In Olga Grushin’s second novel, “The Line,” hundreds of citizens spend several hours a day, every day for a year, waiting to buy tickets to a concert that may or may not take place. The premise is loosely based on Stravinsky’s 1962 concert in Leningrad, which was likewise preceded by a yearlong ticket line.
and it reminded me of a joke, which goes like this:
Once upon a time in Communist Russia, the news reached a small town far away from Moscow that the twice yearly shipment of wheat would arrive the next day. By midnight, a line of 3000 persons was standing outside the distribution point.
At 6AM, the mayor, the police commandant and the Party head, after hearing that the shipment is delayed, look out at the vast numbers and declare:
"All Jews, go home."
At 12PM, with a further notice that the shipment is delayed, they declare:
"All who do not carry a Communist party card go home."
At 6PM, with a further notice that the shipment is delayed, they declare:
"All who are not members of the local Communist party executive go home."
At 12AM midnight, with a final notice that the shipment is not coming, they declare:
"Damn those Jews. They always know when to leave early."
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