The President ; & Eve of Retirement
Author | : Thomas Bernhard |
Publisher | : New York : Performing Arts Journal |
Total Pages | : 224 |
Release | : 1982 |
ISBN-10 | : STANFORD:36105039314393 |
ISBN-13 | : |
Rating | : 4/5 (93 Downloads) |
Book excerpt: "Eve of Retirement" focuses on a triangle from hell: Holler, a Chief Justice and former commandant of a concentration camp and his two sisters - Vera, who dances attention on him to the point of incest, and the left-wing Clara, who sullenly resists them as much as a paraplegic in a wheelchair can. An American bombing raid in the last days of the war landed her in this plight. With typical contrariness, Holler feels both that this did the family a favour in putting a stop to her political activism, and that her condition symbolises his nation's victimhood. The protagonist, Rudolf Holler, annually celebrates the birthday of Heinrich Himmler, the head of the Gestapo. To mark the occasion, Holler dons his old SS uniform and forces his anarchist younger sister into a camp inmate's striped shirt