Thomas Mann

First published in Germany in 1901 and translated into English in 1924, Thomas Mann's "Buddenbrooks" is the story of the decline of a wealthy German family over four generations which takes place in the years 1835 to 1877. Mann began writing the novel, his first, when he was only twenty-two years old and based much of his critically acclaimed work on the story of his own family and their peers. Mann was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1929...

Bienvenue dans la collection Les Fiches de lecture d'Universalis Pièce médiane dans l'édifice romanesque de Thomas Mann (1875-1955), située à mi-chemin des Buddenbrok (1901) et du Docteur Faustus (1947), La Montagne magique (1924) marque à la fois le nouveau départ idéologique d'un auteur qui abandonne les idées nationalistes et antidémocratiques des Confessions d'un apolitique (1918), mais aussi bien la fidélité à soi-même d'un écrivain...

Mario and the Magician is one of Mann's most political stories. Mann openly criticizes fascism, a choice which later became one of the grounds for his exile to Switzerland following Hitler's rise to power. The magician, Cipolla, is analogous to the looming specter of fascism emergent in that era. The story was especially timely, considering the tensions in Europe when it was written, Mussolini was urging Italians to recapture the glory of the Roman...

Bashan and I is the moving story of Thomas Mann's relationship with his spirited German short-haired pointer. From their first encounter at a local farm, Mann reveals how he slowly grows to love this energetic, loyal, and intelligent animal. Taking daily walks in the nearby parkland, Mann begins to understand and appreciate Bashan as a living being, witnessing his native delight in chasing rabbits, deer, and squirrels along with his careful investigations...

Two works by one of the 20th-century's great writers. In Death in Venice, a renowned author finds himself infatuated by a young boy - an attraction that proves fatal. A Man and His Dog is a charming essay about Mann's canine companion, a friendly mongrel pointer that accompanies the author on his morning walks.

Some Freaks follows one-eyed high school senior Matt (Thomas Mann) who meets plus size Jill (Lily Mae Harrington) and falls more in love than he ever thought possible. However, when graduation comes and Jill moves cross-country to go to college, she undergoes a major physical transformation - much to Matt's surprise when he arrives to visit her. While Matt struggles to accept Jill's new look, Jill begins to question whether Matt is really the man...