This is the real life story of Jacques Austerlitz who, at the age of five, came to London on one of the so-called kindertransports in the summer of 1939. Austerlitz is placed with foster parents in Wales, a childless couple who, for reasons of their own, erase in the boy all knowledge of his identity. Though he does, later on as an adult, have intimations of his otherness, Austerlitz, whose profession is that of an architectural historian, goes through life assiduously avoiding all clues that might point to his origins and ...
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This is the real life story of Jacques Austerlitz who, at the age of five, came to London on one of the so-called kindertransports in the summer of 1939. Austerlitz is placed with foster parents in Wales, a childless couple who, for reasons of their own, erase in the boy all knowledge of his identity. Though he does, later on as an adult, have intimations of his otherness, Austerlitz, whose profession is that of an architectural historian, goes through life assiduously avoiding all clues that might point to his origins and to the fate of his true parents. It is only in his retirement that the past returns to haunt him and makes him explore what happened to him half a century ago, taking him back on a journey into the heart of Europe on the edge of war...the main locations of the book are Wales, London, Prague, various places in Belgium and Paris.
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Seller's Description:
First U.k. Edition. Hardback. Dust Jacket. 8vo. Original publisher's burgundy cloth, lettered gilt at the spine. ISBN: 0241141257 Pages: 432 Slight lean otherwise near fine in very good indeed dust jacket, with slight creasing at edges. No nicks, chips, tears, not price-clipped and no inscriptions. Decent copy.
You need to have a taste for the post-modern style of construction and also for Proust and for psychoanalysis to completely appreciate to the texture and beauty of Sebald's prose, and for the plot, elusive at first, but profoundly compelling by the mid-point surprise.
Eli L
May 1, 2014
Interesting read
Well written and interesting. Took nearly half the book to arrive at the where I expected the book to start, that is the kinder transport. but still we'll worth reading and probably very realistic. Beautifully written, thought provoking and good psychological detail.
