Daniel Kehlmann - Me and Kaminski

Me and Kaminski

CONTENTS

What a singular being do I find myself! Let this my journal show what variety my mind is capable of. But am I not well received everywhere? Am I not particularly taken notice of by men of the most distinguished genius? And why? I have neither profound knowledge, strong judgment, nor constant gaiety. But I have a noble soul which still shines forth, a certain degree of knowledge, a multiplicity of ideas of all kinds, an original humor and turn of expression, and, I really believe, a remarkable knowledge of human nature.

James Boswell, Journals, December 29, 1764

I

I AWOKE as the conductor knocked on the door of the compartment. It was a little after 6 a.m., wed be there in half an hour, had I heard him? Yes, I muttered, yes, and dragged myself up into a sitting position. I had been lying across three seats, alone in the compartment, my back hurt and I had a stiff neck. My dreams had been shot through with the persistent racket that comes with any journey, voices in the corridor, announcements about platforms; they were unpleasant dreams, and I was jolted out of them repeatedly; once someone had yanked open the compartment door from outside in the corridor and coughed, and I had to get up to shut it. I rubbed my eyes and looked out the window: raining. I put on my shoes, took my old shaving kit out of my suitcase, yawned, and went outside.

The mirror in the toilet showed me a pale face, a mess of hair, and a cheek still imprinted with the pattern of the seat upholstery. I plugged in the shaver, nothing happened. I opened the door, saw the conductor still down at the other end of the car, and called out that I needed help.

He came and gave me a look and a thin smile. The shaver, I said, wasnt working, clearly there was no current. Of course theres current, he replied. No, I said. Yes, he said. No! He shrugged, perhaps its the wiring, but in any case theres nothing he can do. But surely, I said, its the very least one can expect from a conductor. He wasnt a conductor, he said, he was a train escort. I said I really didnt care. He asked me what I meant. I said I really didnt care what the job was called, it was superfluous anyway. He said he wasnt going to let himself be insulted by me, I should watch out, he might just bust me in the chops. He could try, I said, I was going to file a complaint in any case, and I wanted his name. He wasnt going to do any such thing, he said, and whats more, I stank and I was getting a bald spot. Then he turned around and went away cursing.

I shut the door to the toilet and took a worried look in the mirror. Of course there was no bald spot; where on earth did that ape get an idea like that? I washed my face, went back to the compartment, and put on my jacket. Outside the window railroad tracks, electricity poles, and wires began to form a tightening grid, the train was slowing down, and the platform was already in sight: billboards, telephone booths, people with luggage carts. The train braked and came to a halt.

I pushed my way along the corridor toward the door. A man jostled me, and I pushed him aside. The conductor was standing on the platform. I handed down my suitcase. He took it, looked at me, smiled, and let it fall smack onto the asphalt. Sorry, he said, and grinned. I climbed down, picked up the suitcase, and walked away.

I asked a man in uniform about my connecting train. He gave me a long look, then fished out a crumpled little book, tapped his forefinger thoughtfully against his tongue, and began to thumb the pages.

Dont you have a computer?

He gave me a questioning look.

Doesnt matter, I said. Keep going.

He thumbed, sighed, thumbed again. Intercity 6:35. Track 8. Then change...

I moved on quickly, I had no time for his chatter. Walking wasnt easy, I wasnt used to being awake at such an early hour. My train was standing at track 8. I boarded it, entered the carriage, pushed a fat lady aside, worked my way to the last free window seat, and let myself fall into it. A few minutes later we were on our way.

Straight opposite me was a bony man wearing a tie. I nodded to him, he returned the greeting and then turned his eyes away. I opened my suitcase, took out my notepad, and laid it on the narrow table between us. I almost knocked his book off, but he was able to grab onto it in time. I had no time to lose, my article was already three days overdue.

Hans Bahring, I wrote, who has made many... no!... numerous attempts to bore us to death... yes, thats it... with his insights, no, badly researched insights into lives of important, no, prominent, no, thats even worse. I thought for a moment... historical personalities, has come up with another one. To call his just-published biography of the artist, no, painter Georges Braque a failure would probably be to overpraise a book that... I stuck the pencil between my teeth. Now I needed something really to the point. I pictured Bahrings face when he read the article, but that didnt give me any ideas either. This was less fun than Id thought it would be.

I was probably just tired. I rubbed my chin, the stubble felt unpleasant, I simply had to get a shave. I put down the pencil and leaned my head against the windowpane. It was starting to rain. Drops were hitting the glass and streaming in the opposite direction from the one we were traveling in. I blinked, the rain got heavier, the raindrops seemed to make little exploded puddles full of faces, eyes, and mouths. I closed my eyes, and while I listened to the drumming of the water, I dozed off: for a few moments, I didnt know where I was; I felt I was floating through the huge emptiness of space. I opened my eyes: the glass was covered with a film of water, and trees were bowed under the force of the rain. I closed my notepad and put it away. Then I noticed the book the man in front of me was reading: Picassos Last Years by Hans Bahring. I didnt like this. I had the feeling I was being mocked somehow.

Lousy weather, I said.

He looked up for a moment.

Not very good, is it? I pointed to Bahrings hash-up.

I find it interesting, he said.

Thats because youre not an expert.

Thatll be why, he said, and turned the page.

I leaned my head against the neck rest, my back was still hurting from the night in the train. I took out my cigarettes. The rain was easing up, and the first mountains were becoming visible through the haze. I used my lips to pull a cigarette out of the pack. As I clicked the lighter, I flashed on Kaminskis Still Life of Fire and Mirror: a flickering dazzle of bright colors out of which a lancelike flame came leaping, as if it were trying to shoot clear of the canvas. What year? I didnt know. I had to prepare better.

This is a nonsmoking carriage.

What?

The man didnt look up, just pointed to the sign on the window.

Just a couple of quick puffs!

This is a nonsmoking carriage, he said again.

I dropped the cigarette and ground it out with my foot, clenching my teeth with fury. Okay, if thats how he wanted it, I wouldnt talk to him. I pulled out Komenevs Some Thoughts on Kaminski, a badly printed paperback with an unattractive thicket of footnotes. It had stopped raining, blue sky could be seen through gashes in the clouds. I was still very tired, but I couldnt allow myself to go to sleep again, I was going to have to get off any time now.