Residence in the country villa

【Content Introduction】
Six Figures Who Shaped Sebald's Creative Thought: A Tribute to His Literary Forefathers and a Reflection on the Pains of Writing. In this collection of essays, Sebald reflects on and recounts six of his most cherished authors: writers Johann Peter Hebbel, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Edward Merrick, Gottfried Keller, Robert Walser, and painter Jan Peter Tripp. Most of these individuals, cursed by frail natures and faced with life's injustices, find it impossible to stop writing, even when writing has lost its joy and thinking has become torture.
As a fellow author, Sebald sought solace and inspiration from the experiences of these six individuals, focusing on their strange yet beautiful, painful yet profound details, painting exquisite and eccentric portraits. At the same time, he intertwined his own reflections with the lives of others, attempting to find creative meaning amidst the chaos and absurdity of reality. In this interwoven narrative of biography and self-reflection, readers are offered a glimpse into Sebald's literary roots and inner world.
【Media/Celebrity Recommendation】
Cautious, solemn, and biting... (Sebald's) work was born from the classics and continues the classics to this day.
—The New York Times Book Review
Extremely moving... the multiple layers surrounding each article fit together so seamlessly that it is almost impossible to notice.
—New York Daily News
Sebald at his most tender and friendly.
— The Nation
The late writer spoke with such clarity and tenderness about ideas and fundamentals so familiar to humanity…like dislocation, literary memory, and the gratuitous extras that flow from them.
—Brooklyn Railroad Magazine
(This book) is a boon for Sebald admirers, a series of tributes to writers and artists whom Sebald admired and was close to. … One does not have to leave home to feel lost, and Sebald is a contemporary giant in this marginal field.
——Booklist Magazine
This illuminating collection of essays reveals a writer at his most perceptive, diving beneath the surface to grapple with the dilemmas of personal and collective memory.
—Kirkus Reviews
Sebald's brilliant analysis... has inspired other writers... He is one of the most elusive writers... These essays are well worth reading.
—Library Journal
【Editor's Recommendation】
Out of a desire for favor and homage, Sebald dedicated this book to six creators. With the exception of Sebald's old friend, the painter Jan Peter Tripp, the other five were fellow writers. For them, writing was an inescapable drudgery, an incurable disease. Yet, their works, moving and penetrating, became the literary companions Sebald always carried in his travels. Like other characters in Sebald's works, these writers were lonely and tormented, and like Sebald himself, trapped by the brutality of history and the darkness of memory. "There was no other way for me to resist the memories that so often and unexpectedly overwhelmed me except by writing" ("The Rings of Saturn").
Sebald's work is driven by association. He is obsessed with similarities, overlaps, and coincidences, and excels at subtly transforming the stories of artists, marginalized individuals, and neurotics into autobiographies. However, he never dominates or becomes overbearing. Instead, he gazes down upon his doppelgangers, upon the ghosts of history, and upon their gentle failures. Therefore, this book is by no means a simple biography, memoir, or literary criticism, but rather an expansion of Sebald's self. He admires and empathizes with these melancholic, homeless creators, and he transforms this admiration and empathy into profoundly moving works.
"Dwelling" refers to both residence and residence, as well as daily activities. The writers featured in this book all resided temporarily in country villas, and their stories embody the romanticism of escaping the city, the spirit of wandering, and the poetry of exile. Reflecting their residences in country villas, their historical context, and their creative activities, Sebald imbues these memories with geographical characteristics, constructing a unique "literary geography." This book continues Sebald's distinctive graphic style, featuring not only black-and-white illustrations selected and assembled by Sebald himself, but also numerous large color inserts to evoke further imagination, interaction, interpretation, and wonder.

2024-03-01

广西师范大学出版社

Xinmin said

212

9787559865342