It was only now, apparently, that Dr Kreindel noticed Gurdweill’s presence. After dismissing the assistant with a sweep of his hand, he gave Gurdweill an appraising look and asked him what he wanted, with a trace of his former anger still in his voice.

‘My name is Gurdweill,’ he responded dryly. ‘I presume that Dr Mark Astel has already spoken to you about me.’

‘Ah, yes, of course!’ he said, immediately changing his tone and exposing two gold teeth in the front of his mouth as he spoke. ‘Dr Astel, I remember perfectly. Please sit down.’ He indicated a chair next to the desk. ‘So, you want to work for my firm! Very good. What does Goethe say: The love of books is a clear sign of … et cetera, et cetera … You write yourself, if I’m not mistaken?’

‘No,’ Gurdweill cut him short. ‘I don’t write at all.’

‘No? I was told … Never mind, never mind, it doesn’t matter in the least. On the contrary, it’s even better. Much better. Kleist says: Writers are always … et cetera, et cetera. I’m sure you know the end of the quotation …’

Gurdweill sat looking at Dr Kreindel’s fat face, from which it was hard to tell whether he was speaking seriously or making a joke. The man’s sharp little eyes, which lurked under a low brow, were extremely disagreeable to him. An oppressive feeling gave rise to the idea that he would have to spend eight hours a day with this man, day after day, for half a year, a year, and perhaps even longer. He felt a sudden urge to spit on the whole business and get up and leave immediately. But he stayed where he was. He had been out of a job for six months: his sources of loans were running out. He didn’t have the courage to reject the possibility of employment out of hand.

Dr Kreindel went on. ‘I imagine you are a student of philosophy, sir. A very interesting subject! I love philosophy; I studied it for three semesters … And I’m ashamed to admit that once upon a time I even wrote a book on the link between Kant and Spinoza … Don’t be alarmed, the book was never published. A youthful peccadillo with no harmful consequences. In any case I have remained faithful to philosophy to this day. My stocks consist mainly of books on philosophy. You’ll find a rich collection here, and all at your disposal, my dear sir, all at your disposal.’