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A review by sock_mouse
The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann
3.0
After months and months of trekking up the Magic Mountain, I've finally descended from its peaks and will attempt to resume my life in the flatlands. More than I can say for the hero, Hans Castorp. Hmmm.
I've got mixed opinions about Mann's The Magic Mountain. Admittedly, if I hadn't read this book with other literary-minded friends I wouldn't have finished the book. It's a trying read.
Mann is definitely challenging us here. However, I think he's plenty aware of the task he sets at our feet. He is playing the Settembrini or Naphta to the reader's Hans and giving us more than we want, simply because it's "good" for us to grow in this way. "Good" though his lessons are, Mann doesn't make it easy for us. The contemporary reader will definitely have his or her hands full with what Mann wants to say in this book. I know I did.
While I appreciated the challenge, I found that the tedium of reading through Settembrini and Naphta's tete-a-tete's to be trying. Very trying. The logic of their arguments is more convoluted than a contortionist, and half as interesting.
The best moments of the book are, in my opinion, when the plot resumes itself and you see these characters trying to connect with each other on a personal, dare I say human, level. It usually involves the scandalous use of personal pronouns! You would think that in such an isolated environment the denizens of the Berghof would be a little less formal with one another. Because they aren't, these scenes are often poignant, hilarious, and a touch melancholy.
And, though it is far too short for my liking, I particularly enjoyed the change in tone at the very end. After Mynheer Peeperkorn exits the book, the narrative takes a dramatic turn and you see the Mountain -- and the world -- though a fatalistic lens. Perhaps Mann lays it on a bit too thick. Perhaps. You throw up your hands and say "Okay already. World War I is about to start. Let's get on with it!" I liked it. The descent was long awaited.
If you're in the thick of it, I say keep trudging on! The chapters "Walpurgis Night", "Snow", "A Good Solider", "The Great Stupor" and "The Great Petulance" will be your reward.
In the end you may find yourself, like me, done with the book, but left with an eerie feeling that you might return to the Mountain one day (if you haven't ever left!). (Perhaps the American equivalent would be a novel, of equal length and density, entitled "Hotel California"??)
I've got mixed opinions about Mann's The Magic Mountain. Admittedly, if I hadn't read this book with other literary-minded friends I wouldn't have finished the book. It's a trying read.
Mann is definitely challenging us here. However, I think he's plenty aware of the task he sets at our feet. He is playing the Settembrini or Naphta to the reader's Hans and giving us more than we want, simply because it's "good" for us to grow in this way. "Good" though his lessons are, Mann doesn't make it easy for us. The contemporary reader will definitely have his or her hands full with what Mann wants to say in this book. I know I did.
While I appreciated the challenge, I found that the tedium of reading through Settembrini and Naphta's tete-a-tete's to be trying. Very trying. The logic of their arguments is more convoluted than a contortionist, and half as interesting.
The best moments of the book are, in my opinion, when the plot resumes itself and you see these characters trying to connect with each other on a personal, dare I say human, level. It usually involves the scandalous use of personal pronouns! You would think that in such an isolated environment the denizens of the Berghof would be a little less formal with one another. Because they aren't, these scenes are often poignant, hilarious, and a touch melancholy.
And, though it is far too short for my liking, I particularly enjoyed the change in tone at the very end. After Mynheer Peeperkorn exits the book, the narrative takes a dramatic turn and you see the Mountain -- and the world -- though a fatalistic lens. Perhaps Mann lays it on a bit too thick. Perhaps. You throw up your hands and say "Okay already. World War I is about to start. Let's get on with it!" I liked it. The descent was long awaited.
If you're in the thick of it, I say keep trudging on! The chapters "Walpurgis Night", "Snow", "A Good Solider", "The Great Stupor" and "The Great Petulance" will be your reward.
In the end you may find yourself, like me, done with the book, but left with an eerie feeling that you might return to the Mountain one day (if you haven't ever left!). (Perhaps the American equivalent would be a novel, of equal length and density, entitled "Hotel California"??)