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Part 1

• Interest in professional fasting is declining.

• The professional, or hunger artist, is becoming as disillusioned with his audience as they are with him.

• He watches from the barred cage where he sits in straw with only a clock for company and sips from a glass of water, answering questions "with a constrained smile."

• Occasionally, he stretches out an arm so a visitor can feel how thin it is.

• He recollects the glorious days when villagers bought season tickets to his performances.

• The current reality that only children still marveled, that adults found him "a joke that happened to be in fashion."

• The hunger artist also remembers those most familiar with him and his profession, who believe in his truth without need of proof.

• They stand in stark contrast to the relay teams of watchers who keep vigil to ensure that the hunger artist does not cheat.

• They...

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