in all countries,in science, culture, the arts. In some ways I’m a Judophile. Every decent Christian must respect the chosen people. You understand how important it is that Jews have poured their precious blood into every culture, every nation. And from this what do we get? It’s a worldwide process! The Russians leave their ghetto, and the Chinese. Mark my words, from these young American Chinese we’re getting the best musicians, the best mathematicians. I’ll go further—mixed marriages! You see what I’m saying? It’s the creating of a new people!”
The rabbi appeared to understand quite well what his opponent was saying, but he didn’t by any means share his thoughts on the subject and merely chewed his lip. Three glasses or four. He couldn’t remember, at any event it had evidently been a lot.
“We’re living in new times! Neither Jew nor gentile, and in the most direct sense too!” the priest said happily.
The rabbi stopped walking and wagged a finger at him. “That’s it, that’s the most important thing for you isn’t it—no Jews.”
Gottlieb finally drove up in his car, opened the door for his rabbi, then rudely drove off leaving Father Victor alone on the street in a state of deep mortification. “Look how he twists things, I meant nothing of the sort.”
TEN
People didn’t so much disperse as melt away. A few stayed behind to sleep on the carpet. One of those on the carpet that night was Nina; this night was Valentina’s.
Alik fell asleep as soon as the guests left, and Valentina curled up at his feet. She could have slept there, but as though to spite her, sleep didn’t come; she had noticed that alcohol had lately had the strange effect of driving it out.
She had arrived in New York in November 1981. She was twenty-eight, 165 centimetres tall, and weighed 85 kilograms. She didn’t reckon in pounds then. She was wearing a black hand-woven wool-embroidered shirt from the
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