78
PARTISAN REVIEW
Us? Us? Who is us?
23.
The interviewer arrives punctually at three. He has a foreign-sounding
name which I do not catch. He is in his twenties, wearing a very worn–
looking tweed jacket. I have no reason to feel distrustful of him. I 've
been through too many interviews. I smile at him, aware all the time of
his thick spectacles, his disconcerting stare, his tape recorder dangling
from one shoulder, all weapons that I wish to disarm with my
cordiality and candor. From the very start the difficulty lies in trying
to
establish who exactly is interviewing whom. The tape recorder, set on
the table, records a trite meaningless exchange. H e looks around the
room, recording in his brain my few visible possessions: the Hermes
typewriter, a ream of paper, a small pile of books, underwear drying on
a back of a chair, shoes, a guidebook. I offer him a glass of wine, but he
declines. This makes it difficult for me. I could order tea or coffee, but
he says that he has just eaten. He is not rude, at leas t not intentionally
rude. I smoke, sip wine, and stare out of the window. I also inquire
how he had managed to find out that I was staying in Geneva.
It's such a small city. Someone from the magazine recognized you
on the street and passed on the information to me. I call ed a few hotels .
I tried some of the more luxurious ones first and then worked my way
down ...
There are a lot of hotels in Geneva, I remark.
I was lucky.
It's very gratifying that you would wish to interview me. As I
mentioned
to
you on the phone, I hope to have a book out at the end of
the year.
Have you completed it.
No, I am just putting the finishing touches
to
it.
You're not using Geneva in the novel , by any chance.
I find it difficult if not impossible
to
write about a city I happen
to
be in, although Segalen, who I have just been reading, managed to
write an extraordinary novel set in Peking, while staying in that city.
Segalen? Swiss?
No, French.
He jots the name down on a small yellow pad, then, avoiding my
eyes, remarks that he had been informed that Paula was currentl y
living in Geneva. Is that the reason why you are here? And have you
been in touch with her?
