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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
Will come back to it, it was just so confusing to listen to as an audiobook. Ill find it at the library or something and read it physically instead
Este livro tem de ser lido fisicamente e anotado. Há muito contexto social, cultural e histórico que me falta e que é extremamente importante para perceber as referências e a nuance do texto. Mais do que isso, eu não sinto interesse neste momento de ler algo deste género, mas reconheço o potencial e talvez mais tarde volte a tentar ler este livro.
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I knew reading The Magic Mountain would be an amazing experience, not only by reason of its fame, but because I was primed for loving it by a very good friend while she read it. Her intellectual enthusiasm - someone whose knowledge and intelligence I was always in awe of - left me convinced to read it, even though it took me well over 10 years to get to. At least I can say I read it on the 100th anniversary of its publication.
In the last few years I've been thinking a lot about the turn of the 20th century and how so much of humanity's philosophical, political and literary achievements were at the time so close or on par with what we are a century later. From H.G. Wells to E.M. Foster, from Oscar Wilde to Kafka, from Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles to W. Somerset Maugham's Of Human Bondage or Edith Warthon's the Age of Innocence, from Dostoevsky, Tolstoy and Nietzsche to G. Bernard Shaw and, of course, Stefan Zweig, I sometimes feel like the current sociological, economical and moral discussions are in 2024 essentially at the point we left them in the Great War. Apart from the technological progress and it's very important implications, one can read classic literature with 100 years and feel very well contextualized and prepared to understand and discuss current politics. The horrors of the 20th century were not only apocalyptical in and of themselves, they also seem to have created a dead marsh in humanity's intellectual progress, in which we keep following the flames and drowning in old images, if you forgive my Tolkienesque analogy.
The Magic Mountain is, even among such classics, one of the best to explore a couple of these issues. On one hand, the novel is about time, the feeling of its passing, its speed or suspension, very well well explored through Hans Castorp's life in the sanatorium - I constantly felt the parallelism to the sickness of a life purely dedicated to work, activity and purpose needing a "rest cure", as observed nowadays by thinkers such as Byung-Chul Han. On the other hand, the discussions between Settembrini and Naphta represent not only the humanist liberalism and authoritarian communism ideas that are still part of (though often anachronistic) political debates in the 21st century, but they also demonstrate the weakness that comes from their respective rigid faiths, the bias of perspective and the tendency of a conversation to turn into a combat particularly when there's an audience to win over. Settembrini shows the errors of the extreme rationalist view of humanity, one that neoliberal economists still haven't understood today. He makes a good argument for the world republic and individual freedom but I found myself thinking "this is why these people today still can't let go of Homo economicus". Naphta illustrates an interesting proximity between christian and communist ideas, but is forced to defend some authoritarian acts - such as the inquisition - shows enthusiasm with the idea of a bloody terrifying revolution and even glorifies disease and death. He's such an annoying character that I can't but feel that Mann was dealing with his own evolving ideas by using ridicule on those he came to abandon or despise. The vision of an essentially irrational humanity espoused by Naphta is not the only opposition to enlightened humanism, though, as the novel also includes a romance plot and Castorp's emotions and feelings for Clawdia often lead him to lose control in ways that disturb Settembrini. The exploration of this emotional deviation is exacerbated with the appearance of Peeperkorn, a romantic "personality", that had me thinking of how often in a debate the posture and demeanor can make an idea much more attractive than rational argumentation.
Not only does Mann use all these ideas extremely well, but his prose was also wonderful (I listened to the english translation) and quite effective - in particular in how time is stylistically imprinted on the narrative -, and he managed to create characters that are not only believable but really well structured. The main character, the intended focus of the bildungsroman and subject of the intellectuals' pedagogic discourses, has an evolution so well demonstrated that the reader feels his ideas expanding, his capacity to understand becoming his will to engage and turning later into his own spontaneous deep reflexions and his criticism of the others' ideas, incoherence and flaws.
The ending feels very referential to what happened in Europe at the time, not only directly but also in how Mann evokes both feeling the imminence of war and the later perspective of those who know not only what it came to but also what came of it.
I'd recommend The Magic Mountain for readers willing to engage with the ideas explored without being led by the hand or disguised with a complex plot. I'd also say it is one of those books that benefits from being in the right moment or frame of mind, so I'd abandon it if you're not feeling enthusiastic and come back to it later on (but, please, if you found the idea of reading The Magic Mountain interesting, give it another chance).
In the last few years I've been thinking a lot about the turn of the 20th century and how so much of humanity's philosophical, political and literary achievements were at the time so close or on par with what we are a century later. From H.G. Wells to E.M. Foster, from Oscar Wilde to Kafka, from Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles to W. Somerset Maugham's Of Human Bondage or Edith Warthon's the Age of Innocence, from Dostoevsky, Tolstoy and Nietzsche to G. Bernard Shaw and, of course, Stefan Zweig, I sometimes feel like the current sociological, economical and moral discussions are in 2024 essentially at the point we left them in the Great War. Apart from the technological progress and it's very important implications, one can read classic literature with 100 years and feel very well contextualized and prepared to understand and discuss current politics. The horrors of the 20th century were not only apocalyptical in and of themselves, they also seem to have created a dead marsh in humanity's intellectual progress, in which we keep following the flames and drowning in old images, if you forgive my Tolkienesque analogy.
The Magic Mountain is, even among such classics, one of the best to explore a couple of these issues. On one hand, the novel is about time, the feeling of its passing, its speed or suspension, very well well explored through Hans Castorp's life in the sanatorium - I constantly felt the parallelism to the sickness of a life purely dedicated to work, activity and purpose needing a "rest cure", as observed nowadays by thinkers such as Byung-Chul Han. On the other hand, the discussions between Settembrini and Naphta represent not only the humanist liberalism and authoritarian communism ideas that are still part of (though often anachronistic) political debates in the 21st century, but they also demonstrate the weakness that comes from their respective rigid faiths, the bias of perspective and the tendency of a conversation to turn into a combat particularly when there's an audience to win over. Settembrini shows the errors of the extreme rationalist view of humanity, one that neoliberal economists still haven't understood today. He makes a good argument for the world republic and individual freedom but I found myself thinking "this is why these people today still can't let go of Homo economicus". Naphta illustrates an interesting proximity between christian and communist ideas, but is forced to defend some authoritarian acts - such as the inquisition - shows enthusiasm with the idea of a bloody terrifying revolution and even glorifies disease and death. He's such an annoying character that I can't but feel that Mann was dealing with his own evolving ideas by using ridicule on those he came to abandon or despise. The vision of an essentially irrational humanity espoused by Naphta is not the only opposition to enlightened humanism, though, as the novel also includes a romance plot and Castorp's emotions and feelings for Clawdia often lead him to lose control in ways that disturb Settembrini. The exploration of this emotional deviation is exacerbated with the appearance of Peeperkorn, a romantic "personality", that had me thinking of how often in a debate the posture and demeanor can make an idea much more attractive than rational argumentation.
Not only does Mann use all these ideas extremely well, but his prose was also wonderful (I listened to the english translation) and quite effective - in particular in how time is stylistically imprinted on the narrative -, and he managed to create characters that are not only believable but really well structured. The main character, the intended focus of the bildungsroman and subject of the intellectuals' pedagogic discourses, has an evolution so well demonstrated that the reader feels his ideas expanding, his capacity to understand becoming his will to engage and turning later into his own spontaneous deep reflexions and his criticism of the others' ideas, incoherence and flaws.
The ending feels very referential to what happened in Europe at the time, not only directly but also in how Mann evokes both feeling the imminence of war and the later perspective of those who know not only what it came to but also what came of it.
I'd recommend The Magic Mountain for readers willing to engage with the ideas explored without being led by the hand or disguised with a complex plot. I'd also say it is one of those books that benefits from being in the right moment or frame of mind, so I'd abandon it if you're not feeling enthusiastic and come back to it later on (but, please, if you found the idea of reading The Magic Mountain interesting, give it another chance).
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
Some really hilarious and fascinating moments but also a lot a lot of unenjoyable philosophising. Mann didn't seem to know when or how to end this.
First rereading: My first read of this book took around 5 months. My second read took about 4 weeks, as I combed through it very detailedly but also much more regularly. The Naphta/Settembrini passages were somehow less painful and complex the second time around, and my overall perception of the Settembrini/Hans relationship is different and a lot more sad. I have a lot of respect for this book, especially the "Schnee" section. It is by no means a perfect book, but it has offered me so much to consider and study and for that I am grateful.
First rereading: My first read of this book took around 5 months. My second read took about 4 weeks, as I combed through it very detailedly but also much more regularly. The Naphta/Settembrini passages were somehow less painful and complex the second time around, and my overall perception of the Settembrini/Hans relationship is different and a lot more sad. I have a lot of respect for this book, especially the "Schnee" section. It is by no means a perfect book, but it has offered me so much to consider and study and for that I am grateful.
A book about everything. Seriously, you name it, it's in here. And it somehow works perfectly.
The Magic Mountain is like Ulysses but fun and readable. Intentional, well-drawn characters exchange accessible ideas on love, life, death, time, science, music, health, and every other topic you can conceive of. It is borderline philosophy in parts, but avoids tautology and circular naval gazing.
This is a stunning literary achievement even with a plot summarized as - a guy named Hans travels up a mountain, hangs out with a bunch of people with varied backgrounds, many points of view are examined and differing dynamics created as characters walk around. That may sound like a snooze-fest, but it's an awe inspiring book. Magic Mountain is much more a character study than a plot driven story.
Recommended to readers who enjoy thoughtful, deliberate literary fiction.
The Magic Mountain is like Ulysses but fun and readable. Intentional, well-drawn characters exchange accessible ideas on love, life, death, time, science, music, health, and every other topic you can conceive of. It is borderline philosophy in parts, but avoids tautology and circular naval gazing.
This is a stunning literary achievement even with a plot summarized as - a guy named Hans travels up a mountain, hangs out with a bunch of people with varied backgrounds, many points of view are examined and differing dynamics created as characters walk around. That may sound like a snooze-fest, but it's an awe inspiring book. Magic Mountain is much more a character study than a plot driven story.
Recommended to readers who enjoy thoughtful, deliberate literary fiction.
This was a dense book, full of ideas about time and space, sickness and health, humanism and religiosity. Mann uses the residents of a sanitarium as the canvas on which to paint his portrait of life and death in pre-war Europe. interesting but difficult.
challenging
reflective
slow-paced