Mention Out Of Books Doctor Faustus
| Title | : | Doctor Faustus |
| Author | : | Thomas Mann |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | First Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 535 pages |
| Published | : | July 27th 1999 by Vintage (first published 1947) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Classics. European Literature. German Literature. Literature |
Thomas Mann
Paperback | Pages: 535 pages Rating: 4.08 | 9465 Users | 514 Reviews
Ilustration As Books Doctor Faustus
Thomas Mann's last great novel, first published in 1947 and now rendered into English by acclaimed translator John E. Woods, is a modern reworking of the Faust legend, in which Germany sells its soul to the Devil. Mann's protagonist, the composer Adrian Leverkühn, is the flower of German culture, a brilliant, isolated, overreaching figure, his radical new music a breakneck game played by art at the very edge of impossibility. In return for twenty-four years of unparalleled musical accomplishment, he bargains away his soul - and the ability to love his fellow man. Leverkühn's life story is a brilliant allegory of the rise of the Third Reich, of Germany's renunciation of its own humanity and its embrace of ambition and its nihilism. It is also Mann's most profound meditation on the German genius - both national and individual - and the terrible responsibilities of the truly great artist.
Particularize Books To Doctor Faustus
| Original Title: | Doktor Faustus: Das Leben des deutschen Tonsetzers Adrian Leverkühn, erzählt von einem Freunde |
| ISBN: | 0375701168 (ISBN13: 9780375701160) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Characters: | Adrian Leverkühn, Serenus Zeitblom, Rüdiger Schildknapp, Rudi Schwerdtfeger, |
| Literary Awards: | Премія імені Максима Рильського (1992) |
Rating Out Of Books Doctor Faustus
Ratings: 4.08 From 9465 Users | 514 ReviewsColumn Out Of Books Doctor Faustus
I so wanted to like this book, especially after reading a Goodreads friend's review. It had languished on my shelves for decades. I was scared of it. Once I started reading, like the Rime of the Ancient Mariner, it ended up becoming an albatross. But I wasnt going to quit. Not so sure that was the right decision now that Im done. I went to Venice with Mann, but that was years ago and I not tempted to go anywhere else with him. Perhaps Im missing something and just dont get it, but I can liveThis is not a beach book. The literature on Thomas Mann's "Doktor Faustus" is huge, and I'm glad I didn't try to master it all. I tackled the novel (actually re-reading it after 40 years) with an untutored but relatively open mind. However, I needed a reading group to get through it, and here goodreads really came through for me with an international group of 14 close readers on the same schedule. They helped enormously. Thomas Mann wrote his fiction in response to a heartbreaking reality: his
I read this when I was an undergrad; you remember, back when it was great fun to torture yourself by reading 500 page books you could barely understand? Loved it. I flatter myself that I understood much more this time round: the way that the two levels of time interact (the narrator writes in the closing year of world war two, the story takes place in the twenties); the music theory and, much more importantly, modernist aesthetic theory; the reflections of those theories in the book (two
Is it enough to say I loved it?No, that won't do. Although, it seems silly to write a proper review. Oh, there are pages of notes stuck in the back: some pretension of understanding. But this is a book you could devote an entire academic life to. Or even be humbled in a group read with readers who know or can track down every clue. (My thanks to all of you who enriched this read. And for letting me tag along. I don't know if all group reads are like this (I suspect not); but my sincere thanks to
"Ode to Despair"Figuratively or musically speaking, Thomas Mann lets time and culture move backwards, from the emotional bliss and security of Beethoven's 9th symphony expressing hope for humanity, to his 5th symphony symbolising fate knocking at the door, in one German novel of gigantic weight and proportions. Starting with the 19th century's belief in progress and development, the plot moves us through the delusional madness of the first and second world wars, showing the genius of German
Patience. That's the word.
Spring cleaning my goodreads shelves recently, I noticed the absence of a review for this book. Truth to tell, I was aware of its absence the thought of reviewing Doctor Faustus has haunted me since I finished the book two months ago. But spring cleaning is still a useful analogy. When the stronger rays of the sun hit our window panes at this time of the year, they reveal the layers of dust that have built up on the glass over the winter, and which block our view of the outside world. Serenus
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