Arnon Grunberg

Potato

Elevator music

My hotel in Vienna with the curious name Hotel Hollmann Beletage is rather pleasant. The front desk is unmanned between 17:00 and 08:00 but nevertheless I can recommend this hotel to more adventurous visitors to Vienna.
While reading in the bookstore tonight I had to listen to elevator music. It was apparently impossible for the bookstore to turn the elevator music off.
A blond girl in the first row was listening with her eyes closed or the combination of the elevator music and my voice put her to sleep. (The reading gets a 6.)
The sequel to the reading, dinner with my friend Sigi and two of her friends, was hilarious. I learned that each and every potato has a different taste. One woman over dinner said: “From the eight potatoes I cook I eat at least six.”