The Emperor of Lies (an excerpt)

Abstract

LT>§ o rsi O N UJ o o x Q. 2] n H o z That man memory was announced the of day, theghetto, engraved in front when forever of the everyone Chairinthe memory oftheghetto, whentheChairman announcedin front of everyone thathe had no choicebutto letthechildren and old peopleoftheghetto go. Oncehe had madehisproclamation that afternoon, hewent tohisoffice on Baluty Squareand satwaiting for higher powerstointervene tosavehim.He had already beenforced to partwiththesick peopleoftheghetto. Thatonlyleft theoldand theyoung. Mr.Neftalin, whoa fewhoursearlierhadcalledtheCommission together again, hadimpressed onhimthat allthelistsmust be completed andhandedovertotheGestapoby midnight atthelatest. Howthen couldhemake itcleartothem whatanappalling lossthisrepresented forhim?Forsixty-six years 1havelived andnot yet been granted the happiness of being called Father, andnowthe authorities demand ofmethat I sacrifice allmy children. Had anyoneofthem aninkling ofhowhe felt atthis moment? ("WhatshallI saytothem?" hehadasked Dr.Miller whentheCommission metthat afternoon ,andDr.Miller hadextended hisravaged face across thetable, andonhisother sideJudge Jakobson, too,hadlookedhimdeepintheeyes, and theyhad bothsaid: "Tellthemthetruth. Ifnothing elsewilldo,you'llhavetotellthem that." Buthowcanthere be Truth ifthere isno Law,andhowcanthere be anyLaw ifthere is nolonger anyWorld?) With the voices ofthedying children roaring inhishead,theChairman reached for thejacket MissFuchshad hungup forhimon thehook on thewall ofthebarrack hut,fumbled with thekeyinthelock, andhadscarcely openedthe doorwhenthevoicesoverpowered himagain. Butthere wasnoLawstanding outside hisoffice door, andnoWorld either, merely what remained ofhispersonal staff intheform ofhalfa dozen clerks exhausted bylackofsleep, with thetireless MissFuchsattheir head,neatly dressed onthis dayasonallothers ina freshly ironed, blue-andwhite -striped blouse, with herhair ina chignon. Hesaid,"IftheLordhadintended toletthis, Hislastcity, gounder, He wouldhavetoldme. Atthe very least Hewouldhavegiven mea sign." Buthis staff juststaredback uncomprehendingly . "Mr.Chairman, theysaid,we are already anhourlate." When A lie, does Rabbi a lie Fajner begin? A lie,RabbiFajnerwould say,has no beginning. A lierunsdownward likea rootlet, branching an infinite number oftimes.Butif youtracetherootlets down,youneverfinda moment ofinspiration and vision,onlyoverwhelming desperation anddespair. A liealwaysbegins with denial. Something hashappened - yetyoudo not wanttoadmit that ithas. Thatishowa liebegins. Vienna /Stockholm Translation from the Swedish BySarah Death Steve Sem-Sandberg (b.1958, Oslo) isaSwedish writer, journalist, and literary critic. Defattiga iLodz, winner of the August Prize (Sweden's most important literary award), isbeing translated into more than twenty-five languages. Editorial note: From De fattigo itodz (Albert Bonniers Forlag), copyright©2009 by Steve Sem-Sandberg, forthcoming asThe Emperor of Lies from Farrar, Straus &Giroux (US) and Faber &Faber (UK). Englishtranslation copyright©201 1 by Sarah Death. Published by arrangement with FSG. Editorial note: Toread a review-commentary on four recent "reality novels," including The Emperor of Lies, seeAnna Paterson's "The Improbable Reality of Europe's Dark Past" onthe WLT website. July -August 201 1i21 ...