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Gangster Holiday
by Louis-Ferdinand Céline, translation by Donald Brewer

I can see B»bi the clown in "The Gangster Who Chickens Out." I know very little about him, but he seems well-suited for the job to me.
     A little tax clerk sees a lot of money passing: He is in love... He is despised... This disgusts him... He goes to the racetracks. He loses... He goes to the cinema... He sees Chicago... This gives him ideas... He waits for vacation time... "Gangster Holiday" ...I'd call it. And there he goes, he's on the road... He's rented a Rosengart, 1500 francs per month... He'll stop some limousines... they'll wonder what he wants... They offer to help him... They notice him... all the way to Trou-La-Ville! At the casino he loses control. He tries to bet the house at cards... But he looks too honest... They refuse to let him back in... He steals a strawberry ice-cream cone... He's content... Etc., etc. He finishes up with honesty... taxes. Then his uncle dies. Everything's arranged. He'll buy the Rosengart in eighteen installments.
     But me, I don't have what it takes. Nevertheless, that's the way to go.




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