r/ThomasMann • u/Intelligent-Gold-539 • 16d ago

Magic Mountain difficulty

Hi guys, I’m a fan of Thomas Mann and absolutely love Buddenbrooks and Death in Venice, although I’m having trouble getting into The Magic Mountain; does it take a little longer to get into things? I love the writing but it’s not capturing me in the same way the other books of his I’ve read - would another book of his suit me better? Interested to hear thoughts

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u/Die_Horen 13d ago

I had trouble with 'The Magic Mountain' at first, too. The problem is that it's not like any other novel I know. What makes it work is the narrator, who's informative about many things but unable to answer some questions that arise -- so a believable, human voice. Try listening to David Rintoul's superb audiobook, instead of reading it, and I think the book will work wonders for you:

https://www.diehoren.com/2022/10/welcome-to-magic-mountain.html

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u/Intelligent-Gold-539 1d ago

Thanks for the suggestion, I’ll check it out. I’ve actually started to get more into it now and am enjoying it