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The Emigrants

By W.G. Sebald
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Emigrants by W.G. Sebald is a compelling narrative that intricately interweaves the life stories of four emigrants. Through a blend of biography, fiction, and photographic documentation, Sebald explores themes of memory, loss, and identity as he delves into their displaced lives. The book's lyrical and haunting prose captures the poignant essence of exile and the indelible impact of history on personal lives.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you appreciate beautifully interwoven narratives that explore themes of memory, exile, and the fragments of history. It offers a hauntingly lyrical examination of four people who emigrate, revealing how their lives meander through paths of displacement and loss. Fans of profound and contemplative storytelling will find this work intriguing and moving.

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At first The Emigrants appears simply to document the lives of four Jewish emigres in the twentieth century. But gradually, as Sebald's precise, almost dreamlike prose begins to work its magic, the four narrations merge into one overwhelming evocation of exile and loss.

'Strange, beautiful and terribly moving' A.S. Byatt, Times Literary Supplement

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

A new, modern look for Sebald's classic trilogy of books - Vertigo, The Emigrants and The Rings of Saturn - 20 years after the tragic death of one of our most pioneering and cherished writers.

A book of excruciating sobriety and warmth and a magical concreteness of observation... I know of no book which conveys more about that complex fate, being a European at the end of European civilization — Susan Sontag

At first The Emigrants appears simply to document the lives of four Jewish émigrés in the twentieth century. But gradually, as Sebald's precise, almost dreamlike prose begins to draw their stories, the four narrations merge into one overwhelming evocation of exile and loss.

An unconsoling masterpiece... Exquisitely written and exquisitely translated...a true work of art — Spectator

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

The Emigrants by W.G. Sebald has been praised for its strange beauty and deeply moving narrative, evoking a powerful emotional response. The book is recognised as an exquisite and unconsoling masterpiece, beautifully written and translated. It offers a spellbinding account of four Jewish exiles, marked by its restrained and meditative tone. The work is celebrated for its delicate portrayal of displacement, standing out as a classic that contrasts with the brashness of much contemporary writing.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780099448884

Publisher: Vintage Publishing

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 07 November 2002

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Vintage Classics

Illustration: 78

Contributors:

  • Translated by Michael Hulse
  • Translated by Michael Hulse

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 16.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 181g

Pages: 256

Collections

Fiction General Fiction Literary Fiction Penguin Books W.G. Sebald

About the Author

W. G. Sebald was born in Wertach im Allg u, in the Bavarian Alps, in 1944. He studied German language and literature in Freiburg, Switzerland and Manchester. In 1966 he took up a position as an assistant lecturer at the University of Manchester, settling permanently in England in 1970. He was professor of Modern German Literature at the University of East Anglia, and is the author of The Emigrants which won the Berlin Literature Prize, the Literatur Nord Prize and the Johannes Bobrowski Medal, The Rings of Saturn and Austerlitz. W. G. Sebald died in 2001.

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