The Assistant by Robert Walser
I discovered Robert Walser(1878-1956) several months ago through a blog. The Assistant was not out then but fortunately the library had a copy of the The Robber and Selected Stories. I was intrigued by the opening of the Robber, but gave up after few pages: Edith loves him. More on this later. Perhaps she should have initiated relations with this good-for-nothing who has no money.
The Assistant written in 1907 in a six-week sprint has recently been translated in English and published by the good folks of New Directions. This is a more approachable and readable work than The Robber, yet in the middle it felt little monotonous. But I picked it up again after couple weeks and finished it. Maybe I wasn't attentive enough but I thoroughly enjoyed the later half of the book. I might give Robber another try soon.
Written in 1907 and based closely on Walser's own experiences, The Assistant tells the story of Jospeh Marti. The employment bureau sends Joseph to a position as the assistant of an inventor named, Carl Tobler. The book opens, not as unconventionally as The Robber, when Joseph arrives at the Tobler household:One morning at eight o'clock a young man stood at the door of a solitary and, it appeared, attractive house. It was raining, "It almost surprises me," the one standing there thought, "that I'm carrying an umbrella." In earlier years he never possessed such a thing. The hand extending down at his side held a brown suitcase, one of the very cheapest. Before the eyes of this man who, it seemed, had just come from a journey, was an enamel sign on which could be read: C. Tobler, Technical Office.
The story moves on as Joseph settles in "the dazzling-gauzy-white outlines of the Alps appeared like notes of music fading into the distance." and discovers the sad state of Tobler's finances. Tobler's inventions didn't create much noise, -- the Invalid's Chair, the Deep Hole Drilling Machine, the Marksman's Vending Machine and the Advertising Clock --, instead those created more debts and unhappiness for Mr. Tobler and as a consequence no salary for Joseph. Tobler said he will be paid only if the inventions are successful. But Joseph was happy, as he was enjoying the landscape, once a in a while a nice trip to the city and of course regular meals and good supply of cigars.
The book is full of soliloquies and digressions. One of Walser's trademark is vivid description of the landscape. This excerpt is towards the end of the book, one of Joseph's trip to the city. Walser does not reveal which city it is but experts claim it is Zurich, even though Walser was in Berlin when he wrote the book: About this time there came a Sunday on which Joseph
decided for a change to take a train to the capital to amuse himself once more. In the city, he discovered fog in the streets, wet leaves upon ground, benches in the parks on which one was no longer able or eager to sit, and in the winding little alleyways he found noise, and in the evening, raucous drunkards before the numerous bars (p. 200).
...
In the cold night, he sat down on a bench in one of the little parks to let the harsh, imperious weather blow the intoxication from his head and limbs. A proper storm wind was howling and shaking the branches of the park's trees. This however, appeared a matter of complete indifference to a second person who seemed likewise to be taking a rest here at this nocturnal hour; for he
had made himself at home on a bench across from Joseph. What sort of person might this be, and what had caused him to sit down in this exposed, inconsiderate stormy night like Joseph? Was such a thing done? The assistant, sensing some misfortune or pain, walked over to the resting, dark figure -- and saw it was Wirsich (p. 201).
(Wirsich was Tobler's last assistant, he got fired.)
The book was full of prose concerning Joseph's day to day undertakings, again digressions here and there. This is one my favorite paragraphs: Down in the office. The first thing was to pace back and forth a little, after all that was standard procedure, that's how a person always begins when he's resolved to get to work. Was Joseph one of those individuals who always begin some piece of work by first taking a breather and only afterward, when they have finished work, that is, half-finished it, do they begin to display some energy, which suggests perhaps that the impetus behind this energy is merely the wish to indulge in some cheap amusements? In a leisurely fashion, he lit one of the familiar cheroots, which always sweetened the thought of getting down to work, and soon he was puffing away like a member of a smoking club.
One of the interesting aspects of Joseph Marti that was intentionally left by Walser is the detail of his romantic interests. Walser's women are mysterious and perplexing so is the relationship involving them. For instance, in this case, Joseph's attitude towards Frau Tobler, her employer's wife. He has a certain affection for her, yet it is not fully exposed. When Frau Tobler was ill to
Joseph she looked more beautiful, younger, certain times a completely different person.But Frau Tobler was little by little becoming the old Frau Tobler once more. The more she recovered, the more resembled herself. Well, it would have been exceedingly peculiar, wouldn't it, if she had become another person instead! No, a living human creature is not so quick to leap
out its own nature. Provisions are in place to ensure that a thing like that will never come to pass. If the woman made a gentler impression, it was only because she was still feeling weak.
A beautiful translation by Susan Bernofsky, keeping the essence of Walser's style. She also translated extremely
difficult Robber, which was written during the 'pencil' phase of Walser when he was not in a sane state: Since Walser never prepared a fair copy of the The Robber, the novel comes down to us in Microscript form. The microscript, now housed in the Robert Walser-Archi in Zurich, were tiny, densely pencil-jointed manuscripts in which Walser composed the rough drafts
of his texts starting as early as 1917. (Introduction, The Robber)
Also, check out a nice long article in New Yorker and a blog dedicated to this ignored genius. I would highly recommend to start with the Selected Stories then Assistant. He is more known the short pieces.