ALEKSANDAR TISMA
From
The Book
of
Blam
The Mercury is the most prominent building in Novi Sad. Not the tallest,
because it is overpowered by the steep glaciers of the high-rises and the
sturdy wreaths of apartment houses that the postwar population explosion
strewed over the fields at the edge of town. Nor the most attractive, because
its builder and first owner, a prewar businessman, viewed it as a commer–
cial venture, making the most of every square inch and avoiding costly
ornamentation. And yet the Mercury, jutting into Main Square, one cor–
ner rounded like the stern of an ocean liner, running along broad, straight
Old Boulevard in all its four-storied glory (and with its somewhat nar–
rower decklike mansard) and boas ting a continuous row of ground-level
businesses, including a department store, a cinema, and a hotel with a
restaurant and bar, is unquestionably the city's focal point.
Miroslav Blam, who lives in the Mercury's mansard, understands the
exceptional, almost lofty status of the building and of himself as a part of
it. He is proud of his status, though secretly, reticently so, not having come
by it on his own merit. When he writes his return address, he does not use
the generally accepted "Mercury Building" (the name comes from the
name of the original owner's company); he uses the official though more
complicated " 1 Old Boulevard," which he also uses when giving his
address to acquaintances, and only if they slap their foreheads and say,
"Why, that's the Mercury!" does he nod hesitantly, as if yielding to the
unofficial, slightly wanton designation, while in fact concealing his plea–
sure. Or, rather, vacillating between pleasure and annoyance, because he
dislikes being pigeonholed, even in so minor a detail.
Actually, the reason he is so fond of his Mercury mansard is that it is
in the center of things yet remains a hideaway. Lift your eyes from any
point in Main Square or the boulevard and you'll say, "That's where Blam
lives." But try to make your way there and find him. First you have to be
let into the building or slip past the janitor keeping an eye on the court–
yard from his kitchen. Then you have to climb stairs and stairs-four
flights ' worth, each with dozens of doors and more than dozens of people
living behind them, meddlesome people constantly lolling on the balconies-
Editor's Note: From The
Book oj Blam,
to be published by Harcourt Brace
&
Company. Copyright
©
1998 by Aleksander Tisma.
