German writer WG Sebald is regularly named one of the most influential writers of recent decades. He referred to his genre-defying books as prose fiction – not-quite-novels, not-quite-autobiographies, not-quite-nonfiction – but with elements of all. Examining loss, exile, memory and trauma, they still feel relevant today. To mark the 30th anniversary of Sebald’s book The Emigrants, journalist and PhD candidate Sandra Haurant suggests where those new to Sebald should start.
***