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3.5 

The Magic Mountain

By Thomas Mann
The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann digital book - Fable

Publisher Description

First published in 1924 in German, “The Magic Mountain” is the thoughtful and introspective novel by Nobel Prize laureate Thomas Mann. Widely regarded as one of the most important modern works of the 20th century, Mann’s story follows the aristocratic Hans Castorp as he leaves his comfortable family home to visit his ailing friend in a distant sanatorium located high in the Swiss Alps. Castorp’s stay begins as a brief vacation before he starts his adult life as an engineer in Germany and evolves into several years spent in this isolated institution recovering from a newly discovered illness. Castorp meets a fascinating cast of characters in his mountain retreat, including anarchists, socialists, and royalty, as he attempts to find meaning in his life. In a work acclaimed as both philosophical and deeply profound, Castorp and his fellow patients have little to do but consider their lives and fill their seemingly endless days with reflection and debate while the rest of Europe marches towards a world war. “The Magic Mountain” is a thought-provoking work that grapples with the eternal human concerns of love, money, politics, and the inexorable passage of time. This edition follows the translation of Helen Tracy Lowe-Porter.

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222 Reviews

3.5
Thinking Face“Listened to it on audiobook. Would have DNF if it was a physical read. It was a long slog at times and not one I would recommend I'm afraid. 🤔”
Reviewed in:Game of Tomes
“Might have DNF'd this long one had it not been a bookclub pick. A mountain, disease; but magic? Not so much. Sorry, not sorry. I will give Thomas Mann another try, though.”
Thinking Face“This book definitely warrants a re-read. I was able to skate through it fairly easily, but the dense descriptive wording causes me to sometimes miss a plot point. I had to flip through previous pages finding sections to clarify my current place in the book. All in all, it is a well-constructed story with delineated themes throughout. Mann was able to showcase his knowledge of topics that were well-researched. It felt, at times, he was sharing with us things he was excited about having learned himself. His passionate elaborations about the records Castorp was playing and about the record player itself demonstrated how easily Castorp’s interests could change and fluctuate as compared to his in-depth medical descriptions earlier in the book. He successfully portrayed Castorp as this multi-passionate person which kept the story moving at a pace that motivates you to hang in there for this ever-evolving account of life in this sanatorium.”
Reviewed in:Game of Tomes

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