Chapter 11 Section ten

Did this get-together without a hug really happen?Does Chantal remember that (though only a few seconds) misunderstanding?Did she remember the words that disturbed Jean-Marc?Of course: this little episode, like thousands of others, has been forgotten without exception.A few hours later, they had lunch in the restaurant as if nothing had happened.They discussed with great interest the topic of death.About death?Chantal's boss asked her to conceive an advertising campaign for the Luzern-Dover cemetery. "We shouldn't be laughing," she said with a smug smile. "What about them? Are they laughing?"

"Who?" "Of course the people you work with, the idea itself seems so absurd, an advertising campaign for death, that boss of yours, Trozkett! You always say, he very smart!" "Yes, he's really smart. It's as sharp as a scalpel. He knows Marx, psychoanalysis and modern poetry. He likes to talk about the end of the nineteenth century, the beginning of the twentieth century, in Germany or other countries, Every day there is a movement about poetry. Advertising, he claims, is a project of poetizing reality. Because of advertising, every day of life is so alive and dynamic.

"What wisdom is there in those platitudes?" "The difference is the cynical tone in which he speaks!" "And did he smile when he gave you the mission to do an ad campaign for death?" "It's a kind of smile that can be said to be very elegant to a certain extent. The stronger you are, the more you feel the need to be elegant. But his indifferent smile is completely different from yours. He has long been deeply impressed. realized the subtle difference between them." "Then how can he put up with your laughter?" "Excuse me, Mr. Jean-Marc, why do you think that? I don't smile at all. Don't forget, I have two different faces. I have learned to find happiness in reality, but to maintain two faces But it's not easy, it takes struggle, it takes training! You have to understand what I do, whether you like it or not. My purpose is to try to perfect it. Even if it's just not to lose my A job. If you hate your job, it's hard to be productive at work.

"You will succeed, I firmly believe. You have this ability, you are so extremely smart." Jean-Marc said. "Yes, I have two faces, but I can't show them at the same time. When I'm in the office, I show a serious face. When I get the resumes of those job applicants, their fate is determined." It's all in my hands. It's up to me whether to recommend them or reject them. There are some people who, in their cover letters, use up all kinds of fashionable, clichéd, esoteric, or confident words. I don't have to meet them or talk to them at all to get to know them. I just need to know if those people are passionate about doing a good job. Some people. They may have studied philosophy or art history before, or I taught French literature, but now, in order to make a better life, most of them even out of desperation for their present life, they come to us looking for work. I know, in fact, they despise this job in their hearts. work, so they seem to me like relatives of the fox. I have to think carefully about them.

"So how do you decide whether to admit them or not?" "Sometimes, I recommend people I admire; other times, I recommend people who I think will do a good job. I feel like I've betrayed both the company and myself. I'm a true double-traitor. But I think this double betrayal is not a failure, but a success. Because who knows how long I can keep my double face. The day will come when I will restore my original appearance. Of course, since then From now on, my face is only left with the worse one, the serious and silent one. Tell me, at that time, will you still love me?"

"You will not lose your two faces," said Jean-Marc. She smiled and raised her glass: "I hope not!" They toast, they drink.Jean-Marc said: "Actually, I'm almost envious that you can do an advertising campaign about death. I don't know why, but from a very young age, I have been interested in poems about death. I can also recite Some, would you like to listen to it now? That might help you. For example, there is one written by Paudreira, which you should have heard of. (Ou) Death, my old captain, the time has come!Let's lift anchor! This land weary of us, (O), death!Let's let go! "

"I know, I know," put in Chantal, "that poem is beautiful, but it doesn't suit us." "Then what more do you want? Your old Trolse Kate's love poems! Or better consolation for a dying man: This land weary of us? I can even imagine those words carved on the cemetery gate Use it in your ad, it needs only a little modification: you are tired of this land. Lucerne Dufer is your best home, the kind old captain, will help You set sail." "But our job is not to pick up the dying. They don't need the services of Luxon Dufer & Co. And those who bury their dead need to enjoy life, not celebrate death. Remember: Our belief is to celebrate life. The word life is the key. All other words revolve around it. Adventure, future, and hope. By the way, you know the code name of the atomic bomb they dropped on Hiroshima What is it? Little boy! The guy who named it was a genius! There couldn't have been a more appropriate one. Little boy, kid, kid, little doll—the word is most sympathetic, Most touching and affordable for the future."

"Oh, I see," said Jean-Marc cheerfully, "fate will befall Hiroshima, and it is the little boy who has assumed the role of Fate. He has brought some golden hope to destruction. In the post-war In the 1980s, everything started again." He raised his glass: "Let's drink to this!"