Upon publication, the English version of The Emigrants was well received by critics, and has since gained increasing recognition. Cynthia Ozick strongly praised both Sebald and Hulse, speculating that "we are indebted...to Sebald's translator (himself a poet), for allowing us to see, through the strained glass of his consummate Englishing, what must surely be the most delicately powerful German prose since Thomas Mann."[8] Lisa Cohen offered similarly strong praise, hailing The Emigrants' “uncanny vividness and specificity,” concluding that “the brilliance of this book lies in the fact that Sebald never loses sight of either the power of metaphor or the viciousness of history.”[5] Daniel Medin noted in 2003 that "Hulse's 1996 translation of Die Ausgewanderten introduced Sebald to audiences beyond...German [readership], and [Sebald] was hailed immediately as a new and compelling voice in contemporary European fiction."[9] Kirkus Reviews wrote: "The pervasive melancholy in these lives that are locked in tragedy is formidable, but at the same time the lyricism and immediacy of the narratives are marvelous to behold: a profound and moving work that should leave no reader unaffected."[10]
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