Just before she died, her eyes were full of kindness and goodwill. I wondered whether she was hoping I would rush to her rescue. ‘Then why didn’t you try?’ the survivor asked. ‘I did jump to my feet at one point. But I had skived off a political meeting at work that day, and if news had got out that I wasn’t ill at all, but had come to watch the performance, I would have got into terrible trouble. She knew very well that the higher organs were in the process of considering my application to join the Party.’ ‘You should be held responsible for her death.’ ‘No, my only responsibility is towards
...more
