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The Emigrants Audiobook
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(4.00) - 2,323 listener ratings
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A devastating novel about memory, alienation, and trauma from acclaimed novelist W. G. Sebald.
The four long narratives in The Emigrants appear at first to be the straightforward biographies of four Germans in exile. Sebald reconstructs the lives of a painter, a doctor, an elementary-school teacher, and Great Uncle Ambrose. Following (literally) in their footsteps, the narrator retraces routes of exile which lead from Lithuania to London, from Munich to Manchester, from the South German provinces to Switzerland, France, New York, Constantinople, and Jerusalem. Along with memories, documents, and diaries of the Holocaust, he collects photographs—the enigmatic snapshots which stud The Emigrants and bring to mind family photo albums. Sebald combines precise documentary with fictional motifs, and as he puts the question to realism, the four stories merge into one unfathomable requiem.
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"Sebald's prose style as he wanders through four character sketches of German Jewish men affected by World War II remains sparse and lyrical without the usual eulogistic despair associated with Holocaust literature. The book's attempt to capture its subjects by revisiting their aging acquaintances and domiciles speaks eloquently to the intricacies of character and the play of memory while creating a haunting sketch of the psychic effects of social exclusion and genocide. The man clearly knows how to write."
— Elie (4 out of 5 stars)
The Emigrants Listener Reviews
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" A collection of beautifully crafted short stories or novellas that are connected by the central characters' lingering alienation caused by being taken from their homes at an early age. This is a sad book that voices Sebald's own obsessive introspection and attempts to fill a void. However, the lyricism and love of language is a saving grace. "
— Carla, 2/18/2014 -
" A fantastic book. I read Vertigo recently and was equally enthralled, but The Emigrants is even better. I suspect the Rings of Saturn to be the cream of the crop. I look forward to more Sebald. "
— Ryan, 2/9/2014 -
" Probably my favorite book by a German author "
— Wolfgang, 2/8/2014 -
" I finished this one three days ago, and I've been rereading bits ever since. Brilliant. "
— Jason, 1/30/2014 -
" Brilliant and utterly unlike anything else out there. "
— Joel, 1/20/2014 -
" I read this book for class. It was good, but I hated the class, so I don't remember all that much about the book, and am mostly just writing this review because I review all the books I put up here. "
— Xander, 1/7/2014 -
" I loved this for the first half, and then the stories grew longer and more directionless... but the first half is really lovely. "
— Nicole, 11/29/2013 -
" Sebald, like Marias, does an amazing job of taking bits of non-fiction and weaving into them a riveting narrative, which, in an intriguing way, blurs the lines between fact/fiction and narrator/author, creating a moving piece of literature that can't--nor needs to be--classified. "
— Cody, 11/23/2013 -
" Its been a while since I read this, and I would like to re-read it. "
— s.m., 11/10/2013 -
" An occasion to remember together. "
— Donavan, 10/21/2013 -
" i read this again for a new story i am working on. there are so many things to marvel at, but this time i was thinking about the floating consciousness, the blurring i, and the ownership of story in the voices of the immigrant body. "
— hope, 10/4/2013 -
" My first experience with Sebald and it was a wonderful one. I loved the book and how the mix of pictures and words complemented the narration of the different stories "
— Ulises, 9/13/2013 -
" Wonderful in it's subtleties of tone and narrative. Certainly unlike any other novel, The Emigrants shows us through the struggle of restraint just how forceful the sorrow of memory can be. "
— Lisa, 9/7/2013 -
" subtle, brilliant and perceptive. read it dude and dudettes! "
— Eleanor, 8/12/2013 -
" Haunting as the midnight mist, with no place to call home. "
— Ldrutman, 7/1/2013 -
" Bennett gave this book to Tom for his birthday - Bennett read it in one of his college classes and recommended it highly. It's a beautiful, mournful, thoughtful, lovely, lyrical book. "
— Molly, 6/19/2013 -
" While I prefer RIngs of Saturn, this is easily Sebald's second best novel: a collection of four novellas about lives changed utterly by the Holocaust, though not in any of the ways conventional to mainstream fiction and movies. I first read it in 1998 (I think), then read it again last year. "
— Cooper, 5/26/2013 -
" Strange, dreamlike moving book. "
— Debbie, 4/27/2013 -
" Too good on third read. Maybe a little lugubrious on first. But when this opens up, my oh my . . . "
— Lee, 4/6/2013