WALTER ABISH
79
I take a puff on my cigarette. I feel strangely lightheaded. I feel
comfortably relaxed in my chair. From where I am sitting, I can see the
street below. Looking down at it, I am reminded of Tanner, since it is
the kind of street that frequently can be seen in his films. Tanner
provided me with my first real glimpse of Switzerland.
No, I reply. My wife and I are separated. I don't even know where
she is staying. I'm not even certain that she is in Geneva at this time.
We have not seen each other since the Einzig trial.
Does she blame you for the excessively long sentences handed out
to the Gruppe?
You'll have
to
ask her.
As the only writer in the Gruppe, did you ever feel tempted to keep
a diary or journal during the period of time you' were ... associated
with them?
Quite candidly, I see no point in discussing the Gruppe. They
belong to the past. Moreover, my and Paula's decision to separate had
nothing to do with the Einzig Gruppe, or the outcome of the trial.
Most political trials, I have come to realize, are badly in need of some
sort of scapegoat to deflect questions that try to probe a little deep–
er ... This trial was no exception. What I had to say at the trial was not
said under any duress, contrary to what most people seem to believe. I
was never an actual participant or member of the Gruppe. True, some
of them had been friends, and I helped them because they were friends.
Admittedly, I got a slight kick out of helping the so-called conspira–
tors, not because I believed for one moment in their methods or in what
they were hoping to achieve, but simply because I tend to dislike
bureaucrats in positions of power. I didn't mind giving them a kick in
the ass.
Would you consider what happened recently in Wurtenburg as a
kick in the ass?
No, that was very unfortunate.
Is it a coincidence that the two public buildings recently blown up
by the
Seventeenth of August Group,
or whatever they call themselves,
had been designed by a Hargenau?
I doubt that the action was aimed at him or me.
It
certainly wasn't
aimed at my late father, who is something of a hero in Germany.
To return to you. Do you intend to finish your book in Geneva?
And why Geneva?
I hope to complete the book here. As
to
why Geneva. I like being a
stranger in a city ... I like being anonymous. Incidentally, Paula and I
