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A review by savaging
The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann
5.0
I came to this book with my eyes already rolling. One of these high-brow tomes that people like to 'have read' more than they actually enjoy reading. 850+ small-print pages where nothing happens. Who convinced me to put this on my reading list?
And yet, and yet. After a month with this book I found myself in love.
Let me concede that all of these critiques are true:
-The 'plot' is completely limp. It feels more like some kind of Cannery Row format except with less interesting hijinks.
-There are way too many arguments between intellectual blowhards.
-In all its 854 pages, the book doesn't pass the Bechdel test.
But also this is true:
-I was so moved by this book.
-Even a century on, Mann remains a friendly and clear-eyed companion for readers.
-Hans Castorp, the protagonist, is weirdly lovable, despite it all. His confused ideas and general curiosity are far more compelling than anything the intellectuals around him espouse.
-It's a comedy! I laughed out loud!
-It's also endlessly eery. A good going-crazy-in-quarantine read.
-The ending made me shudder and almost weep, to feel this gentle narrative suddenly wrenched away into trench warfare.
Would I actively recommend this book to anyone? No - how could I? But if you're the sort of masochist who already enjoys reading The Classics, then just know that there really is something here for you.
And yet, and yet. After a month with this book I found myself in love.
Let me concede that all of these critiques are true:
-The 'plot' is completely limp. It feels more like some kind of Cannery Row format except with less interesting hijinks.
-There are way too many arguments between intellectual blowhards.
-In all its 854 pages, the book doesn't pass the Bechdel test.
But also this is true:
-I was so moved by this book.
-Even a century on, Mann remains a friendly and clear-eyed companion for readers.
-Hans Castorp, the protagonist, is weirdly lovable, despite it all. His confused ideas and general curiosity are far more compelling than anything the intellectuals around him espouse.
-It's a comedy! I laughed out loud!
-It's also endlessly eery. A good going-crazy-in-quarantine read.
-The ending made me shudder and almost weep, to feel this gentle narrative suddenly wrenched away into trench warfare.
Would I actively recommend this book to anyone? No - how could I? But if you're the sort of masochist who already enjoys reading The Classics, then just know that there really is something here for you.