In 1967, our unnamed narrator meets Jacques Austerlitz for the first time at Antwerp Central Station where they share a discussion on the finer pointsIn 1967, our unnamed narrator meets Jacques Austerlitz for the first time at Antwerp Central Station where they share a discussion on the finer points of the architectural structure and historical significance of the same. Austerlitz is a lecturer of art history at a college in London with a passionate interest in the architectural history of heritage sites and buildings which is made more obvious through the numerous lengthy and detailed descriptions of the buildings and places visited throughout the narrative. Over the next thirty years they continue to meet irregularly in different locations throughout Europe and Austerlitz shares fragments of the story of his life and background with our narrator.
In 1939, four-year-old Jacque Austerlitz arrived in Britain on kindertransport from Czechoslovakia and was taken in by Calvinist preacher and former missionary, Emyr Elias and his wife who lived in a manse in Bala, Wales. He has almost no memories of his life before that and is only made aware of this part of his origin in 1949 by the headmaster of the private school near Oswestry he had been attending since 1946. He is told that his real name is Jacques Austerlitz and not Dafydd Elias, the name given to him by his foster parents. Unfortunately, his foster parents pass on before he can garner any further details from them.
“No one can explain exactly what happens within us when the doors behind which our childhood terrors lurk are flung open.”
Jacques finds support and companionship in André Hilary , teacher of history at his school who later assists in his naturalization process and a younger student, Gerald Fitzpatrick , their friendship lasting the duration of Gerald’s lifetime till his untimely death many years later. He holds fond memories of his many visits to the Andromeda Lodge in Barmouth with Gerald where Gerald’s naturalist Uncle and Grand-uncle fuel his fascination with landscapes and nocturnal insects and birds, moths in particular.
“Newton really thought that time was a river like the Thames, then where is its source and into what sea does it finally flow? Every river, as we know, must have banks on both sides, so where, seen in those terms, where are the banks of time? What would be this river’s qualities, qualities perhaps corresponding to those of water, which is fluid, rather heavy, and translucent? In what way do objects immersed in time differ from those left untouched by it?”
Much of the prose is dedicated to our protagonist Austerlitz’s fascination with and descriptions of old buildings, railway stations and heritage sites. Throughout the narrative, the author gives subtle hints to the protagonist’s search for links to his past as he describes the history of the various places and buildings he visits in Europe. When he finds an unused waiting room in Liverpool Station he experiences a vivid flash of memory of a younger version himself in that waiting room with his rucksack (he is seen to carry a rucksack with him on all his travels) and his foster parents receiving him at the station. When he hears a radio broadcast about children brought to Britain via kindertransport he starts piecing his family history together. His search leads him to Prague where he finds Vera, who had been his nanny while a student at Prague University and was also his mother’s friend and neighbor. Speaking to Vera, he starts to recollect fragmented memories of his childhood, the adjoining area and the language. Vera informs him that his father, Maximilian Aychenwald, had left for Paris just before the Nazi occupation of Prague preceding his family who was to join him later but was never heard from again. His mother, Agata, a singer and actress from an affluent family had stayed on after he was sent to Britain only to have all her assets confiscated and herself transported with others to Theresienstadt. The narrative progresses with Austerlitz’s travels and research into the fate of his parents and the toll of his discoveries on his mental and physical well-being as is shared with the narrator.
“We take almost all the decisive steps in our lives as a result of slight inner adjustments of which we are barely conscious.”
Austerlitz by W.G. Sebald is not an easy book to review. To be honest, I find reviewing the book more complicated than it was to read. At the center of the novel is the Holocaust and Jacques Austerlitz , displaced from his family in an effort to save him from a far worse fate. Combining fact and fiction, the author, instead of going into graphic detail about the horrors of the death camps and the plight of the detainess , discusses the injustices of that period and the impact of the same in post war Europe , but in a more restrained tone. Life in the ghettos and camps , looting of possessions, displacement of families and the ultimate fate of those sent to locations further “east” are alluded to but in connection to Jacque Austerlitz’s story and his research into existing records and documentation that would give him more information on his parents’ respective fates, which takes place almost half a century after the events. Particularly poignant was his discovery of an abridged version of a Nazi propaganda film on the Theresienstadt ghetto to which his mother had been sent and his remastering of it to a fourth of its original speed in which he searches for a glimpse of his mother of whom he has faint recollection. Austerlitz is a deep, meditative and thought-provoking novel about a man searching for his true identity and his exploration of past events of which he has but a fleeting memory. We bear witness to the protagonist’s efforts in finding a sense of belongingness in a world that he observes and interprets but more often than not feels detached from.
The narrative progresses at a slow pace, at times excruciatingly slow, with a deep melancholic tone that is reinforced by old black and white photographs of landscapes, ruins, architecture and much more interspersed throughout the prose. The passages are long and the complex sentences are often hard to follow. I did have to go back and reread parts of the narrative more than once. The longest sentence spanning roughly eight pages is that in which the protagonist shares his description of , and observations on, his visit to Theresienstadt. Brilliant and beautiful in its complexity, Austerlitz, the novel, is an immersive experience that is well worth the time invested....more
“The ancients waited for cherry blossoms, grieved when they were gone, and lamented their passing in countless poems. How very ordinary the poems had “The ancients waited for cherry blossoms, grieved when they were gone, and lamented their passing in countless poems. How very ordinary the poems had seemed to Sachiko when she read them as a girl, but now she knew, as well as one could know, that grieving over fallen cherry blossoms was more than a fad or convention.”
The Makioka Sisters by Junichiro Tanizaki revolves around the once aristocratic and wealthy Makioka family, namely the sisters Tsuruko, Sachiko, Yukiko, Taeko (fondly referred to as “Koi-san” as per custom, meaning “small daughter”), who despite having lost most of their wealth over time, strive to maintain a way of life and uphold the traditional customs of an era slowly fading into history. The novel spans the period between the autumn of 1936 to April 1941. It is a slow-paced and detail-oriented depiction of life in Japanese polite society in the years leading up to WW2. The narrative alludes to historically significant events occurring in that period such as the “China Incident” namely the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Kobe flood of 1938, and the references to the tensions in Europe. “Meanwhile the world was shaken by new developments in Europe. In May came the German invasion of the Low Countries and the tragedy of Dunkirk, and in June, upon the French surrender, an armistice was signed at Compiègne.”
The eldest Makioka sister, Tsuruko is married to Tatsuo, who works in a bank and after her father’s demise is the head of the family as per Japanese custom. He has also taken the Makioka name. They constitute the “main house” in Osaka and are traditionally regarded as the head of the family who yields authority over the other branches. Sachiko, the second eldest sister is married to Teinosuke, an accountant who has also taken the Makioka name. Together they maintain the Ashiya house on the outskirts of Osaka. Most of the story is described from Sachiko’s perspective. Though tradition dictates that the unmarried sisters live in the “main house”, both Yukiko and Taeko prefer to live with Sachiko’s family in Ashiya, where they are welcome though this is a matter that leads to some tense interactions between Sachiko and her older sister. As per custom, Taeko cannot marry before her elder sister Yukiko who is pushing thirty at the beginning of the novel . Yukiko is yet to find a husband mostly on account of the Makiokas rejecting multiple proposals because the prospective grooms' families were not found suitable in stature, a condition that they are forced to relax in the subsequent years as the proposals for Yukiko’s hand in marriage dwindle over time. The focal point of this novel is the search for a suitable groom for Yukiko - a match that meets the Makioka’s standards, the selection, the meetings, in-depth background investigations and familial consent of the main house.
The author paints a vivid picture of the customs, beliefs, traditions, gender roles as well as the temperament, vanity and class consciousness that was representative of that era. The characterizations of the sisters is superb. The two older sisters, married and settled remain stuck in tradition and prioritize their family standing and all its glory which has long since dimmed considerably. As the story progresses we see a moment when Yukiko is rejected by a suitor that it dawns on Sachiko that their fortunes have truly changed with the realization that they would have to change with the times. “Never before had the Makiokas been so humbled. Always they had felt that the advantage was with them, that the other side was courting their favor—always it had been their role to judge the man and find him lacking. This time their position had been weak from the start. For the first time they were branded the losers.”
Yukiko, whose marriage (or rather search for a groom) is the focal point of the novel is a graceful quiet, obedient sister whose presence is felt but whose voice is either unheard or drowned out by those of her more vocal sisters. She is also bound by tradition, trusting her elder sisters and brothers-in-law with the responsibility of finding a suitable match and sits through a miai (a formal meeting between a prospective bride and groom) several times. However, despite her fine manners and quiet nature she can convey much through her “tepid” responses and often surprising non-cooperation in interacting with her prospective grooms. Takeo, the youngest who has never experienced the full fame and wealth of the family, is more willful than the other sisters. She has a mind of her own and does not hesitate to do as she pleases and is often the cause of much embarrassment and concern for her older sisters. One incident that is referred to a few times in the narrative is the “newspaper incident” - when the local newspapers carried the story of her elopement with her beau, Okubata but got her name mixed up with Yukiko’s (which was later clarified). The family assumes this to be another reason for which Yukiko’s proposals are fewer than expected. Taeko is ambitious and industrious and attempts to carve a profession for herself - be it earning a living doll making or training as a seamstress , while juggling her romantic relationships. She embodies a modern spirit that is in stark contrast with the mindset of her more traditional sisters and is representative of the changing times and the shift in societal norms and strictures.
Junichiro Tanizaki’s The Makioka Sisters is a beautiful novel, meant to be read slowly. Vivid imagery and fluid narrative make this an easy if quiet read. Though it might seem tedious for many readers, I enjoyed the detailed depictions of the contrasting personalities, the beautiful descriptions of the different places, the cherry blossoms and dragonflies,Japanese culture and customs and the relationship between the sisters. This is a novel I had been meaning to read for a long time and I am glad I finally picked it up....more
Sujoya - theoverbookedbibliophile (recovering from
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