A review by rkkmistry
The Rings of Saturn by W.G. Sebald

5.0

ok banger alert...so yes this book was pitched to me as "a guy who walks around a lot and talks about random things,," sort of a male counterpart to all the "woman who sits around smoking in bed and talking about stuff" fiction that I love so much. And don't get me wrong, this guy does walk around. There's a brief moment at the beginning of the book where he takes a train and it seems for a moment like there might be a variety of modes of transportation that piece together journey of this book, but no, it is very much an ambulatory-based adventure and while he may take some rides in cars, I think those are only episodes he's recounting or remembering while walking. Ok, but really what got me about this book was like how eff-ing devastating it was !!! like because he talks about a random variety of things he sort of lulls you into this false sense of security as he begins to very seamlessly transition into talking—quite casually, but not in an inappropriate way—about some of the greatest tragedies in human history. And it's really this context and this lack of agenda that just ends up leaving you so much more open to really internalizing the infinitesimally small smidgen of human suffering that you are able to grasp upon reading about these horrific events.