Review: Morten Høi Jensen's Study of Thomas Mann and 'The Magic Mountain'
By
Caiero
Crusty in the right places. Worth the chew.
Summary
This article reviews Morten Høi Jensen's study of Thomas Mann's 'The Magic Mountain,' exploring Mann's contradictory nature as both a conventional family man and a homosexual artist, and examining how these contradictions influenced the creation of his modernist masterpiece. The review discusses Mann's self-awareness about the novel's 'German' nature and monumental scale, and analyzes Jensen's approach to understanding the complex author behind one of literary modernism's greatest achievements.
Key quotes
· 4 pulledIn a 1924 letter to André Gide, Thomas Mann said he would soon be sending along a copy of his new novel, The Magic Mountain. 'But I assure you that I do not in the least expect you to read it,' he wrote.
'It is a highly problematical and 'German' work, and of such monstrous dimensions that I know perfectly well it won't do for the rest of Europe.'
Morten Høi Jensen's approachable and informative study of The Magic Mountain positions Mann as a writer who was contradictory to his core: an artist who dressed and behaved like a businessman; a homosexual in a conventional marriage with six children.
A vivid account of the creation of one of literary modernism's greatest achievements.
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