Carol Jacobs, Birgit Baldwin Professor of Comparative Literature and Professor of Germanic Language and Literature, in October published her new book Sebald’s Vision with Columbia University Press. The book, one of the first in English to consider comprehensively W.G. Sebald’s work, traces the concept of “vision” through Sebald’s novels, major essays, and interviews. Through considering Sebald’s unique intertextuality, Jacobs explores the relationship between Sebald’s moral claim about the importance of remembering accurately historical evils and his ultimate doubtfulness of accurately representing history. About the book, Jacobs says, “It is this odd conjunction of a moral call, an epistemological conundrum, and a unique literary practice that defines Sebald’s thought as well as the critical work Sebald’s Vision.” Simon Ward, in Times Higher Education, says that the book “will doubtless make a long-lasting contribution to Sebald criticism.”
For more information concerning the book or to purchase a copy, please see the Columbia University Press website.