Structurally bizarre and rambling, but with some kind of mysterious underlying rhythm. Really funny and madcap and spooky. A lot seems be made of the Structurally bizarre and rambling, but with some kind of mysterious underlying rhythm. Really funny and madcap and spooky. A lot seems be made of the strange syntax or dialectical language, but it's such a coherent voice that it only takes a few sentences to get on the same wavelength, at which point it all feels wonderfully strange and poetic. Very enjoyable quick read....more
I'm of a divided mind about "The Emigrants". It was start to finish beautiful, achingly tender and sad in a way that suggests that grief is the inevitI'm of a divided mind about "The Emigrants". It was start to finish beautiful, achingly tender and sad in a way that suggests that grief is the inevitable course of life (a view that I found refreshingly honest and compassionate). Each of the four narratives was genuinely intriguing, with a slight sense of detective work as the biographies were slowly pieced together. My favorite of these four is uncle adelwarth, whose life was a brilliant, multilayered puzzle of love and loss.
On the other hand, the subtle intertwining (maybe more general similarity than true intertwining) of its narratives fell on both sides of the line. It was much more complex and less tidy than many braided narratives, thankfully. There were quite a few times, though, where it felt like pointless narrative rhyming - objects, places, occupations that would crop up in each of the four stories in a way that could not commit to being meaningful or not.
I don't feel quite sure about the overarching context of the book. Do we need more gentile German authors writing fictional memoirs of Jews during WWII? Particularly ones who were born after the war? I can see arguments on both sides, and certainly the strange burden of growing up in a society burdened by an unspeakable past must be exorcised somehow. In the end this particular question isn't one for me to make judgement on, but either way I don't feel quite easy about it.
This was the first of Sebald's work I've finished (I gave "the Rings of Saturn" a try earlier this year and set it down) and it's certainly left me curious about the rest of his output. I'd especially like to know what it is he's trying to do with the randomly dispersed, badly laid out photographs - I can't decide if they're brilliant or a tacky gimmick....more
Well, after many many years of hearing about how important this book is, I'm not sure what the fuss is all about. In many ways, it was such a surface Well, after many many years of hearing about how important this book is, I'm not sure what the fuss is all about. In many ways, it was such a surface piece - intimate with neither its characters nor its world, it focussed instead on mood and aesthetics. I like the mood - grimy noir, a sort of burnt-out, perpetually seedy, gloomy when surrounded by poverty and outright miserable when surrounded by wealth. I liked the aesthetics - again, grimy, preoccupied with lighting and texture, never quite comfortable. But the underlying narrative was really convoluted, the characters' motivations made it seem like none of them had sat and thought through their problems for more than 10 minutes, and the technological aspects, while I'm sure prescient for their time, came across like an interpretation of the 90's cartoon "Reboot."
The one really interesting thing that I got out of this book was a better understanding (I think) of the "punk" genres. This book has always been explained to me as the genesis of cyberpunk, but I've never really understood what cyberpunk, or steampunk, or any of the others were about, other than mashing up some anachronistic tech with lo-fi industrial costuming. After reading this book, my best guess is that the soul of these genres is that in spite of time and technology and all the ideals those afford, human concerns - sex, love, hope, violence, depression, desperation - remains the same, and are the root of storytelling. The future is no cleaner than the present, the past is no more polite than the present. I like this as a thesis, but who knows if I'm reading it correctly?...more
Jaw-clenchingly intense, deeply and startlingly funny, pulling no punches. No heroes, only shades of fallibility or evil. A really powerful piece - leJaw-clenchingly intense, deeply and startlingly funny, pulling no punches. No heroes, only shades of fallibility or evil. A really powerful piece - leaves me wondering whether a longer book by this artist would keep up the same frenetic pace, or if there would be moments of vulnerability and peace....more
Probably closer to two stars, but giving it the benefit of rounding up for the absolutely luscious drawings. The visual world is incredible, but the cProbably closer to two stars, but giving it the benefit of rounding up for the absolutely luscious drawings. The visual world is incredible, but the characters are flat and self-interested, the specifics of the evils of capitalism are recycled and generalized, and, worst of all, the grand resistance is a self-righteous futile gesture of aesthetics. It felt like the creator didn't trust their readers or their own voice....more
I’d dragged my feet on getting to this author, and now I’m not particularly sorry I did. This was my first book of his, and while the premise was inteI’d dragged my feet on getting to this author, and now I’m not particularly sorry I did. This was my first book of his, and while the premise was interesting enough, it didn’t seem to say much of anything about the ideas it presented. Was there a point in there about the nature of fascism? The compromises we all make to push forward in our own small ways? Our arrogance in presuming the superiority of corporate capitalism over state socialism? Something oblique about the I Ching? Maybe, but to me it felt like all the trappings of intense social commentary without any of the substance. The characterizations did nothing to save it, and the dialogue in particular was bizarrely bad. The best I can say is that it wasn’t boring - I was genuinely always curious about where the story would go next, even though that ended up being pretty much nowhere. In short - a story much better in synopsis than in its full text.
*edit to say that while I did not like this book, it’s far better than the atrocious tv show...more
Wow! Haunting, intensely emotive, an usually perfect mix of bitter and sweet. Perfectly captures the strange, sad, magical experience of living in a sWow! Haunting, intensely emotive, an usually perfect mix of bitter and sweet. Perfectly captures the strange, sad, magical experience of living in a small town....more
One of DeForge's finest. Tender, strange, simultaneously biting and sympathetic. The drawings, as always, were incredible.One of DeForge's finest. Tender, strange, simultaneously biting and sympathetic. The drawings, as always, were incredible....more
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