An age when by rights one should be living at peace and harmony with God and the world. And when do we first discover that this curse has come upon us? At a terribly early age. 'Literature isn't a profession at all, I'll have you know-it's a curse. Many of his characters believe they are part of art, that they are destined to create good art. Mann is known for his gift as portraying the 'psychology of the artist' this is something I am interested in myself. There is something elusively powerful about it, but not so much that I can consciously feel it from the page I am aware of something hidden between its lines, but cannot access it so far.Īs for overarching ideas in Mann's stories, or even novellas, as some of them are in here (I believe 'Tristan', 'Tonio Kröger' and 'Death in Venice' are all regarded as novellas). 'Death in Venice' is a story I feel like I am not old enough to appreciate yet, or perhaps not wise enough. At times the narrative felt a little too loose at times, but it is forgiven for how much time it ambitiously covers. I could read pages and pages of Mann's opinions on art and the universe. It gives me great hope for The Magic Mountain, which I plan to read this year, as it is set in a sanatorium as this is. This David Luke translation is quite lovely to read, as I've heard before. Worth reading for the explosive tirade about art and its duty near the end of the story, the verbal and narrative climax of the piece. 'Gladius Dei' is an odd story, comprised of almost one single incident. But in the end there wasn't enough to make it worthwhile or thought-provoking. No doubt there is something under the surface with the old man screaming at the boy on the bicycle, whom is renamed Life itself. 'The Road to the Churchyard' is a fairly bland story. Then, and now, there are expectations in society which make it hard for young people to chase creative endeavours-we look like Jokers, like a child standing proudly and declaring: I want to be an astronaut. It is, really, the psychology of the artist (which Mann is famous for), or the dream of the artist. 'The Joker' starts well, continues well, and ends slightly less than well, but overall a good story. There is something wonderfully simple and profound about it, as one can find in Kafka, Rilke, Sebald, Hesse. Mann's writing, like most German-speaking writers, is hypnotic without being overstated. Despite being a story of just 30 pages, it is quite a saddening one. 'Little Herr Friedemann' is a German Florentino of sorts. One date is changed, however, as I mistyped it. There is something wonderfully simple and profound abou įirstly, here are my story updates copied from my currently-reading to display my first impressions.

Firstly, here are my story updates copied from my currently-reading to display my first impressions. I'd like to hear from anyone who's read Joachim Neugroschel's version and the original German.more By the way, this is the preferred translation according to The Oxford Guide to Literature in English Translation, ed. In Death in Venice the lovers never exchange a word, only glances. Though at least in Pan there's consummation. In that sense it reminded me of Knut Hamsun's Pan, another tale of love run amok. I enjoyed it but found it excruciating, so affecting is its theme. The prose might be a little dense for some. Who hasn't lost their head over someone? The references to Plato's Symposium are spot on. Aschenbach, a writer in his fifties, an artist raised by the Kaiser to the aristocracy, sees the boy-god Tadzio on a beach in Venice and promptly loses his reason. No wonder Woody Allen referenced the story in Annie Hall. In that sen Read 'Death in Venice.' Love and Death.

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