Mazli

by Johanna Spyri

Johanna Spyri (1827-1901) was an author of children's stories. Born Johanna Louise Heusser in the rural area of Hirzel, Switzerland, as a child she spent several summers in the area around Chur in Graubünden, the setting she later would use in her novels. Her first book titled A Leaf on Vrony's Grave, was published in 1871 and the following year further stories for both adults and children appeared, among them the tale of Heidi (1880) that became an instant and enduring success. Her husband and her only child, a son named Bernhard, both died in 1884. Alone, she devoted herself to charitable causes and wrote over fifty more stories before her death in 1901. Amongst her other works Uncle Titus and His Visit to the Country (1881), Toni, the Little Woodcarver (1882), Gritli's Children (1883) and Moni the Goat-Boy (1886).

Genres: Fiction, Classics, Childrens, Historical, Literature, Young Adult

200 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1892

About the author

Johanna Spyri was a Swiss author of children's stories, best known for Heidi. Born Johanna Louise Heusser in the rural area of Hirzel, Switzerland, as a child she spent several summers in the area around Chur in Graubünden, the setting she later would use in her novels.

Reviews

[Anne Slater · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was my mother's book. Published by Lippincott in 1921, when my mother was 4 years old (no, she wasn't a precocious reader). So I read it because I loved the real Heidi, and had read Cornelli (I think), and because it was my mother's book.

Johanna Spyri ALWAYS wraps up all the problems, ALWAYS pulls a Lost Childhood Friend out of the mystery, and ALWAYS preaches a good sermon. And children are always the heroes.

This, her third book to come out in English, is no different, except that there are a zillion children, each with his of her own problem and sterling character quality.

However, for the first time, I recognized that whoever translated this book was fairly inept at turning good German into good English. It's very literal and really awkward. So now (oh, my, what a chore), I need to go back to the others, check out the translator's name, and read them

[itchy · Rating 3 out of 5]

eponymous sentence:
p9: "Mäzli," said the mother, "let Lippo finish; otherwise I can't understand what you want."

ocr:
p46: The doctor had not found Sale's wounds of a serious nature, but as he had a delicate constitution, great care had to be taken.

p83: Salo, who was sitting beside her, had been so funny, that it suited her better to stay here than to go to bed, Quickly climbing up the uncle's chair from behind, she put both round arms caressingly about his neck and whispered in his ear, "Oh, darling Uncle Philip, today is a feast day, isn't it?..."

p123: "I am quite comfortable able here."

It's so hard not to compare her other works to Heidi, as there's a lot of similarities to her magnum opus.

[Zeta T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Johanna Spyri knew how to make a fairly easy going story where each character is considered thoroughly. This book has many characters and Mazli is the youngest, but more goes on with her eldest brother, her mother and the neighbours. She has a large family and there are often tales of a nearby castle, once inhabited by old friends of the mother and uncle. Of course, as with many of Spyri's stories, there are struggles and an awkward amount of suffering to the undeserved, made well in the end, thankfully.

Having read this for librivox.org I was pleased with the choice to get more Spyri known. This book has a mere nine chapters: but the SIZE of the chapters! Yikes.

[Jodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aus irgendeinem Grund nannte ich dieses Buch im Kopf stets "Heidi" :D Wie für Spyri typisch verwendet sie auch hier wieder ihre bekannten Elemente, man kann also gewisse Parallelen ziehen.

Dennoch hat das Schloss genug eigenen Charm, um auch neben dem berühmten Heidi zu bestehen. Auch wenn es nicht dessen konzentrierte Stärke aufweist. Es ist trotzdem eine berührende Geschichte, die mit sehr vielen Awww-Momenten daherkommt.

Anfangs wirkt die Handlung ein wenig überladen, da sehr viel passiert, was zu Beginn unzusammenhängend schein. Doch Spyri löst am Schluss alles auf, sodass alle einzelnen Szenen zu einem Ganzen zusammengeführt werden.

Mir persönlich haben die anderen Bücher, die ich bisher von der Autorin gelesen habe, etwas besser gefallen, aber nichtsdestotrotz konnte ich mit dem Schloss ein paar schöne Lesestunden verbringen. Spyri weiss den Weg ins Herz ihrer Leser zu finden und setzt dieses Wissen auch gekonnt ein.

Ein weiteres Spyri-Werk, das einfach nur gut tut.

[Elizabeth Pruett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Swiss author Johanna Spyri knew how to put together a happy ending, and Mazli: A Story of the Swiss Valleys is absolutely celebratory. There are a lot of characters to keep up with, but this wasn't a problem. Spyri introduces and deepens our understanding of more than eight children and multiple adults in a gradual way that gives the community a rich history.

Small, kindhearted Mazli is the youngest of five siblings and is the darling of the neighborhood. Well, most people think so. She does have the unfortunate habit of repeating things she has heard her older siblings say, and she can ask sincere -- but possibly insulting -- questions. Mazli adds some cute factor to the book, but, due to the large number of children involved, I wondered at first why she was the title character. ...But, wait for the ending! It is Mazli's bold friendliness that breaks through the defenses of a stony heart and sets in motion a series of events that result in the restoration of lost relationships and broken families.

Issues the children deal with are anger management, standing up for truth, the desire for close friendship, and the need for loyalty, obedience, repentance, and forgiveness.

This really is a multi-generational story as well. As a grown woman with children of my own, I found myself relating most to the parts of the book that featured the children's mother. Full of wisdom and the very center of her children's world, Mrs. Maza learns to further trust her Heavenly Father with the futures of her children. I will share my favorite passage below:

"The mother knew that she had not the power to keep her children from pain and sin, but she knew the hand which leads and steadies all children that are entrusted to it, that can guard and save where no mother's hand or love can avail. She went with folded hands from one bed to the other, surrendering her children to their Father's protection in Heaven. He knew best how much they were in need of His loving care."

Johanna Spyri was my favorite author when I was a child, and it felt good to return to my literary roots and become reacquainted with her as an adult. She comes from a different time and culture, and, yes, some of it is a bit foreign to the way we do things now, but Spyri's worshipful reliance on our Heavenly Father transcends time and place. It is a breath of fresh air.

[Zeta T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just wanted to give a head's up: From the beginning displayed on the first page "Maxa's Children" is basically another title for a book called Mazli (or Maezli) which is already in public domain and can be downloaded for free on Gutenberg.org (or an audio version at librivox.org). Having read the book, I'd say this title makes more sense but this edition came out later so it's not downloadable yet.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Copyright 1921, so a bit old fashioned, but timeless story of children who have no home and in the end are taken in by their long lost uncle. The uncle lives in a huge castle and the children will never want for anything again.

[Valorie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is just fun and sweet. A beautiful example of right and wrong and Mother's love. Its not earth shaking but cute.

[Lillian N. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful children's story!! Very easy to read.

[Eva Tipps · Rating 3 out of 5]

While a bit preachy, in my opinion, near the middle the plot finally got my attention. As I was reading the story, I kept feeling that the traits of human nature that Spyri wrote about would be as accurate as today, for example, how multiple children in a family vie for their mother's attention. I loved the colored illustrations in this edition as I wonder how people lived and how they dressed in the "old" days. As with the other Johanna Spyri stories that I've read, this seems to be inspirational reading full of morals, decisions, and religion that is perfect for childrens' characters -- if the quaint style doesn't bore them in this day of video games.

[kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Up until about two years ago, I didn't even know that Johanna Spryi had written other books besides her most famous work, Heidi. Then I discovered Mazli.
This story is a gem. The characters are so lovable and the story is humorous and engaging. I enjoy Spyri's style, it's simple but sweet, and her knowledge of life in the Swiss Alps adds so much to the stories she tells.
If you arn't accustom to reading 20th Century children's literature, than you should probably take into account that this was published in 1921 and is considerably more wordy and confusing than modern children's books. :)

[James Oinam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some reviewer's have ranked Maezli above Heidi as there are more characters in this story. The story has a mysterious castle in which 'orphaned' children find their home while being nursed to health from sickness by a loving family. But somehow I'm biased towards Heidi. Focusing on a single child in the story somehow makes me connect with Heidi more closely than the children in Maezli (she is not the orphan without a home).

[rixx]

Book of my childhood. Love it to pieces. Kitsch, of course, it's Spyri after all, and you also need a tolerance for the religious version of Kitsch, but I still like it. Maybe each character only gets 1-2 adjectives, but she really truly believes them and writes good interactions between the five younger siblings, Leonore, and the older generation.

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

A version is available on LibriVox.

[Wandry doble emiliano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesante😗😗

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet, but no point. Read aloud to Anna

[Debbie Haakenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've enjoyed several of her books and occasionally reread some of them. Wish I had more of them.