Bibliograph

The emigrants, W.G. Sebald ; translated by Michael Hulse

Type

Label

The emigrants, W.G. Sebald ; translated by Michael Hulse

Language

eng

Illustrations

illustrations

Index

no index present

Literary Form

fiction

Main title

The emigrants

Oclc number

34851110

Responsibility statement

W.G. Sebald ; translated by Michael Hulse

Series statement

New directions book, NDP 853

Summary

The road to exile of four men. One is a teacher, fired by the Nazis from his job for having a Jewish ancestor, then inducted into the German army. Of the others, all Jews, one is a surgeon who commits suicide as he is unable to assimilate into British society, a second is an artist, a third becomes a butler in New YorkThe four long narratives in The Emigrants appear at first to be the straightforward biographies of four Germans in exile. Sebald reconstructs the lives of a painter, a doctor, an elementary-school teacher, and Great Uncle Ambrose. Following (literally) in their footsteps, the narrator retraces routes of exile which lead from Lithuania to London, from Munich to Manchester, from the South German provinces to Switzerland, France, New York, Constantinople, and Jerusalem. Along with memories, documents, and diaries of the Holocaust, he collects photographs - the enigmatic snapshots which stud The Emigrants and bring to mind family photo albums. Combining documentary with fiction, Sebald exerts a new magic, and as he puts the question to realism, the four stories merge into one unfathomable requiem. --, Back cover

Classification