Literature
Misfortune's Sons: Chapter 5
It’s late at night, and the PM and my father are meeting in the dining room of the house. Both probably assumed I was passed out somewhere upstairs, yet that night I must have had enough mental clarity to remember this conversation years later.
“That boy of yours is going to ruin us,” the PM said. “We already have enough enemies in the press as it is, and we don’t need him to bungle critical events and make matters worse.”
My father answered levelly, “Knut made a mistake, he – “
“Do you think I want to see the newspapers cover how the Minister of Energy’s layabout alcoholic son made a fool of himself at a labour conference?” the PM interrupted my father, his furious tone sounding nothing like the way he presents himself in public. “We need them focusing on our accomplishments, not the behaviour of the disreputable members of our families.”
“Don’t speak of my son like that,” said my father icily. “He is trying his best, and I don’t think that shutting him out from our
