She kept yammering away, like a stupid little budgie in a cage, just baby stuff and doll stories. It drove Mama mad to listen to her, never mind me. It was a funny thing but right where we lived on rue des Lions all the other children were girls – or boys who were very young, just babies, really. I had nobody to play with. Mama began to say things about me going to school after all because I needed the company, but Papa was dead set against it. He had a notion something would happen to me there and he wouldn’t be able to stop it. He began to teach me some mathematics, and even a bit of chemistry, which only happens when you go to the collège. Except we didn’t have any materials, just flour and salt, cooking things like that. “What about our gold and silver?” I asked. “They’re elements. Couldn’t we do something with them?” Papa had shown me their names on the periodic table of the elements. Gold is Au; silver is Ag. I thought it was a smart idea but he just got cross.
What do You think about No Stars At The Circus (2014)?
