A few notes from Corelli's Mandolin......

     Make a note, I want a salary freeze to keep inflation under control.  Increase family subsidies by fifty percent.  No I don't think the latter will cancel out the effects of the former.  Do you think I don't understand economics?  How many times do I have to explain, you dolt, that Fascist economics are immune from the cyclic disturbances of capitalism?  How dare you contradict me and say it appears that the opposite is true?  Why do you think we've been going for autarky all these years?  We've had some teething problems, that's all, you zuccone, you  sciocco, you balordo.  Send Farinacci a telegram saying that I'm sorry he's lost a hand, but what else do you expect when you go fishing with a hand grenade?  Tell the press it was because of something heroic.  We'll have an article about it in Il Regime Fascista on Monday.  Something like 'Party Boss Injured in Valiant Action Against Ethiopians'.  Which reminds me, how are the experiments with poison gas going?  The ones against the wog guerrillas?  I hope the rifiuto die slowly that's all.  Maximum agony.  Pour encourager les autres.  Shall we invade France?  How about 'Fascism Transcends Class Antagonisms'?  Is Ciano here yet?  I've been getting reports from all over the country that the mood is overwhelmingly anti-war.  I can't understand it.  Industrialists, bourgeoisie, working classes, even the Army, for God's sake.  Yes, I know there's a deputation of artists and intellectuals waiting.  What?  They're going to present me with an award?  Send them straight in.

-Louis De Bernieres,  as excerpted from the chapter "The Duce" in Corelli's Mandolin