The charm of this story by Thomas Mann lies in its relative uneventfulness… no crime, violence, madness or broken hearts! Set in the 1920s, it follows a day in the life of a close, middle-class German family. The major theme is resilience: the struggle of the German people to recover from the social disruption and deprivations of World War I and cope with emerging hyperinflation. Secondary themes are identity, the relationship between history and the present, and the emergence of a more independent youth culture embracing new styles in music, dance, fashion and the arts. More…
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Death in Venice
This Thomas Mann classic is renowned for its masterful psychological profile of Aschenbach, a jaded, aging writer who develops an unhealthy infatuation with a fourteen-year-old-boy during a Venetian holiday. Although the novella’s central theme (homosexuality) is no longer controversial, other aspects of the story (pedophilia and stalking) certainly are. Sympathy for Aschenbach is greatly diminished when, out of selfishness, he decides not to warn the holidaying boy’s family about a deadly epidemic being covered up by authorities. Many readers see Aschenbach’s fate as just punishment for his actions. Other themes: art and the artist, alienation, obsession, depravity, death. More…