A literature of restitution : critical essays on W.G. Sebald / edited by Jeannette Baxter, Valerie Henitiuk and Ben Hutchinson.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Baxter, Jeannette, editor.

Henitiuk, Valerie, editor.

Hutchinson, Ben, 1976- editor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Sebald, W. G., 1944-2001--Criticism and interpretation.

Sebald, W. G.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xvii, 296 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Manchester : Manchester University Press, 2013.

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

In an essay "Ein Versuch der Restitution (An Attempt at Restitution)" delivered as a form of a speech at the opening of Stuttgart's House of Literature, W. G. Sebald asked about the usefulness of literature. This book illustrates some of the recurring concerns of, and tensions in, Sebald's writing: the interanimation of historical and literary discourses, and the clash of individual and collective memories. The coincidence of life and death, and the collision of documentary evidence with the contingent powers of the imagination are also explored. The first set of essays is devoted to issues of translation and style, and explores the revisionist potential of translation, and the question of translation into Sebald's poetry. It is argued that Sebald sought to follow Franz Kafka's stricture through the strategic deployment of 'unwords'. The book examines Sebald's prose works with a reading of Vertigo as an exercise in Surrealist literary historiography, and suggests that The Emigrants can be read as a contest between vision and obscurity. The implications of historical blind spots are pursued in the reading of Anglo-Irish themes in The Rings of Saturn. The various fragments of Sebald's aborted 'Corsica Project' offer a precious glimpse into a work-in-progress. The book investigates the extent to which H.G. Adler's work functions as a key intertext for Austerlitz, and helped determine Sebald's role and identity as a writer attempting to render aspects of the Holocaust. It also explores the two key aspects of Sebald's aesthetic technique, namely prose and photography.

Contents:

Part I. Translation and style

Part. II. Texts and contexts

Partt III. 'Prose' and photography.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 10 Jul 2026).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781526102041

1526102048

9781526102034

152610203X

OCLC:

1076637936