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kal9000 's review for:
The Magic Mountain
by Thomas Mann
There's probably very little I could say about this book that other's haven't already. Even Wikipedia states "It is widely considered to be one of the most influential works of twentieth-century German literature" and that should be enough.
But it does hold true. I've read a bit of Hesse, Goethe and other German writiers, and Mann's prose puts them to shame (even the Lowe-Porter translation). I have Musil up next, but I plan to go back to Mann many more times in the future. Several sections in this translation were rather dense and not well suited for late night reading, especially some of the long winded diatribes between characters which Mann used (slightly pretensiously) to display both his analytical insight and extensive vocabulary. But the book is enjoyable if you come to realize its intent.
It is not really meant to be a story, but a challenge. And not a challenge in the way Joyce is. It is subtle and well crafted, ironic, self aware, and inviting. You get from it exactly how much you give it. Every character serve's his or her purpose, yet none are shallow or one sided. People complain of the disjointed feel, but to me the way time is presented in the novel doesn't lend itself to a standard narrative and I believe the book would suffer if it was more rigidly structured.
For anyone interested in the humanitarian ideals and continental culture of the prewar 20th century, you cannot go wrong. If you find yourself interested, read it. It seems to be written expressly for the type of person who would be interested in a 100 year old 700 page long German book taking place high in the mountains.
Also, you'll want to be able to read french since there's a 20 some page section in the middle with no translation.
But it does hold true. I've read a bit of Hesse, Goethe and other German writiers, and Mann's prose puts them to shame (even the Lowe-Porter translation). I have Musil up next, but I plan to go back to Mann many more times in the future. Several sections in this translation were rather dense and not well suited for late night reading, especially some of the long winded diatribes between characters which Mann used (slightly pretensiously) to display both his analytical insight and extensive vocabulary. But the book is enjoyable if you come to realize its intent.
It is not really meant to be a story, but a challenge. And not a challenge in the way Joyce is. It is subtle and well crafted, ironic, self aware, and inviting. You get from it exactly how much you give it. Every character serve's his or her purpose, yet none are shallow or one sided. People complain of the disjointed feel, but to me the way time is presented in the novel doesn't lend itself to a standard narrative and I believe the book would suffer if it was more rigidly structured.
For anyone interested in the humanitarian ideals and continental culture of the prewar 20th century, you cannot go wrong. If you find yourself interested, read it. It seems to be written expressly for the type of person who would be interested in a 100 year old 700 page long German book taking place high in the mountains.
Also, you'll want to be able to read french since there's a 20 some page section in the middle with no translation.