Saturday, June 15, 2013

Austerlitz

Still on vacation, but I've finished Austerlitz by W. G. Sebald.  I first heard of this author over at dovegreyreader scribbles, and was intrigued enough to buy this book sometime last year.  I knew going in that Sebald's works often concern memory, what it means and how it plays out in human lives.  Sebald reminds me a bit of Borges with his dreamlike narration, and a bit of Dinesen with her layering of stories within stories.  Austerlitz is complex and often puzzling, and so many memories are related at such great length, that for the first quarter or so of the book, I kept asking myself, where is he going with this?  But then it all falls into place, and it's heartbreaking, and I couldn't put it down till I finished it. 

The Classics Club
Mount TBR Challenge

2 comments:

  1. When I read the review something sounded familiar....and now I discovered I have a book Rings of Saturn by this writer and had forgotten all about it. Looks like it is time to read what's laying in the bookcase!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'd love to hear what you think of Rings of Saturn. I haven't read it, but this author is so unusual that anything by him has to be interesting.

    ReplyDelete