Monday, December 29, 2014

Reading Sebald in English, and English vs. German syntax

In response to a friend of mine who asked whether reading W.G. Sebald in German was very different from reading him in English, and whether I thought something important was lost in translation:

Sebald in English is magnificent because the writing is magnificent. Sebald is a very at-the-surface writer because he wants you to look at things you already see. So he used a style that sort of coaxes you into a sense of "I already mostly know what this is all about." Then he gives you clues that what is at the surface is misleading, that what you can see means something else and that you are missing what's essential. And so he gives you another version, and another angle, and another clue, and another and another (making it a good bet to read the book again). He does this in a way that is not showy; it is humble and disarming and then finally all the more forceful for it. So, yeah, you can get most of that in English without worrying too much about what's missing.