STN Entertainment

'The Emigrants'

W.G. Sebald (New Directions; $22.95)

rani Kafka declared that "a at the end of his life and confides
book cannot take the place in him feelings of loss, guilt and
of the world." But if a world futility.
The second narrative opens
has been destroyed, recon-
structing that world in a book with the obituary notice of Paul
may be the most powerful memo- Bereyter, a former schoolteacher
in a small German village. The
rial.
The Emigrants, by the Ger- most telling element of the obit-
man writer W.G. Sebald, is a uary is the terse sentence ex-
strange and unsettling recon- plaining that Paul Bereyter was
struction of a lost world. The lives prevented by -the Third Reich
from practicing his chosen
of four German emigrants
profession.
are carefully chronicled
Ambros Adelworth's
by the author, complete
BOOKS
life is chronicled in the
with accompanying pho-
third narrative. Like the oth-
tographs. Each of these
men's lives is intertwined with er men, he is able to escape Ger-
the fate of Jewish Germany dur- many, and like the men of this
ing World War II. And each book, he is unable to escape the
man's story, as told to the author, damage done to his psyche. He
is replete with intimate family wanders the world, and as a Jew
details and. reminiscences of and homosexual he is a double
outcast. Unable to be at home in
towns left behind-.
The book begins with the sto- the world, he finally commits
ry of Dr. Henry Selwyn, an el- himself to a mental institution
derly physician now living in and surrenders his spirit.
With each subsequent telling,
England. Henry Selwyn began
his life in a village near the town the narratives get longer, build-
of Grudno in Lithuania as Her- ing a sense of dread and appre-
sch Seweryn. He grew up in Lon- hension of inevitable tragedy. The
don, went to medical school and Emigrants concludes with the ob-
married the daughter of a sessive life of Max Ferber, an
wealthy businessman. Dr. Sel- artist trapped in his studio, draw-
wyn meets the narrator/author ing his nightmares over and over.

F

W.G. Sebald has created a
ghostly scrapbook of lost lives,
composed of words and images.
And it is the images that make
the words so unsettling, for this
beautifully written book is total-
ly a creation of the author's imag-
ination. Who are the people in the
photos and what of their lives?
Where are these family gather-
ings, these locations we feel we
have seen before?
In each of the four narratives,
a man chasing butterflies ap-
pears briefly. Does he represent
the hunter pursuing an innocent
creature purely for his own plea-
sure? Or are we to think of the
butterfly, blameless and doomed
upon capture? Although the four
characters in The Emigrants
eluded the net of Nazi Germany,
they were all unable to escape the
crushing weight of loss and guilt
that followed them throughout
their troubled lives.

1J2

—

Lynne Avadenka

Lynne Avadenka is a Huntington

Woods artist.

'Jerry Maguire'

Rated R
rom Mission Impossible to Mission
Statement, Tom Cruise has em-
barked on a new quest. This time, it's
for life, liberty and the pursuit of hu-
manness in the ultimate feel-good movie of
the holiday season.

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Meet Jerry Maguire (Cruise) —"just an-
And the prophesy comes to pass when
other shark in the suit" — of Sports Man-
agement International (SMI). While Maguire is fired by Bob Sugar, the cut-
pondering the ubiquitous questions — throat, slimeball agent whom Maguire
"Who did I become?" "Why aren't we fo- mentored. Dorothy Boyd, a 26-year-old ac-
cusing on fewer clients, less money, bet- countant at SMI, single mother and purist,
ter service?" — jumps ship to join the drop-dead, good-look-
ing Maguire as he starts his own
Maguire
sports management agency. A
puts his
MOVIES
sweet romance, complete with the
answers
usual ups and downs, follows as
and ideals
to paper. He Maguire tries to get a conscience.
Fast-paced scenes of the NFL Draft find
drafts a Mission
Statement—not Sugar and Maguire in a tug-of-war for
a memo — titled clients and their astronomical salary resid-
"The Things We uals. Only one player, Arizona Cardinals
Think and Do wide receiver Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding
Not Say. The Fu- Jr.), stands by his man. Like Brett Perri-
- ture of Our Busi- man of the Detroit Lions, Tidwell is small
ness." Accolades and fearless; he goes over the middle, un-
all around. "He'll appreciated by the ownership. But audi-
last one week," ences will certainly appreciate Gooding's
mutters a fellow hilarious performance.
In Jerry Maguire, Tom Cruise combines
sports agent un-
the
charisma and fortitude he displayed in
der his breath.
The Firm with the comedic timing of
In a poignant and funny
Risky Business that first propelled his ca-
story, Dorothy Boyd
reer. More than 13 years later, Cruise is
(Rene Zellweger), right, still lookin' very good in his Jockeys and
inspires Jerry Maguire
singin' solo. This time, he croons to Tom
(Tom Cruise) to be a
Petty's "Free Fallin."

better person.

While Cruise is the sexy title character,
it's 6-year-old Jonathan Lipnidd ("The Jeff
Foxworthy Show") who steals the show. As
Dorothy Boyd's son, Lipnicki is a pint-sized
cross between Rick Moranis and John Den-
ver — but rounder. Through his huge four
eyes, the movie, though a little draggy at
parts, successfully unfolds.
Director/writer/prodUcer Cameron Crowe
brings together a great cast and fun story
that provides the perfect combination of
love, comedy, family, friendship and great
action-packed sports sequences. As Dorothy
Boyd; Renee Zellweger's fresh presence
complements Cruise on the screen. Sup-
porting cast members Kelly Preston
(Maguire's fiancee), Bonnie Hunt (Boyd's
sister), Regina King (Tidwell's wife) and
Jay Mohr (Bob Sugar) all bring in strong
performances. Cameo appearances from
many sports celebrities — don't blink or
you'll miss Wayne Fontes — are also fun
to pick out.
Touchdown for Jerry Maguire.

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Julie Yolles is arts & entertainment editor.

Her husband, Ron, a sports fanatic,
provided the necessary technical
background to his non-sports wife.

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