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Chapter nine

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  Chapter nine in which Uncle Stan’s defection leads to unlooked-for popularity ... Uncle Stan called. Had a bit of luck and was all keyed up to tell us about it so Mother got everyone together to hear the news. As usual, Mother was in charge of the phone, standing by to interpret Uncle Stan’s words to us by means of grimacing, gesturing and eloquently lifting her eyebrows. She had sound effects too, so it was with a great deal of pleasure that we anticipated Uncle Stan’s fortnightly call.      The show started with a lot of grinning when Uncle Stan announced that he was out of the refugee camp  and that he found a cleaning job. Mother, mindful of who might be listening, acknowledged the news by  grunting noncommittally into the receiver. (To us she gave the thumbs up gesture and mouthed the word job.)  Encouraged by this show of support, Uncle Stan revealed that he’d managed to rent a room somewhere  reasonable and that his German language...
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Chapter seven

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  As expected, there were interminable discussions around the table on the Virtues of Capitalism. The kids  were turned out of the room when these began because Mother was afraid the kids would blab at school.  Appreciating the gravity of the occasion, we loitered outside the door in the hope of catching a few words  of treason but heard nothing worth repeating. There was a lot of shushing and hushing going on as  Mother took every precaution. The family, you see, had got into trouble once before.      Just a few months ago, Pavel came home from school with a note requesting an interview with Mother  and Dad at the comrade principal’s office. They were a bit puzzled; it was Pavel’s first year of school and  he was doing all right, and what with his quiet nature and all they couldn’t make sense of it, but of course,  they went. The interview started well enough, Pavel was a clever boy, no problem there. However, when  ask...
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