by Daša Drndic
Isabella is thirteen. The headmaster of her school removes the statues of two boys, the statues are on top of the building. They are there as decoration. There are eight of them, eight statues, the headmaster takes two of them away. The headmaster orders that the statues be destroyed. Grown-ups smash the statues, they smash the statues of the two boys. Downstairs, in front of the school, with stone hammers, they violently smash the boys to pieces. Isabella watches. The blows echo. Children watch. The boy Moritz was the sculptor’s model, Isabella doesn’t know the name of the sculptor, he’s no longer in Chemnitz. Moritz is a Jew. The boy Moritz is a Jewish boy and his likeness must be destroyed.
People are leaving Chemnitz. Mama says, Let’s go, Daddy says, I’ll watch the store. People leave. The invisible leave. Daddy says, We won’t go. We won’t go yet. After the war, people return to Chemnitz. Fifty-seven people return. After the war. Chemnitz is a small place. A small number of people return. Now a new century is beginning. A new return to Chemnitz. Chemnitz has three hundred Jews. Chemnitz gets a new synagogue. People set the old synagogue alight; Isabella Fischer’s neighbors burn down the old synagogue. The flames are high, the night is cold, it’s November of 1938, it’s the eighth of November 1938, fires everywhere. Isabella watches. Isabella is fifteen years old, she’s no longer small.
Chemnitz has become a part of Flossenbürg. A part of the camp of Flossenburg. Chemnitz has become a concentration camp, but a tiny one.
Isabella always unwraps her chocolate balls with care so that she can save the silver paper. Over the year, she collects the foil wrappers in a book beside her bed because she eats most of the chocolate balls in bed. When she finishes the book, she will put the wrappers into another one. At the moment she’s reading an exciting book. The book is called This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen. She puts the Karl Marx foil wrappers in it. By the end of the year, she will have collected a lot of wrappers for the Christmas tree, more for the branches she hangs on the walls because trees are expensive, branches can be found amongst the waste, in the trash, one could say, in the trash. But Isabella doesn’t wrap up walnuts anymore. She sorts out the shiny ones. There are different sorts. Blue with silver stars, or silver with blue stars, Isabella can’t remember at the moment, but nevertheless, they are like little skies, like little skies you can put in your pocket. Isabella has many little square heavens (Baci Perugina) inside the book she is reading: This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen. In her youth, space was enormous, the night sky filled with silver dust that seemed infinite and close enough to touch. Now it is small and here, she can touch it, stroke it, put it in her pocket, put it in a book. Isabella doesn’t know why she is reading that particular book, this book that is amusingly called This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen. There are more amusing books, there are better books. Isabella knows that. She reads all kinds of books. Why should I read him, that Borowski?
Why do I stick to Borowski?
FROM POLICE DOSSIERS
SECTOR: SURVEILLANCE OF CITIZENS
SUBJECT: Isabella FISCHER, MARRIED NAME ROSENZWEIG. NUMBER: P-G III/12-19-99 (Excerpt)
Bought with her monthly allowance for December 1999, Isabella Fischer, married name Rosenzweig, received a book by the controversial communist spy and propagandist Tadeusz Borowski, born in the Ukraine to parents of Polish origin. In spite of the fact that the book speaks of Borowski’s experience in the camps of Auschwitz and Dachau, which he somehow managed to survive, the arrival of other books by Borowski may be expected – books that promote communist ideology and philosophy.
The fact that Borowski is not alive does not diminish the power of his words. On the contrary.
Borowski, born in 1922, committed suicide by gas poisoning in his flat in 1951.
Maybe Isabella is looking for something, some answer, some clue, some glimmer. Maybe Borowski knew Waller and Christine, maybe he met Mama Sonya and Daddy Peter, there. And? When she’s read This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen, she will read other books, surely, yes. She will read lighter books, warmer. She will read about garden gnomes. They are more appropriate for the collecting of shiny, rustling wrappers with the scent of chocolate.
Save the wrappers, Isabella says.
Isabella carefully opens her Karl Marx ball and smooths the foil across her knee with the outside edge of the thumb of her right hand.
I used to have a dog, says Artur.
I have garden gnomes, says Isabella. Then adds: They don’t die.
Artur doesn’t see well. Artur doesn’t know if he ate the chocolate Marx. He’s hungry. He’s cold. He can still taste the chocolate bitterness.
When Chemnitz was called Karl-Marx-Stadt the inhabitants didn’t ask for the 42-ton Marx, it came by itself. Now they don’t know what to do with it. They hope that the town will become famous for the chocolate balls.
Artur has been to Salszburg. They have Mozart balls there, with marzipan inside. They are delicious. He hasn’t been to Chemnitz, nor to Karl-Marx-Stadt. These balls are not worth a piece of shit. Here’s your silver paper, says Artur.
I’ve got more, says Isabella, try this one. She offers Artur a Strauss cube, actually a Droste praline. It’s a cube, says Isabella, not a ball. Isabella carefully opens her Strauss cube and almost to herself she adds: These cubes are expensive, but your hat is more expensive. These are Strauss cubes. A large box costs two hundred and forty marks. I prefer Tchaikovsky. His music relaxes me the way Mozart balls do. Tchaikovsky hasn’t got chocolate balls named after him.
Tchaikovsky was an epileptic, says Artur. So was Handel.
Alfred Nobel was an epileptic too, says Isabella. And Thomas Edison. And Paul the Apostle.
Artur is shaking. Artur is afraid he’ll have an epileptic fit. Artur is an epileptic. When he has an attack, he fills his diaper. When he gets an attack he is filled with a joyous feeling, he floats, he hears music, and the music whispers to him, secrets which are otherwise beyond his grasp. His epilepsy is his friend, it is his companion, his small invisible secret love that tortures him and bestows gifts. Well, without his fits, without his seizures, convulsions, jerking, without his petit mal, his falling-down disease, his sacred disease, he would be completely alone. But at this moment Miss Isabella is here, and they are eating Strauss cubes that are so much better than Karl Marx balls, and they are enjoying themselves. Artur implores his lover to postpone her visit. Byron, Edward Lear, Dostoevsky, Flaubert, Dickens, Agatha Christie, Truman Capote. Artur studies famous epileptics. Mark Twain. Napoleon. Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar. Peter the Great, Socrates, Pythagoras, Van Gogh, da Vinci, Michelangelo.
History is full of epileptics. That’s nothing to worry about, says Isabella.
It seems that Artur and Isabella complement each other.
We complement each other, says Artur.
I cannot complement anybody, says Isabella. I’m empty.
Isabella’s flat is full of gnomes. Isabella lives in a flat. She doesn’t have a garden. You can’t call her gnomes garden gnomes. They are home gnomes. Two white ones are placed at the front entrance, greeting her when she comes home. She always comes home. They have tall hats. Isabella’s flat seems spacious, open, like a garden. It has no doors. It has no internal walls. Isabella had all the walls knocked down. Isabella tells the white gnomes her life story. They are silent and listen. Sometimes, Isabella touches them. The gnomes have their leader. The gnomes keep her safe from earthquakes. Isabella loves fairy tales. If she had a garden, Isabella would have it full of winding paths and gnomes. Criss-crossing paths that would confuse evil spirits. Isabella wants to go home.
FROM POLICE DOSSIERS
SEARCH OF Flat BY ORDER OF CHIEF OF CITY POLICE ON JANUARY 1ST 2000 FROM 4:07 TO 5:02 A.M. REPORT.
SUBJECT: Isabella FISCHER, MARRIED NAME ROSENZWEIG. NO: 38 S-C I/01-0
1-00 (Excerpt)
The flat is tidy and spacious. The only separate room is a bathroom (with toilet). No internal walls. The whole flat is some 70 m2.
36 garden gnomes arranged throughout the flat. Some are completely white, others have their clothes painted red, yellow, green, blue. Some of the gnomes are smiling. There are male and female gnomes. Some of them are exceptionally short, some tall, almost large. Every gnome has a metal ID plate hanging round its neck. In compliance with previously collected data, it may be concluded that those are the names of the deceased members of Isabella Rosenzweig’s (née Fischer) family.
Throughout the living space, on the floor and on the furniture, lie boxes of chocolates. A count of 77 boxes. There are boxes of different shapes and sizes, of world-famous brands. The chocolate boxes carry the labels of: Manner, Lindt, Droste, Suchard, Nestlé, Milka, Neuhaus, Cardullos, La Patisserie, Asbach/Reber, Biffar (the only box of candied fruit, the rest contain chocolate), Hacher, Underberg. Some of the sweets have unusual names. A conspicuously large number of chocolate balls bear the inscription “Joy of Life” and “Karl Marx Kugeln.” ALL THE BOXES HAVE BEEN OPENED.
The price labels on the boxes are proof of their quality. The prices range from 40 to 60 DEMs per box. The Strauss are the most expensive chocolates, actually praline cubes, which cost 180 DEM. In the box there is also a CD. Supposedly with the music of Strauss. On the floor are large tin boxes on which the names “Constance and Amadeus” are written. Chocolate Constance and Amadeus balls are made by the company Reber.
A number of silver squares were found by the bed, wrappers from the aforementioned chocolate balls. A book with an English title: This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen. The author is a certain Tadeusz Borowski.
A number of adult diapers were found in the bathroom. The bath was unwashed and damp. On the edge of the bathtub, a small box containing 6 pairs of earplugs, of varying shape and material.
The kitchen area in disorder. Fridge: 4 boxes of Kraš chocolates, a dried head of garlic, 2 eggs and some withered vegetables. The other shelf space is taken up with unwashed dishes.
At the entrance, ten pairs of women’s shoes. All in excellent condition. Of obvious quality.
Search ended at 5:02 a.m. due to notification that tenant was on her way home.
Artur wants to go home too.
FROM POLICE DOSSIERS
SEARCH OF FLAT BY ORDER OF CHIEF OF CITY POLICE ON JANUARY 1ST 2000 FROM 3:45 TO 5:10 A.M.
REPORT. SUBJECT: Artur BIONDI(ć), RETIRED CAPTAIN OF YUGOSLAV NAVY.
No: 37 S-MO I/ 01-01-00 /(Excerpt).
The flat is tidy. The shelves are mostly taken up with books on epilepsy, hats, and Italy.
In the bathroom – a large quantity of disposable diapers for adults. Bathroom – clean
Kitchen – modern and stylish. Fridge stuffed with food. There are expensive delicacies, some in jars (caviar and marinated herring)
A larger room has been adapted into a walk-in wardrobe:
Suits: 17 (old-fashioned)
Shoes: 10 pairs (worn-out)
Shirts: 36 pieces, various styles. All made of natural materials: cotton, batiste, satin and silk. Threadbare.
Hats and caps: the left sidewall – 3.75 m in height and 5.5 m in width – from top to bottom covered with shelves. On the shelves, hats and caps arranged by manufacturer’s brand and by name of article. All items in perfect condition.
Noticeable high quality of all apparel, especially the hats. On some of the headwear a price is still visible. The room is reminiscent of a miniature museum. On some articles there is a short informative text. For example (a text taken from the photograph): BERET: Appeared first in France at the beginning of the 19th century. Mostly worn by French peasants and herdsmen in the Basque country. Later the beret was taken up by artists and bohemians, as a symbol of protest against the prevailing social system. Also worn by members of the French Resistance during the Second World War. The modern army wears them for everyday usage. Che Guevara also contributed to their popularity. In the 1990s the beret is still a favorite with men and women alike.
Shelf contents:
Woollen berets, diameter 28 cm, ordinary. Make no longer visible: blue, black, brown, dark red, green. Price: 18.000 LIT per item (11 items).
A special place is reserved for Borsalino berets. Description: Borsalino berets are made by one of the most renowned manufacturers of headwear. They are made of pure lambswool, lined with satin. Sizes range from: 55, 57, 61 and for particularly large heads – 63 cm. Price: 70.000 LIT apiece. Sizes present: 59 and 61 cm. Colors: black, gray, dark blue (7 pieces).
1 Hoquy beret. Description: manufactured in the family-run workshop of Hoquy, a competitor of Borsalino. Has produced headwear for over two hundred years. The workshop is located near the Pyrenees. Price: 90.000 LIT apiece. Shelf contents: 5 pieces – 2 black, 1 gray and two blue.
Anglo-Basque beret made by Kangol. 100% wool. 3 pieces. Price: 58.000 LIT
Parkhurst beret: cotton. Worn by men and women. Manufactured in one standard size. Price: 24.000 LIT. 5: 2 wine-red, 1 red, 1 beige, 1 olive green.
Bankroft army beret, so-called Green Beret. Manufacturer: the same name as the American firm that supplies the US Army. Made famous by General Montgomery in the battle for El Alamein.
Six identical pieces.
Drover hats. Description: can withstand rain, wind and sun. Price: 71.000 LIT. 2 pieces (1 beige and 1 brown).
Hats of different makes: Henschel Aussie, Kangol, Biltmore (150.000 LIT), Akubra (230.000 LIT), soft felt fedora hats made by Christy’s, Stacy Adams, Stetson Saxon, Rosellini and Borsalino – these take up 6 shelves. Their prices range from 196.000 to 368.000 LIT.
Below are a dozen Homburg models, mostly black. Prices from 220.000 to 360.000 LIT.
Artur Biondi(ć) owns fifteen Panama hats, all famous brands. The most expensive piece is Montecristi Superfino from the Equatorial province of Manabí. Biondi(ć) states that the hat is handmade out of palm-fiber cloth: paja toquilla – Carloduvica palmata. Price – 570.000 LIT (2 pieces). Biondi(ć) also has one of the cheaper models of the Panama hat – Montecristi Fino (290,000 LIT). All three hats are in natural colors (from label).
On the shelf, next to the Montecristi hat, a small plastic box with a stand, is a framed computer printout of “Legends of the Panama hat.” No computer or printer was found in the flat. The legend reads: Upon arrival in the New Country, the first settlers, Spaniards, saw that some natives were wearing strange head coverings. Their caps were made of light, transparent material. The immigrants believed that it was the skin of skinned vampires. But in archaeological excavations on the Equator Coast, ceramic figures with the unusual caps on their heads were found, supposedly dating from the year 4,000 BC. These are the first variants of today’s Panama hat.
Stetsons – 3 pieces, black. One with a 9.5 cm brim and a crown height of 10 cm, and two larger (brim – 10 cm, crown – 12 cm) All three hats are set in silver satin (from label). Price 300.000 LIT a piece.
Straw hats – 8, various models. Short history attached.
Bowler hats – 4. White Nürnberg (155,000 LIT), Homburg olive green (139,000 LIT), black Borsalino (430,000 LIT) and a Piccadilly from 1936 produced at Jakša Žuljević’s workshop in Split – no price.
Top hats – 2. One black (460.000 LIT) and one gray (370.000 LIT), both of satin. According to the labels, the black one is foldable, the gray one is indivisible. Below is a short text on the fate of the top hat through history, taken from the Encyclopedia of the Yugoslav Lexicographic Institute, year of issue 1967.
On one shelf there is a collection of decorative pins. As a distinctive female hat decoration, it does not fit into Arturo Biondi(ć)’s men’s collection. There are 23 pieces. They are housed in glass boxes on black plush. Some are ver
y old and obviously have antique value. Each pin has a description and place of origin. There are no prices. Attached is a short history of decorative pins (for hats) from the late nineteenth to late twentieth century.
In addition to decorative pins, there is another item that does not fit in the hat and headwear collection described above: a miniature women’s hat labelled “Doll’s Hat.” Under the description is the text: First issued in 1938. A miniature doll’s hat, slightly crooked, worn by adult women on the front right-hand side of the head. As soon as it appeared, it caused numerous controversies. Two years later it disappeared from the market and from use. The doll’s hat was mostly green or purple and adorned by a large Emu feather. Undocumented observers would now conclude that women of that age had miniature heads, of course, which could only accommodate a miniature brain. (Text downloaded with enlarged photos.)
Found: a total of 274 hats and caps.
Photos enclosed.
Search ended at 5:30 a.m. due to notification that Artur Biondi was approaching the building.
Look at yourself.
Such silence.
Thick as shit between the buttocks. Thick.
You have features. They’re here.
Look at yourself in the window. The window is black. Behind it lies the night. Look how clear your image in the window is.
On the surface of the water float flakes of Isabella’s dead skin. Isabella is being flayed. She can’t say why her skin is dying. She’s got too much skin. Today Isabella did some drawings. There was a lot of black. The water’s getting cold. Isabella adds some warm water. She must get out, she’ll shrivel. Isabellas are good and gentle. Isabellas are special beings.
The Daily News
Sunday, January 2, 2000.
Woman Hangs Herself