Manchester is hell

W.G. Sebald's unforgettable portrait of this city

Dear members — we hope you had a restful winter break. We’re excited to share a real cracker of a read with you today. Last month marked the 20th anniversary of the death of one of contemporary literature’s most influential figures, W.G. Sebald. The German writer spent three years in Manchester at the end of the 1960s, time which proved formative for his work.

Writer Simon Bowcock — who has written for publications like the Guardian, Harper’s Bazaar Art and Frieze — takes us on a whistlestop tour of Sebald’s Manchester and explains why the author had such a complicated relationship with this city. We're hoping Sebald’s somewhat bleak take on Manchester doesn’t contribute to your January blues too much…