The Rings of Saturn

I just finished The Rings of Saturn by W.G. Sebald. I had previously read his Austerlitz and find his haunting, unique style of writing provocative. He is one of a kind with Thomas Pynchon and David Mitchell.

Unfortunately, Sebald is no longer with us, cut down as so many good people in an auto accident. So it goes. There are excellent reviews of The Rings of Saturn here and here.

Sebald's topic in the Rings is the inevitable destruction that visits both our society and, interestingly, the natural world. The title comes from the theory that the rings of Saturn are moons that have disintegrated due to tidal forces. We tend to focus so much on what is new and vibrant, neglecting the natural process of death that pervades life, that we are surely asymmetric in a way that Aristotle would not approve. I see the fascination with life by the Religious Right (of course embryonic life, not the life of the average Iraqi) as one manifestation of this obsession. And, of course, Freud might say that obsession with life, riches, power, etc. is a child's way of trying to avoid death. (Actually, while one of the bad books of the 20th century, Freud's an Introduction to Psychoanalysis is quite worth reading. Fortunately, I have one of the few extant copies since it is not available in an online search!) Actually, teenagers are the epitome of this mind set. They think they are not going to die, even when they get in a car and drive 10 million miles an hour into a telephone pole. (It is why I always fear prom and graduation weeks around here.)

Of course the irony of dying in an automobile accident, the ultimate destruction, would not have been lost on Sebald.

But, back to Sebald. He is about as ironic an observer as you could wish for. A German born in 1944 with parents who were locked into the Third Reich, he has faced up to his legacy in a way that is admirable; avoiding the maudlin at all costs. How much of his "novels" are personal history and experience vs. literary license is anyone's guess.

I wonder if we in America are going to have to do the same thing in the not too distant future, that is, face up to the truth. Amnesty International has actually done us a favor by putting out the information for the light of day. This time it won't go away.

Later: Atrios puts us onto this article by the bureau chief in Baghdad. Sobering