Scan barcode
amelie_h's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
shanekathe's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
5.0
lectoribenevolo's review against another edition
5.0
Possibly Mann’s masterwork, Doctor Faustus, written between 1943 and 1947 during Mann’s exile in California, tracks the symbolic convergence of (fictitious) composer Adrian Leverkühn’s descent into madness and the events surrounding narrator Serenus Zeitblom as he awaits the downfall of the German Reich. Mann pours his palpable sense of grief at what befell his homeland as a result of its world-historical crimes, but also a sense that, at long last, Germany might emerge from its historical sickness.
The perceptive reader will note that of all of the late 19th and early 20th century artists and intellectuals of note to figure in the discussions of this book, one is conspicuously, studiously absent: Friedrich Nietzsche. This is not an accident, I don’t think, since the broad arc of Leverkühn’s life is modeled on that of Nietzsche, especially the syphilitic illness that destroys Leverkühn’s mind. More than this, though, Mann seems to understand the significance of Leverkühn’s lonely artistic project and his suffering in the same terms on which he understands that of Nietzsche. In 1947 Mann delivered a lengthy address to the Library of Congress entitled “Nietzsche’s Philosophy in Light of Current Events.” It is a remarkable essay, not only as a reading of Nietzsche that would have driven the Nietzsche scholars I know up a wall, but as a thinly veiled discussion of the major themes of this book that saw the light the very same year. Mann was never all that shy about telling readers what he thought his own works meant, and perhaps he felt even more comfortable doing so to an American audience who he thought would find the “Germanness” of the book so alien to their habits of mind. If the reader can find a copy of this essay, it is, without ever once mentioning Doctor Faustus, a remarkable commentary on just this work.
The perceptive reader will note that of all of the late 19th and early 20th century artists and intellectuals of note to figure in the discussions of this book, one is conspicuously, studiously absent: Friedrich Nietzsche. This is not an accident, I don’t think, since the broad arc of Leverkühn’s life is modeled on that of Nietzsche, especially the syphilitic illness that destroys Leverkühn’s mind. More than this, though, Mann seems to understand the significance of Leverkühn’s lonely artistic project and his suffering in the same terms on which he understands that of Nietzsche. In 1947 Mann delivered a lengthy address to the Library of Congress entitled “Nietzsche’s Philosophy in Light of Current Events.” It is a remarkable essay, not only as a reading of Nietzsche that would have driven the Nietzsche scholars I know up a wall, but as a thinly veiled discussion of the major themes of this book that saw the light the very same year. Mann was never all that shy about telling readers what he thought his own works meant, and perhaps he felt even more comfortable doing so to an American audience who he thought would find the “Germanness” of the book so alien to their habits of mind. If the reader can find a copy of this essay, it is, without ever once mentioning Doctor Faustus, a remarkable commentary on just this work.
thehoodie's review against another edition
4.0
This took me a really long time because I wasn't always in the mood to read long passages about music theory
lela_f's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
5.0
tashalostinbooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
feiya's review against another edition
5.0
Divinity and human faith combine in a marvelous way in this book creating an Idea that stays in your mind long after you finished reading the book. You realize that the price you pay, for whatever you desire at the moment, can in a blink destroy everything you've had created. And even if you get all you ever desired, in the end it's only you and your faith that bend and break, unable to be redeemed.
jilibertador's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
My first thought was: finally.
It hurts my heart these 3 stars, but man... This was the first Thomas Mann book I've read and probably it shouldn't have been this one. Don't get me wrong. Beautiful, even perfect, writing, but it took me 400 pages out of 575 to start to really enjoy the story.
Mann put a lot of work in these pages and I know I didn't appreciate it enough. But God, I couldn't stand any more descriptions of sonatas, addagios, etc. It sure is a pleasent book for anyone into classic music because, I'm sure, if you understand every little detail about notes and classic music structure, you'll be able to listen to all the songs in the book.
For me, it was not an amazing experience. Loved the last 100 pages, struggled to not give up on this one. Anyway, I'll be reading more Mann to understand if it was a mistake to start with this one or if I'm just not into the author (let it be the first one, pls).
It hurts my heart these 3 stars, but man... This was the first Thomas Mann book I've read and probably it shouldn't have been this one. Don't get me wrong. Beautiful, even perfect, writing, but it took me 400 pages out of 575 to start to really enjoy the story.
Mann put a lot of work in these pages and I know I didn't appreciate it enough. But God, I couldn't stand any more descriptions of sonatas, addagios, etc. It sure is a pleasent book for anyone into classic music because, I'm sure, if you understand every little detail about notes and classic music structure, you'll be able to listen to all the songs in the book.
For me, it was not an amazing experience. Loved the last 100 pages, struggled to not give up on this one. Anyway, I'll be reading more Mann to understand if it was a mistake to start with this one or if I'm just not into the author (let it be the first one, pls).