James Mustich's 1000 Books to Read Before You Die discussion

Here we're going to discuss our June group reading, The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann.

Please, refrain from spoilering. If your comment includes a potential spoiler, please use the appropriate html code to signal it.

Will start this tomorrow with the Woods translation into English which I already had, and am glad to see that it is the recommended translation (see https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...), but appears to now be an expensive purchase as only available in Everyman hardback.

I have made a good start on this, having read about a quarter, but I am finding it a dense read, with a lot of discussion and description of Hans Castorp’s background, together with his initial impressions of the sanatorium at Davos in Switzerland.

Are you in the US? I was able to order a new paperback copy of the Woods translation through my local bookstore for $20.

But I'm really enjoying this so far, even though I'm only maybe a 100 pages in. Like you said, its dense, and I'm trying to slow down my reading pace to really enjoy the prose and writing. I've almost felt like I'm reading in a dream state, which is a really unique experience. I think the only other books to do that for me has been the Southern Reach trilogy by Jeff Vandermeer

Hi Joshua. I am in the UK, and the Woods translation must be out of print here.
Anyway, I am glad that you are enjoying your reading.

Hmm. This is a novel of ideas and the “trying on” of ideas, with many of these introduced by anecdotes or abstract speeches by Settembrini, who Hans Castorp (the protagonist) describes as a humanist pedagogue (page 195). Hans then repeats some of these ideas back to other characters, such as Dr Behrens in the Humaniora chapter.
I’m not finding this an engaging read, about 260 pages read since the beginning of the month, but I am avoiding it, as I have read another eight short books this month (a large number for me).
I will try again, but may well leave this unfinished.

I've just completed this book: what a great journey!
The vivid descriptions of landscapes and the detailed characterizations were truly impressive: it was just like being there side by side with Hans, listening to Settembrini's deep lucubrations or witnessing Naphtha's frantic state...

The edition I own was endowed with an appendix with the Lecture Thomas Mann held at Princeton University in 1939. It offers an insight both into the creative work of this book — which, at first, had to be a short story! — and into the author's very personality, that of an extremely well educated and successful man who, in spite of his achievements, is still quite humble and insecure. Mann's advice, repeated throughout the lecture, is to read the book twice to fully enjoy its content and to deeply understand its hidden background. I think I'll follow it.

I'm still working my way slowly through this one. This is taking me longer than Moby Dick and War and Peace :)

But I think the Danse Macabre chapter is one of my new favorite chapters in a book. It affected me a lot more than most books do, and stuck with me for a long time after I read it. I'm looking forward to the rest of the book and hope it continues on that trend.

Whew! I finished it. I got a late start. Starting around the last week in June, but that isn't the only reason I'm finishing this June group read at the end of September....

It's a very dense read as has been mentioned. I loved the story. Anytime there was actual story happening, I was very involved and interested. All the ideas and philosophizing kinda left me dazzled, however. I found my mind wandering and wanting to get back to the story. Overall it was beautifully written. like Mariella said, the descriptive writing was astounding. I do like the way Mann writes. This is my second Thomas Mann book.

Joshua I also loved that chapter. And the discovery of the phonograph, and his winter hike, and the duel.... the story... the story... give me more story... That was my thought process.. even when I was supposedly meant to be thinking about humanitarianism, pedagogy, and other abstract concepts.

Overall, a beautiful and amazingly written book that will stick with me for a long time.... even if it's in parts in my memory.