Dr. Thomas Sparr reads from his book "Magic Mountains - A Century Novel from Davos"
No novel captures the upheavals of the 20th century like
Thomas Mann's "The Magic Mountain," which was published 100 years ago and, from its lofty heights,
unfolds a panorama of the European world, its
people, and the accelerated pace of time with all its innovations and
inventions, rampant nationalism, anti-Semitism,
the contrast between East and West, the "thunderclap" of World War I, and the early 1920s.
The themes of the novel are ours: the snow, which no longer falls today as it did then; the twilight of the sexes; the confused sexuality of human beings; Thomas Mann's Jewish characters: seven chapters, each a separate Magic Mountain, about a work of the century.
The themes of the novel are ours: the snow, which no longer falls today as it did then; the twilight of the sexes; the confused sexuality of human beings; Thomas Mann's Jewish characters: seven chapters, each a separate Magic Mountain, about a work of the century.