Sebald's first work of prose fiction contains four narratives. The first looks at Stendhal and his life in Napoleon's armies, and at his sexual troubles. The second and fourth are linked journeys by the narrator, and the third follows Kafka's trip to Italy, in a style that mixes documents, photographs and memory. The writer travels through Vienna, Venice, Verona and the Alps, and meets traces of the past along the way. Sebald's long sentences give a sense of dizziness and disorientation, which the title points to.
It suits readers of European literature who like meditative prose and the blending of fiction and fact. It is a good introduction to Sebald before The Rings of Saturn.
Deep, inward-looking, open-ended and thought-provoking; a demanding read.
Best for readers like The Literary Connoisseur. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 1994
- Publisher
- Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag
- ISBN
- 9783596120543
- Language
- DE
