"And the last remnants, Memory destroys"
SEBALD, W.G. [trans. Michale Hulse] The Emigrants New York, New Directions Books, 1996
8vo. Original blue cloth bound boards with silver lettering; Original illustrated dust wrapper; pp. [12] 8-237 [9]; minimal scuffing to top and bottom of spine; otherwise fine copy.
Inscription by the author to title page. Signed copies of this title are extremely rare
The Emigrants is a powerful series of narratives which explore the consequence of trauma and displacement as experienced by four Jewish emigres in the 20th century. Like the majority of Sebald's work, the use of stark black and white photographs throughout, which give the impression that one is reminscing over a past life, are both complimentary to the narrative and yet also disturbing interruptions to confessional recollection, marking many of the ways Sebald challeges conventional plot structure. "The Emigrants is about the power of memory", as writes Volkskrant, Amsterdam, "The way in whch German history has wrought havoc with the human capacity to remember has never before been remember has never before been recorded with such force".
In his final interview in September 2001 that was later printed in The Guardian, Sebald is quoted saying, “Memory, even if you repress it, will come back at you and it will shape your life. Without memories there wouldn't be any writing: the specific weight an image or phrase needs to get across to the reader can only come from things remembered—not from yesterday but from a long time ago.”
This particular inscribed edition of a novel described by Susan Sontag as being "perfect whilst being unlike any book one has ever read", is very scarcely found with a signature.
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