Review (PDF) After Nature (Modern Library Paperbacks)
After Nature, W. G. Sebald’s first literary work, now translated into English by Michael Hamburger, explores the lives of three men connected by their restless questioning of humankind’s place in the natural world. From the efforts of each, “an order arises, in places beautiful and comforting, though more cruel, too, than the previous state of ignorance.” The first figure is the great German Re-naissance painter Matthias Grünewald. The second is the Enlightenment botanist-explorer Georg Steller, who accompanied Bering to the Arctic. The third is the author himself, who describes his wanderings among landscapes scarred by the wrecked certainties of previous ages.After Nature introduces many of the themes that W. G. Sebald explored in his subsequent books. A haunting vision of the waxing and waning tides of birth and devastation that lie behind and before us, it confirms the author’s position as one of the most profound and original writers of our time.From the Hardcover edition.
Series: Modern Library Paperbacks
Paperback: 128 pages
Publisher: Modern Library; Reprint edition (July 1, 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0375756582
ISBN-13: 978-0375756580
Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.3 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 2.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #102,418 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #17 in Books > Literature & Fiction > History & Criticism > Regional & Cultural > European > German #17 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Themes & Styles > Nature #22 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Regional & Cultural > European > German
The literary world stil mourns the too early passing of W.G. Sebald, who died just as his fertile mind was being shared with us through his four novels. Few people who experienced the power of his talent in reading 'The Emmigrants', 'Vertigo', 'The Rings of Saturn", and his final 'Austerlitz' have been able to reconcile the loss of a man so gifted having his career so shortened. Sebald is a writer's writer but his book, while dense in content and style, spoke so clearly to our generation beseiged by media madness, global wars, terrorism, starvation, and mutilation of the environment that turning to his unique form of writing provided a great solace. He asked us to explore the mysteries of birth, of death, of aging, of remembering and honoring our personal and cultural past. Now, after his death, we are gifted by this amazingly beautiful volume of three poems he wrote at the inception of his writing career. Knowing that these elegant and brilliant poems have been available all these years - just not translated - brings the circle of life round in a way I feel certain Sebald would have enjoyed.The poems are in free verse and read easily; the content is typical of Sebald, in that he relates detailed histories of painter Matthias Gruenwald, botanist Georg Stellar, and himself - each man being described as one who explores life from his passion to understand his past and future and find meaning and peace at its core. Rarely has language appeared so fluid, elegant, informative and lovely as in Sebald's informed hands. This is a book to savour and to share........a magnificent volume.
I really don't feel I can do this beautiful book justice but I loved it so much I feel compelled to try."After Nature" is written even less conventionally than are Sebald's other books. "After Nature" is a rather longish prose poem that details the unique relationship between three very different men and nature, herself. The three men are Matthias Grunewald, the German Renaissance painter, Georg Steller, the scientist and Arctic explorer and Sebald, himself.Each one of the men named above begins life with a vision of Nature that is placid and benevolent but come to realize that Nature can often be cruel and can even destroy her own creations. Each man was changed by his experience with Nature; whether for better or worse is something each reader will have to judge for himself.Sebald was an enormously creative and original writer and he defined himself as a "writer" rather than a novelist. While "After Nature" certainly isn't conventionally plotted there are remnants of stories contained within the poetry. Sebald, however, makes the reader work a little in order to obtain a full understanding of "After Nature." The book may look "easy" but believe me, it's not."After Nature" is a beautiful book and, like the ones that followed, its beauty is melacholic. If you need a conventionally plotted work or a page turning storyline, however, "After Nature" wouldn't be the right choice for you. This is a very introspective work and the more you read, the more inward looking the book becomes.I loved "After Nature." I think I loved it even more than Sebald's other books. "After Nature" made me think more and reflect more and it stayed with me far longer.If a very reflective, introspective and melancholic prose poem is something you think you'd enjoy, I don't think you could find anything lovlier than "After Nature."
This triptych prose poem actually was published before Sebald's prose books. The word 'poem' is a loose word here, as words like 'fiction' and 'novel' were in "Austerlitz", "Vertigo", "Rings of Saturn" and "The Emigrants". This poem is a progenitor of the later work, and has much of the same agenda as the books."After Nature" follows three characters: Grunewald, a Renaissance painter, Steller, an 18th century botanist-explorer, and finally the author himself. The book is preoccupied and troubled by the slow devastation of nature and innocence by history and man, and the book's end, as Sebald himself imagines looking onto the virgin continent of Africa in the times of Alexander the Great, is eloquent and beautifully melancholy as only a Sebald work can be.This is as luminous and hypnotic as writing can be, and literature will sorely miss the genius of W.G. Sebald, who passed away far too early, at the height of his literary powers, in December of 2001.
This triptych of three long poems by W.G. Sebald is a jewel-like ornament to his four major prose works, "Vertigo," "The Emigrants," "The Rings of Saturn" and "Austerlitz." I found the first and third poems, dealing with the shadowy German Renaissance painter Matthias Grunewald and with Sebald himself, superior to the second section, on Arctic exploration, but I fully expect other readers to judge for themselves and judge differently. The burning power of what is best in all of Sebald's works is encapsulated in a few lines from the third poem here, describing Sebald's reaction after viewing a painting of the destruction of Sodom in the Kunsthistorisches Museum:When for the first time I sawthis picture the year before last,I had the strange feelingof having seen all of itbefore, and a little later,crossing to Floridsdorfon the Bridge of Peace,I nearly went out of my mind.
After Nature (Modern Library Paperbacks) The Modern Library Writer's Workshop: A Guide to the Craft of Fiction (Modern Library Paperbacks) The Valleys of the Assassins: and Other Persian Travels (Modern Library Paperbacks) The Southern Gates of Arabia: A Journey in the Hadhramaut (Modern Library Paperbacks) A Night at the Opera: An Irreverent Guide to The Plots, The Singers, The Composers, The Recordings (Modern Library Paperbacks) The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt (Modern Library Paperbacks) By the Sword: A History of Gladiators, Musketeers, Samurai, Swashbucklers, and Olympic Champions; 10th anniversary edition (Modern Library Paperbacks) By the Sword: A History of Gladiators, Musketeers, Samurai, Swashbucklers, and Olympic Champions (Modern Library Paperbacks) After Effects for Flash / Flash for After Effects: Dynamic Animation and Video with Adobe After Effects CS4 and Adobe Flash CS4 Professional DYING TO REALLY LIVE: Finally, an After Death Survivor returns from deeply into life after death (NDEs - Life After Death? Series Book 1) Makers of Modern Strategy from Machiavelli to the Nuclear Age (Princeton Paperbacks) (Paperback) - Common Bringing Nature Home: Floral Arrangements Inspired by Nature Wonders of the World: Mother Nature at Work: Nature Books for Kids (Children's Mystery & Wonders Books) FISH: Fun Facts and Incredible Pictures on Animals and Nature: Fish (AGE 7-12) (Children's Books on Animals & Nature, fish,) IP6: Nature's Revolutionary Cancer Fighter: Nature's Revolutionary Cancer-Fighter Genetically Engineered Food: Changing the Nature of Nature Genetically Engineered Food: Changing the Nature of Nature: What You Need to Know to Protect Yourself, Your Family, and Our Planet It's Just My Nature! A Guide To Knowing and Living Your True Nature Nature Conservation in Greenland: Research, Nature and Wildlife Management := Naturbevaring I Grønland: Forskning, Naturog Vildtforvaltning := ... (English and Danish Edition) Beyond Ecophobia: Reclaiming the Heart in Nature Education (Nature Literacy Series, Vol. 1)
