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The Emigrants
The Emigrants | Winfried Georg Sebald, Michael Hulse
12 posts | 25 read | 12 to read
The four long narratives in W.G. Sebald's The Emigrants at first appear to be the straightforward biographies of four people in exile: a painter, an elderly Russian, the author's schoolteacher as well as his eccentric great-uncle Ambrose. Following (literally) in their footsteps, the narrator retraces routes 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 of the Holocaust, he collects documents, diaries, pictures. Each story is illustrated with enigmatic photographs, making The Emigrants seem at times almost like a family album - but of families destroyed. Sebald weaves together variant forms (travelog, biography, autobiography, and historical monograph), combining precise documentary with fictional motifs. As he puts the question to "realism, " the four stories merge gradually into one requiem, overwhelming and indelible.
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charl08
The Emigrants | W. G. Sebald
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[Describing 60s Manchester]...the city's immense and time-blackened nineteenth-century buildings... . Even the grandest of the buildings, such as the Royal Exchange, the Refuge Assurance Company, the Grosvenor Picture Palace, and indeed the Piccadilly Plaza, which had been built only a few years before, seemed so empty and abandoned that one might have supposed oneself surrounded by mysterious façades or theatrical backdrops.

RaeLovesToRead Aww, I went to university here ❤ That even looks like a magic bus coming up behind.. 😊 2y
charl08 @RaeLovesToRead yup, love a magic bus! 2y
tpixie What‘s a magic bus? 2y
75 likes2 stack adds3 comments
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charl08
The Emigrants | W. G. Sebald

...before religion lessons, Paul would always top up to the brim the holy water stoup...that was fixed by the door, using ...the watering can with which he normally watered the geraniums. Because of this, the Beneficiary never managed to put the holy water bottle he always carried... to use.... he was torn between his suspicion that systematic malice was involved and the intermittent hope that this was a sign from a Higher Place...

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rakeshpm
The Emigrants | W. G. Sebald

Reading now. Second from the Sebald series

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Moray_Reads
The Emigrants | W. G. Sebald
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1. (The) Emigrants by WG Sebald
2. Jenny Erpenbeck
3. Emma (with Romola Garai and Jonny Lee Miller)
4. Eggs Benedict 😋
#manicmonday @joscho

JoScho Thanks for playing ❤️ 6y
Melissa_J I love that version of Emma, too. 6y
33 likes1 stack add2 comments
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malkelly
The Emigrants | W. G. Sebald
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A little shelfie of works by #wgsebald. A man on the cusp of the fame he always deserved when he died suddenly. One of the most original writers of the late 20th century. Sebald invented a new way of presenting human experience through flowing prose enriched by images.

jveezer Noticed the Calasso. Love him. Just finished Ardor. Love La Folie Baudelaire. 6y
malkelly Yes, a wonderful writer. I haven‘t read Ardor, but it‘s definitely on the list. 6y
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catebutler
The Emigrants | W. G. Sebald
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What are some of your daily simple pleasures? I enjoy the ritual of making tea - the gurgle of water as the kettle fills, and then the merry boil of the teapot. My day also wouldn‘t be complete without a book. An easy way to escape, travel the world, gain priceless knowledge. I also try to write down something daily, even just a paragraph; a quote, a memorable moment or something funny that was said that I want to remember.

julesG This is a nice idea and a great picture. 6y
catebutler @julesG Thanks Julia! I appreciate your kind comment. Hope you‘re having a fantastic Wednesday!! 6y
Bklover I love making tea too. It‘s soothing. Sometimes I forget to actually drink the tea! 6y
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catebutler @Bklover Isn‘t it such a lovely ritual. I just find it‘s a moment of calm during my day. And yes, especially when I‘m engrossed in a good book! Lukewarm tea is the worst! 😆 6y
EvieBee Just lovely! So much goodness in one photo. I enjoy having my cup of coffee with a good book before the household wakes up (including the dogs). It‘s the best feeling in the world! 6y
catebutler @EvieBee Thank you, Eve! And your early morning rituals sound lovely! It always makes the day so much better when you can fit those in! 6y
julesG @Bklover I can fully relate to that. I often forget my tea, too. 6y
rubyslippersreads What a lovely ritual, @catebutler ! I love making a soothing cup of tea. In the morning, my ritual is similar to @EvieBee 's, except the cats are already awake. 😹 6y
catebutler @rubyslippersreads Thank you! I‘m so glad you have a similar ritual. And I‘m sure your cats let you know they‘re up and ready for the day! 😊 6y
EvieBee @rubyslippersreads Haha! Mine have breakfast and go back to sleep if I‘m fortunate. 🤓♥️ 6y
BiblioLitten There's this hour in the evening when I am alone, I make myself a cup of hot tea and read a bit. There's time to savour each sip and every word.❤ 6y
catebutler @BiblioLitten Your comment is beautiful and so well said. And that‘s exactly the type of moment I long for. 6y
39 likes1 stack add12 comments
review
HotCocoaReads
The Emigrants | W. G. Sebald
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Pickpick

I felt a bit like I was reading someone else‘s journal—maybe that‘s good, maybe it‘s not. To me, this read a little disjointed and while there are moments of quiet beauty, I didn‘t feel the book pulled together enough for me to feel it was a great book. The author is a collector of stories. I think I got the main idea of the story: Everyone‘s life is and was important. It‘s absolutely important, but I didn‘t get sucked in.

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nanoauthor
The Emigrants | Winfried Georg Sebald, Michael Hulse
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Another class book that I just started, but mostly I wanted to share the lovely bookplate in the front of the copy I got from my school's library #college #currentread

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alexdanks
The Emigrants | W. G. Sebald
Pickpick

I found this novel to be excellent. Sebald discusses the Holocaust, without directly referring to it, which I found very tasteful. Altogether, the novel is very surreal, and with the inclusion of different photographs, it blurs the lines of whether or not what transpired in the novel actually occurred.

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chowmeyow
The Emigrants | Winfried Georg Sebald, Michael Hulse
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This book is exceptional. Bowing down at the altar of Sebald's writing.

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Hestapleton
The Emigrants | Winfried Georg Sebald, Michael Hulse
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@DebinHawaii this avocado toast is just what my morning needed! Spending a quiet day revising my paper and editing my students' thesis statements. Please send more coffee.

Dogearedcopy Is that a Siracha sauce on top? 7y
Hestapleton @Dogearedcopy it's a Sriracha garlic mayo! Super good. 7y
DebinHawaii Hah! Looks great! I am so glad you liked it--I swear I am addicted. 😋😬 Have a great day! 7y
47 likes3 comments
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Aleida
The Emigrants | Winfried Georg Sebald, Michael Hulse
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My dear friend sent this to me in the mail. He works near the Strand bookstore. He's always going. I'm always jelly.