Fernando Avila

Fernando Avila is Oskar’s teacher and physical-training instructor, a figure who tries to meet the boy with both practical guidance and personal concern. He urges Oskar to come to training rather than retreat into himself, offers to listen without pressure, and promises discretion. That care is cut short when Avila is ambushed on his way back from the swimming hall and knocked down by Prebbe.

Identity and Approach

Avila teaches Oskar and leads his training sessions. His approach combines physical instruction with an unusually direct attentiveness to Oskar’s state of mind. When Oskar says he is too sick to attend training, Avila asks whether he is genuinely ill; he argues that staying shut away in a shell will make Oskar sick if he is not already. He wants Oskar to come, but makes clear that conversation is optional: Avila will talk if Oskar wants to, and will not force him if he does not.

Care for Oskar

Avila’s support takes practical form. At the training session, he proposes showing Oskar a technique on the bench press, and says they can talk more afterward. He also assures Oskar that he will not tell anyone what Oskar has shared if Oskar does not want him to. The promise gives Oskar control over whether his trouble becomes known to others, even as Avila keeps the invitation to return open.

Avila does not fully understand Oskar. When Oskar thinks about playing with fire, Avila warns that it is dangerous and can become a habit, and recommends physical exercise as a better method. Oskar nods, but the feeling he had disappears; he thinks Avila is great while recognizing that he will never understand. The exchange marks both the value and the limit of Avila’s help: he offers steady, concrete care, but cannot reach the part of Oskar’s experience that remains unspoken.

Attack at the Swimming Hall

Later, after Oskar has entered the swimming hall and gone into the locker room, Avila walks from the pool area toward his office. Prebbe is waiting with Jonny, Jimmy, Roger, and the others positioned around the exercise gym and doorway. He has wound a pair of tube socks filled with small change around his hand for a firmer grip.

As Avila reaches the office door with his back to Prebbe, Prebbe swings the weighted socks at the back of his head. Avila turns partway, so the blow catches him above the ear rather than squarely from behind; it nevertheless throws him forward and sideways into the doorpost, and he falls to the floor. Prebbe sits on his chest, readying the improvised weapon for another blow if necessary. Avila’s arms tremble, but he makes no resistance. Prebbe does not think he is dead, though the scene leaves his condition uncertain.