W. G. Sebald: A Critical Companion

by J.J. Long (Editor), Anne Whitehead (Editor)

Likened to Proust, Gunter Grass, and Virginia Woolf, W. G. Sebald (1944-2001) is one of the most important writers of our time, combining a wide readership with universal critical acclaim. Sebald’s refracted and sometimes alienated views of both his native Germany and his adopted English homeland have had astonishing resonance in the German- and English-speaking worlds. In this first collection to appear in English, newly commissioned essays by leading international scholars offer interdisciplinary perspectives on Sebald’s work, providing a thorough assessment of his achievement.

Sebald’s texts deal with issues that lie at the very heart of contemporary memory, exile, identity, representation, history, the Holocaust. His texts are hybrid in nature, mixing fiction, biography, historiography, travel writing, and memoir, and incorporating numerous photographic images. In response to this, W. G. A Critical Companion focuses on the key areas of travel, intertextuality, nature, and memory.

Introductory chapters situate Sebald’s work within the European literary tradition and within contemporary critical discourse. Individual chapters then draw on approaches from cultural and literary studies, including ecocriticism, trauma theory, and text-image studies, in order to explore aspects of Sebald’s dazzling oeuvre. A comprehensive bibliography of primary and secondary sources rounds off the volume, which will satisfy a growing need for a high-quality and up-to-date guide to Sebald’s work for an English-speaking readership. The interdisciplinary nature of the Companion means that it will appeal not only to students and critics working on Sebald, but to anyone interested in contemporary culture.

Genres: Literary Criticism

256 pages, Paperback

First published May 27, 2004

Reviews

[Elena Sala · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sebald's work is situated at the confluence of numerous discourses, contexts and debates. His work is quite complex: to begin with, it is steeped in psychoanalytical thought and the discourse of trauma theory. Also, intertextuality and the discourse of memory play an important part.
Although his books have found a large popular readership across Europe and America, it seems that many readers fail to recognize that they were written in response to very specific German concerns. For these reasons (and many more) I believe this book will be a useful companion to those readers who want to gain a better understanding of Sebald's work.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I became interested in this book after reading Sebald's Vertigo. I enjoyed the article on Vertigo in this book.