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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
I could write a much more detailed review but my initial response to the end is, "Was ist passiert????"
This would be a Bildungsroman but for the end.
This would be a Bildungsroman but for the end.
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Edit: as I figured, re-read and a class on this bumped it up. Still a bit of a slog, but in a fruitful way. Knowing how everything fits together enhanced greatly.
4 stars? 3? I’ve been on a generous kick, so I’ll be harsher for poor TMM.
Many more thoughts will come during the class on this book. I appreciated it a lot, and am excited for discussions/ papers to come from it. I am not gonna lie, a times it was a slog and a half. Climbing a (magic) mountain indeed… but boredom/ drudgery can be a tool and suits the story and it’s setting well enough. Appreciate it, but still doesn’t make it easiest to read. Being honest, if I had to read one more Naphta/Settembrini convo, I’d have lost my mind.
All that being said, funnier than I expected (so many of these books are, I feel I said the same with Demons) and vivid characters. Poor Joachim. A lot of very good philosophy pops up in here, and Mann’s little scenes capture and play them out nicely. Beautiful descriptions of food and dress, and I want to know if there’s something there.
I think reading it as a allegory for pre WWI Europe works at a simple level. The ending of a bourgeois, nominally polite age is great to watch. Decadence is a word that comes to mind. Ideas of the privatization of healthcare and connections between physical / emotional/ spiritual health are here, and offer avenues to explore. Hans Castorp as a bisexual icon?
The review here is a placeholder, I hope, while I digest the book more fully.
4 stars? 3? I’ve been on a generous kick, so I’ll be harsher for poor TMM.
Many more thoughts will come during the class on this book. I appreciated it a lot, and am excited for discussions/ papers to come from it. I am not gonna lie, a times it was a slog and a half. Climbing a (magic) mountain indeed… but boredom/ drudgery can be a tool and suits the story and it’s setting well enough. Appreciate it, but still doesn’t make it easiest to read. Being honest, if I had to read one more Naphta/Settembrini convo, I’d have lost my mind.
All that being said, funnier than I expected (so many of these books are, I feel I said the same with Demons) and vivid characters. Poor Joachim. A lot of very good philosophy pops up in here, and Mann’s little scenes capture and play them out nicely. Beautiful descriptions of food and dress, and I want to know if there’s something there.
I think reading it as a allegory for pre WWI Europe works at a simple level. The ending of a bourgeois, nominally polite age is great to watch. Decadence is a word that comes to mind. Ideas of the privatization of healthcare and connections between physical / emotional/ spiritual health are here, and offer avenues to explore. Hans Castorp as a bisexual icon?
The review here is a placeholder, I hope, while I digest the book more fully.
Perhaps the most profound reading experience of my life.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
If you can summarize a 1000 pages long book in one sentence, I don’t think that this is an achievement of the author. More like the opposite. It is no achievement either, if the author makes 10mins of reading feel like 30mins, so I don’t know how people can bring up these arguments in favour of the author. Maybe it’s a joke I don’t get. But even if, it’s not a funny one.
challenging
funny
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Das war so viel Geschwätz. Literarisch unglaublich raffiniertes Geschwätz. Trotzdem endloses Geschwätz. Sympathisch waren nur Settenbrimi und Joachim. Mehr kann ich nach so einer Odyssee nicht aus mir herausholen. Bin froh, es hinter mir zu haben.
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Het is heel moeilijk geweest om dit boek neer te leggen. Het voelt ook vreemd aan om een boek 4 sterren te geven wanneer blijkt dat ik het toch niet uitgelezen krijg. De toverberg is fantastisch, het is zweverig, en lijkt te kabbelen als een kleine rivier. En toch kreeg ik het niet uitgelezen. Misschien ligt het aan de context hier thuis, misschien iets te veel woorden en bladzijden om in een drukke periode uit te krijgen. Ik zat aan blz 550, misschien pik ik je nog wel eens op toverberg!
