Arnon Grunberg

Willing

Pocket money

The plane from Frankfurt to Leipzig was delayed by two hours, but around 8 p.m. I finally arrived in Leipzig.
The cab driver asked me if I was in town for the book fair.
“Yes,” I said.
“Are people still buying books?” he wanted to know. He sounded as if he couldn’t believe that people were willing to pay money for a book.
“Sometimes,” I answered. “How is your business?” “Yesterday,” he said, “I waited seven hours at the airport. No money. Pocket money for the children, that’s all.” I gave him a good tip.