Who would have thought that a single suicide-or a double suicide, more properly-could put an entire city in a sour temper? Vienna valued its suicides, especially those that were dramatic, conducted with some flourish-like the young woman who had decked herself in full bridal regalia before flinging herself from a speeding train, or the circus artist who, in the midst of his performance, had cast away his pole and leaped from the high wire to his death. The audience had applauded, because he jumped with such verve that all believed it was part of his act. It was only as the blood began to pool under his shattered body that the cheers turned to gasps and the women turned their faces away, understanding that this man had added another digit to a suicide rate already the highest in Europe.
( Geraldine Brooks )
[ People of the Book ]
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