« Las Meninas | Main | Pat Metheny »
February 25, 2005
Vertigo
I am working my way through W. G. Sebald's memoir / novel Vertigo and am rather disappointed. It is unlike his other books, or rather my experience reading it is unlike my experience reading his other books. I find myself wandering; no, worse than wandering, rather losing consciousness of what I am reading altogether. I will be moving along and then notice that I have progressed 10 pages and have absolutely no idea what it was that I have just read. Other times I have short interludes of awareness, and a clause or image or phrase will stick with me only to stand in isolation as my mind immediately shuts down once again. Perhaps that was Sebald's intention. My lack of attention may, in fact, be a type of vertigo, since obviously my orientation is askew. I doubt it was his intent, though. Probably this experience has more to do with my taste in books than any problem with Sebald. Vertigo must just be too much memoir to my taste and the experiences recounted do not, for whatever reason, hold my attention.
As a rule I am not a friend of memoirs. I tend to see all books, fiction or nonfiction, as bearing the stamp of the author in some way shape or form and the memoir, like the autobiography, has always struck me as somewhat narcissistic. Better to incorporate the events in a work of fiction.
Posted by apc at February 25, 2005 01:31 AM