WG Sebald is another of the seemingly
countless writers I've always intended to read but with a good chance that I
never actually would. His books have
been described as using an idiosyncratic almost-collage approach complete with
cryptic photographs that may or may not have anything to do with the text. Then again his work is also described
something to do with memory (the almost laughable blurb on the cover calls him
"memory’s Einstein") and that sounds quite unappealing.
As it happens Vertigo
(1990, English 1999) fits both descriptions though fortunately not in such a
bland way as that might sound. It’s so
effective that I’ll likely read all his other books as long as they’re somewhat
similar to this one.
Might as well look at the not-quite-collage technique. The book opens with a biographical (or is it
fictional?) account of a soldier during Napoleon’s march through the Alps who
then embarks on a series of romantic adventures. Turns out his name is Beyle and nowhere (at
least that I remember) does Sebald remind readers that this was Stendhal's real
name. As far as I know this story is
true - at least it sounds like the little I remember from Stendhal's life.
It turns out that this section is related by the novel’s narrator
who then tells us about his uneventful visit to Vienna and his unmotivated
travels afterwards. Throughout the book
we get a distanced account from the narrator (little direct dialogue, not much
in the usual detailed description of actions) and then more disconnected
hstorical or literary pieces (there’s a “Dr. K” for instance). Most collages rely on the disjunction created
by the elements rubbing against each other but Sebald works more towards an
integrated flow - actually "collage" may not be the right term.
The narrator is eventually heading to his hometown but it’s
unclear exactly why. None of his
memories build to a great revelation (unless of course I completely
misunderstood some subtle aspect of the book) and he doesn’t meet many people
from his past. It’s not a dramatic
homecoming.
I didn’t get a sense of vertigo from the book but Sebald
does create a hazy, unsettled mood, almost as if this is a very long prose
poem. The bits from other people’s pasts
and the famous photographs work into or against the main narrative don’t fit
together like the near mathematical formulas many how-to-write-a-plot (or worse
screenwriting) instructors would tell you.
Vertigo is actually a book I wanted to read again
after finishing it and that’s pretty uncommon.