Joey Anderson’s Reviews > The Clown > Status Update

One of the longer chapters shows Hans and his father struggling to bond on any level, but ultimately they fail miserably. However, it is the only face to face communication Hans has had so far, the others being his recollections and his endless telephone conversations. Although Hans does not quite admit it, he causes his isolation. His relentless sarcasm and criticism towards others doesn’t help him much either.

Zohnerer, Han’s agent, tells him the reason why he can’t find him a job now: “There’s nothing more depressing for people than a clown they feel sorry for.”

Poor Hans. Does anything drive a person more mad than heartbreak? When your romantic other rejects you, what could be worse?

Hans (27) recollects when he was eleven around February 1945 and he called Herbert, his Hitler Youth leader, “You Nazi swine!” With his parents in attendance, local leaders hold a hearing in Hans’ home where his mother abandons him: “‘You can see he doesn’t know what he is doing, he doesn’t realize—if he did, I would have to turn my back on him.’ ‘Go ahead, turn your back,’ I said.”