Arnon Grunberg

Wife

Translator

On Thursday night I had dinner with my Hungarian translator and his wife.
I love my Hungarian translator and I love his wife.
His wife and I started with a pálinka, my translator started with a beer. Afterwards there was wine and food.
Unfortunately I had skipped lunch.
When we left the restaurant to go to a bar I was completely drunk. I couldn’t even walk properly; I was a pedestrian under the influence. The pálinka had killed me.
This was going to be embarrassing.
But I couldn’t stop drinking. My translator’s wife had just given birth to a child, it was her first night out in months. I couldn’t let her down.
Around 1:30 a.m. I was back in my hotel. I read my e-mails, I listened to Leonard Cohen and I came to the conclusion that I don’t have enough talent to be an alcoholic.