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batbones's review against another edition
4.0
'that art is stuck fast and grown too difficult and mocks its very self, that all has grown too difficult and God's poor man in his distress no longer knows up from down, that is surely the guilt of the age. But should a man make the Devil his guest in order thereby to go beyond and break through, he indicts his soul and hangs the guilt of the age round his own neck, so that he be damned. For it is said: be sober, be vigilant! But that is not the business of some, and rather than wisely to attend to what is needful on earth, that it might be better, and prudently to act that among men such order be stablished that may again prepare lively soil and honest accommodation for the beautiful work, man would prefer to play the truant and break out into hellish drunkenness, thus giving his soul to it and ending upon the shambles.' (p. 524)
Mann successfully fuses the triumph of the Faustian overreacher and the tragic nature of his downfall with the national spirit of Nazi Germany and the national guilt at the hour of its defeat. A reader less familiar with musical notation such as this reader may find passages describing the musical pieces less instructive and frankly rather boring. They are probably supposed to illustrate the inventive genius of the fictional musician. Still, even without fully understanding the music, it is possible to appreciate the frenzied energies that surround the cast of characters and the atmosphere in the story is set especially when the reader can take cues from the protagonist (the 'friend'), whose thoughts and emotions relay the texture and weight of the more technical passages. The supernatural is downplayed in this modernised rewriting of Faustus, which is a bit disappointing if one was expecting more than that. The literal Devil only occupies a tiny part of the book and is further diminished by a frame narrative; indeed the introduction of the 'friend' and the structure of the recount serves very well to put these elements at arm's length. Instead, the dark forces are expressed in human acts, responses and tragedies - in untimely illness, death and possibly madness. Despite the protagonist's fundamentally Christian worldview, the lack of the supernatural puts the responsibility of conduct firmly on humanity, the battle for morality and goodness is solely enacted in the contemporary world.
The novel takes the reality of horrors committed and injects a note of poignancy from the perspective of the Germans with its dreadful vision of foreign invasion - 'our shattered and devastated cities fall like ripe plums ... they all obey strangers now' . Shameful defeat is compounded with moral shame. The legacy the Third Reich leaves is a stain on national history and tradition, turning pride in German culture and intellectual thought into a burden. 'Our thick-walled torture chamber ... has been burst open, and our ignominy lies naked before the eyes of the world ... to whom these incredible scenes are displayed on all sides now and who report home that the hideousness of what they have seen exceeds anything the human imagination can conceive. ... is it mere hypochondria to tell oneself that all that is German--even German intellect, German thought, the German word--shares in the disgrace of these revelations and is plunged into profundest doubt? Is it morbid contrition to ask oneself the question: How can "Germany" whichever of its forms it may allowed to take in the future, so much as open its mouth again to speak of mankind's concerns?" It is possible and surprising, thus, to feel not only the terrible discovery of the concentration camps and the shock the world felt, but a shred of pity - for a people deceived by evil.
Mann successfully fuses the triumph of the Faustian overreacher and the tragic nature of his downfall with the national spirit of Nazi Germany and the national guilt at the hour of its defeat. A reader less familiar with musical notation such as this reader may find passages describing the musical pieces less instructive and frankly rather boring. They are probably supposed to illustrate the inventive genius of the fictional musician. Still, even without fully understanding the music, it is possible to appreciate the frenzied energies that surround the cast of characters and the atmosphere in the story is set especially when the reader can take cues from the protagonist (the 'friend'), whose thoughts and emotions relay the texture and weight of the more technical passages. The supernatural is downplayed in this modernised rewriting of Faustus, which is a bit disappointing if one was expecting more than that. The literal Devil only occupies a tiny part of the book and is further diminished by a frame narrative; indeed the introduction of the 'friend' and the structure of the recount serves very well to put these elements at arm's length. Instead, the dark forces are expressed in human acts, responses and tragedies - in untimely illness, death and possibly madness. Despite the protagonist's fundamentally Christian worldview, the lack of the supernatural puts the responsibility of conduct firmly on humanity, the battle for morality and goodness is solely enacted in the contemporary world.
The novel takes the reality of horrors committed and injects a note of poignancy from the perspective of the Germans with its dreadful vision of foreign invasion - 'our shattered and devastated cities fall like ripe plums ... they all obey strangers now' . Shameful defeat is compounded with moral shame. The legacy the Third Reich leaves is a stain on national history and tradition, turning pride in German culture and intellectual thought into a burden. 'Our thick-walled torture chamber ... has been burst open, and our ignominy lies naked before the eyes of the world ... to whom these incredible scenes are displayed on all sides now and who report home that the hideousness of what they have seen exceeds anything the human imagination can conceive. ... is it mere hypochondria to tell oneself that all that is German--even German intellect, German thought, the German word--shares in the disgrace of these revelations and is plunged into profundest doubt? Is it morbid contrition to ask oneself the question: How can "Germany" whichever of its forms it may allowed to take in the future, so much as open its mouth again to speak of mankind's concerns?" It is possible and surprising, thus, to feel not only the terrible discovery of the concentration camps and the shock the world felt, but a shred of pity - for a people deceived by evil.
vudemn's review against another edition
4.0
S obzirom da sam odabrao da čitam Manovo delo, znao sam da se moram spremiti za masažu moždanih vijuga, potpunu posvećenost čitanju i ogromno strpljenje.
Jednostavno, da nisam Jedan od Onih Koji Pročitaju Sve do Kraja, verovatno i ne bih završio ovu knjigu, ali na kraju se moja upornost isplati.
Ako uporedim ovu knjigu sa drugim Manovim, mogu reći da je najteža za čitanje.
Ako uporedim ovu knjigu sa ostalim knjigama koje sam do sad pročitao, mogu reći da je najteža za čitanje. Simple as that.
Inače, ono što ovoj knjizi daje težinu nije samo Manova želja da svakoj rečeneci da težinu, već multižanrovsko mešanje, uz dosta filozofije, muzike i religije, gde se veći broj dijaloga svodi na rasprave koje nigde ne vode, nešto slično kao onima u našim kafanama, samo na mnogo dubljem nivou... ali na kraju se sve svodi na isto.
Glavni lik, Adrijan Leverkin je gotovo tipičan heroj- mora proći kroz sito i rešeto, u ranoj mladosti je već prepoznat kao 'čovek koji će ostaviti trag', i onaj koji na kraju strada- ali ono što ga razdvaja od običnog arhetipa junaka je upravo to što ne postoji viši cilj u njegovom aktu stradanja kao što se to kod ostalih vidi(za narod ili za uzvišenost)... on strada zbog sopstvenih hirova i poroka.
Alegorično, to se isto može reći i za samu Nemačku, što je i glavna poenta priče, s tim što je Man poredio uspon i pad kompozitora sa svojom otadžbinom(iako se nalazio u inostranstvu dok je pisao ovo delo). Pored tog poređenja imamo i mnogobrojna druga, koja se odnose na glavnog junaka- ono sa Ničeom(sifilisna bolest koja utiče na psihu čoveka), pa onda poređenje sa Šenbergom, kompozitorom( maestralnost u stvaranju, plus dvanaesto-tonske kompozicije koje se pripisuju Leverkinu).
Pored toga mnogobrojni sporedni likovi nose tuđe osobine koje stvaraju dodatne aluzije, i to je između ostalog jedna od Manovih genijalnosti.
Mislim da ovaj roman treba čitati tokom slušanja Šenbergovih kompozicija da bi se osetila prava "Naricaljka doktora Faustusa", jer je to jedna od Manovih namera, a maestralnost ovog dela se prepoznaje već u prvim redovima. Iako ispričana iz perspektive Leverkinovog prijatelja, filologa Cajtbluma(koji umnogome podseća na samog pisca) ova priča pruža odličnu alegoriju uspona i pada Nemačke kroz njenu genijalnost i ludilo, bolest i uzvišenost, sve prikazano delom nemačkog kompozitora Adrijana Leverkina, koga smrt nije zatekla odmah nakon pada... već tamo negde, desetak godina kasnije, dugo nakon što je od njega ostala samo ljuštura.
Jednostavno, da nisam Jedan od Onih Koji Pročitaju Sve do Kraja, verovatno i ne bih završio ovu knjigu, ali na kraju se moja upornost isplati.
Ako uporedim ovu knjigu sa drugim Manovim, mogu reći da je najteža za čitanje.
Ako uporedim ovu knjigu sa ostalim knjigama koje sam do sad pročitao, mogu reći da je najteža za čitanje. Simple as that.
Inače, ono što ovoj knjizi daje težinu nije samo Manova želja da svakoj rečeneci da težinu, već multižanrovsko mešanje, uz dosta filozofije, muzike i religije, gde se veći broj dijaloga svodi na rasprave koje nigde ne vode, nešto slično kao onima u našim kafanama, samo na mnogo dubljem nivou... ali na kraju se sve svodi na isto.
Glavni lik, Adrijan Leverkin je gotovo tipičan heroj- mora proći kroz sito i rešeto, u ranoj mladosti je već prepoznat kao 'čovek koji će ostaviti trag', i onaj koji na kraju strada- ali ono što ga razdvaja od običnog arhetipa junaka je upravo to što ne postoji viši cilj u njegovom aktu stradanja kao što se to kod ostalih vidi(za narod ili za uzvišenost)... on strada zbog sopstvenih hirova i poroka.
Alegorično, to se isto može reći i za samu Nemačku, što je i glavna poenta priče, s tim što je Man poredio uspon i pad kompozitora sa svojom otadžbinom(iako se nalazio u inostranstvu dok je pisao ovo delo). Pored tog poređenja imamo i mnogobrojna druga, koja se odnose na glavnog junaka- ono sa Ničeom(sifilisna bolest koja utiče na psihu čoveka), pa onda poređenje sa Šenbergom, kompozitorom( maestralnost u stvaranju, plus dvanaesto-tonske kompozicije koje se pripisuju Leverkinu).
Pored toga mnogobrojni sporedni likovi nose tuđe osobine koje stvaraju dodatne aluzije, i to je između ostalog jedna od Manovih genijalnosti.
Mislim da ovaj roman treba čitati tokom slušanja Šenbergovih kompozicija da bi se osetila prava "Naricaljka doktora Faustusa", jer je to jedna od Manovih namera, a maestralnost ovog dela se prepoznaje već u prvim redovima. Iako ispričana iz perspektive Leverkinovog prijatelja, filologa Cajtbluma(koji umnogome podseća na samog pisca) ova priča pruža odličnu alegoriju uspona i pada Nemačke kroz njenu genijalnost i ludilo, bolest i uzvišenost, sve prikazano delom nemačkog kompozitora Adrijana Leverkina, koga smrt nije zatekla odmah nakon pada... već tamo negde, desetak godina kasnije, dugo nakon što je od njega ostala samo ljuštura.
vetlehove's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
tsenteme's review against another edition
Ο Μαν στο τελευταίο του βιβλίο θέτει πολύ ψηλά τον πήχυ, τόσο που νομίζω χάνει λίγο την ουσία, παράλληλα με τους μουσικούς όρους. Το λεξιλόγιο, της μετάφρασης, είναι όμορφο αλλά δυσκολότερο από την πλειοψηφία των μυθιστορημάτων. Δεν μπορώ να κρίνω αν ήταν καλή η μετάφραση, σίγουρα όμως πρόκειται για ένα κατόρθωμα.
Δεν το θεωρώ εντέλει καλύτερο από το μαγικό βουνό και τους Μπούντενμπροκ, αν και αντιλαμβάνομαι την ποιότητα του έργου, ασχέτως αν δεν κατάφερα να μπω στο κλίμα 100%.
Δεν το θεωρώ εντέλει καλύτερο από το μαγικό βουνό και τους Μπούντενμπροκ, αν και αντιλαμβάνομαι την ποιότητα του έργου, ασχέτως αν δεν κατάφερα να μπω στο κλίμα 100%.
2am_limbo's review against another edition
1.0
Words cannot express how much I hate this book.
I loved the imagery and literary bits, and altogether I appreciate the book. However, I cannot even begin to explain how terribly agonizing it was for me to get through this.
I loved the imagery and literary bits, and altogether I appreciate the book. However, I cannot even begin to explain how terribly agonizing it was for me to get through this.
peristasis547's review against another edition
Wenn man halt von Seite 1 an den Ich-Erzähler einfach hasst...
ljp223's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75