‘A shell fell on the kitchen block and killed the storeman. The chief of staff of the second battalion went out to relieve himself and was caught in the shoulder by a splinter. And some sappers caught a five-kilo pike-perch that had been stunned by a bomb. I’ve seen it myself - they gave it as a present to Captain Movshovich. And the commissar…wants you to phone him..’
‘Very well,’ said Byerozkin. He drank a cup of tea, ate some calf’s-foot jelly, rang the chief of staff and the commissar to say he was going out to inspect his battalions..
from Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman (1980). Highly Recommended.
Image by Andreas Barsch from Pixabay
No comments:
Post a Comment