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[Fwd: VN in Sebald's "The Emigrants"]
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Dear List,
I want to open up the discussion of VN's very interesting and enigmatic
appearances in the late W.G. Sebald's "The Emigrants."
While it is possible that VN's appearances function as little more than
an
homage to a great writer, in no interview with Sebald that I have read
or
heard has he mentioned Nabokov as an influence. I would propose that
VN's
appearance suggest that Sebald's book -- which chronicles four lives
grim to the point of hopelessness -- may be intended as a riposte to
Nabokov's
belief in the Other World; that each time VN appears he seems to be a
harbinger of new possibilities, of knowledge to be gained, even of joy
--
and each time such hopes are dashed.
Though I find myself unable to take a position on the Other World's
existence, it would seem quite possible that Sebald, whose life might in
a
way be likened to a reverse mirror of Nabokov's -- particularly in his
gradual discovery after a childhood protected from the realities of
German
life during World War II that there was far worse in the world than he
had
ever imagined -- might have found VN's belief in such a place anathema.
I really wonder if anyone else thinks the text supports such a reading.
Regards to all,
Christopher Berg
Dear List,
I want to open up the discussion of VN's very interesting and enigmatic
appearances in the late W.G. Sebald's "The Emigrants."
While it is possible that VN's appearances function as little more than
an
homage to a great writer, in no interview with Sebald that I have read
or
heard has he mentioned Nabokov as an influence. I would propose that
VN's
appearance suggest that Sebald's book -- which chronicles four lives
grim to the point of hopelessness -- may be intended as a riposte to
Nabokov's
belief in the Other World; that each time VN appears he seems to be a
harbinger of new possibilities, of knowledge to be gained, even of joy
--
and each time such hopes are dashed.
Though I find myself unable to take a position on the Other World's
existence, it would seem quite possible that Sebald, whose life might in
a
way be likened to a reverse mirror of Nabokov's -- particularly in his
gradual discovery after a childhood protected from the realities of
German
life during World War II that there was far worse in the world than he
had
ever imagined -- might have found VN's belief in such a place anathema.
I really wonder if anyone else thinks the text supports such a reading.
Regards to all,
Christopher Berg