W.G. SEBALD - VERTIGO

Image: Casanova’s cell

Sebald’s first novel. I’m impressed with how his style (European wandering, personal engagement with history, photographs, the slide from fact to fiction) emerged fully formed. The rendering of Casanova’s escape from prison in Venice resonated particularly for me. Casanova spends years gazing up at the solid rafters of his cell — until an earthquake many miles away shows these rafters can be shaken. Read, July 2019.