I certainly liked this book, and the prose was wonderful--I now have a full understanding of what 'Sebaldian' means (the reason I wanted to read Sebald was some of my favorite books were called this adjective). However, as I've read since completing, starting with Sebald's first book is probably not the best idea. It's a little too opaque. My lukewarm feeling toward this won't hold me back from reading The Emigrants soon, though, and likely finish the trilogy with Rings of Saturn as well.