Bibliograph

On the natural history of destruction, W.G. Sebald ; translated by Anthea Bell

Type

Label

On the natural history of destruction, W.G. Sebald ; translated by Anthea Bell

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references (pages 193-202)

Illustrations

illustrations

Index

no index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

On the natural history of destruction

Nature of contents

bibliography

Oclc number

50023600

Responsibility statement

W.G. Sebald ; translated by Anthea Bell

Summary

This book is acclaimed German novelist Sebald's investigation of one of the least examined "silences" of our time. He examines the devastation of German cities by Allied bombardment, and the reasons for the astonishing absence of this unprecedented trauma from German history and culture. This void is in part a repression of things--such as the death by fire of the city of Hamburg at the hands of the RAF--too terrible to bear. For Sebald, this is an example of deliberate cultural amnesia; his analysis of its effects in and outside Germany has already provoked angry and painful debate. It addresses questions that arise when communities must heal from self-inflicted wounds. This book is a study of suffering and forgetting, of the morality hidden in artistic decisions, and of both compromised and genuine heroics.--From publisher description

Table Of Contents

Air war and literature : Zürich lectures -- Between the devil and the deep blue sea : on Alfred Andersch -- Against the irreversible : on Jean Améry -- The remorse of the heart : on memory and cruelty in the work of Peter Weiss

Classification