didnât seem to have noticed Max.
âYes. There was a time when Helsinki University, and especially the humanities departments, had a reputation for being very ⦠sexy. Today itâs journalism and the various media that are hot. Seems as though everybody wants to be a TV news presenter. But you need to remember that Finland is a young nation. The seventies were highly political, and then in the late eighties everything was totally apolitical. After that, a middle ground was reached â a combination of what was new and superficial with what was old and intellectual. Including a place for philosophy. Maybe it was partially due to the growth of the middle class. People gathered in front of the TV to watch programmes about philosophical topics because they had the educational background to understand what was being discussed.â
Laura continued to take notes.
âInteresting,â she said. âBut you donât think this is true any more? Is the field of sociology no longer sexy?â
Max hoped it still was. Above all, he hoped that he was still sexy.
âIn a matter of only a few years people have adopted a different attitude towards a university education. Partly because thereâs no longer the same guarantee that a degree will lead to a job. Other qualifications are required these days, like work experience. The other reason is that the whole university system has been restructured. Nowadays, the goal is to churn out graduates faster and faster.â
Out of the corner of his eye Max saw Kantokorpi get up and head for the loo. He decided to follow. He needed to take a break.
âExcuse me, but would you mind waiting a bit? I just need to â¦â
âOf course.â
He walked past the maître dâ and went into the small menâs room beyond the cloakroom. Kantokorpi was standing at the urinal and Max went over to stand next to him. As he washed his hands, Max pretended suddenly to recognise the professor.
âHey, I canât believe it! What are you doing here?â
âMax! Long time, no see!â
They shook each otherâs hands, which were both still a bit damp. The Kosmos was an old restaurant, and there was something very fitting about two middle-aged men running into each other in the menâs room. Max had a feeling that he needed to explain his presence, even though Kantokorpi hadnât even noticed that he was sitting at a table with Laura.
âSo ⦠What are you doing in Helsinki?â asked Max.
Pekka shrugged.
âOh, nothing special. Iâm just in town for a few days. Having lunch with an old colleague of mine. Maybe you know her ⦠What about you?â
âNo, you know, nothing much. Iâm just here doing an interview for Helsingin Sanomat . Iâm about to turn sixty, you know. Yeah, itâs awful, isnât it? But what can you do? Everybody gets old, right?â
âUh-huh. No way to get around it. But let me at least wish you happy birthday. Shall we?â
The professor opened the door for Max, and they said goodbye before going back to their respective tables. As Max sat down, he noticed that Kantokorpi glanced in his direction and then at Laura. Then he signalled a âthumbs upâ, which made Max instantly lower his gaze.
âSo. Where were we?â
They talked for an hour, and Max finally managed to get the ball rolling. Laura took few notes, focussing instead on running her fingertip along the rim of her wine glass â in a devastatingly sexy way â and laughing whenever Max said something amusing.
Speaking about his career in grand narrative arcs always came easily to Max. He made use of anecdotes that heâd told many times before to considerably larger audiences. At the same time, he couldnât help thinking how easy this was, perhaps a little too easy. As if a personâs life could be defined by these big, vital themes. As if an individual reached certain points
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