'Ariadne's Thread, in memory of W.G Sebald' - join us at DaunT BookS - meet the author - Philippa Comber - FRIDAY 17 OCT at 6.30 - DaunT BookS fulham road SW10 9PR

Shall the 'UK' and 'Brits' become something along the lines of  the 'Scots and Duks'  (Disunited Kingdom)?

Just to let you know that my partner, Philippa Comber, has written a book entitled Ariadne’s Thread: In Memory of W.G. Sebald which will be hitting the bookshops in a couple of weeks’ time (5 September), published by Propolis Books.  Propolis is a new imprint and the brainwave of Henry Layte, owner of The Book Hive, a very enterprising independent bookshop in the heart of Norwich.   For more information, try visiting www.propolisbooks.co.uk

 

Here, briefly, is the background to the book: Philippa first met Sebald – “Max” as he was known to his friends – in August 1981.  She had recently returned from eight years of living and working in West Berlin; he was a German who had left his native Bavaria during the 1960s and come to settle, first in Manchester and then in Norfolk, where he held an academic appointment at the University of East Anglia.  The two of them soon discovered how much they had in common, not least a passionate interest in various aspects of European history, literature and culture.   Over and beyond his day-job at the University, unbeknown to his colleagues, Max was about to embark on a second career as a writer – a career that came to fruition in the 1990s with the publication – to international acclaim – of works such as The Emigrants, The Rings of Saturn and Austerlitz.   But then, on 14 December, 2001, at the age of 57, Max suffered a heart attack at the wheel of his car and died instantly.

 

Ariadne’s Thread is Philippa’s first full-length book – written on the strength of Max having encouraged her to follow her star and “do more writing”.  It’s designed as a memoir and a memorial to her friend and whilst obviously I’m biased, I think you’d find it truly fascinating and hugely enjoyable!