Thomas Mann - recommendations?

[Trystan]

I am interested in reading some Thomas Mann over the summer. I know that he was influenced by the likes of Schopenhauer and Nietzsche and I enjoyed reading the philosophy of these two Germans very much, hence why I want to read some of Mann's work.

But where should I start? I don't know anything about the man's work itself.

Thanks.

[stlukesguild]

You might start with the shorter fictions: Felix Krull and Death in Venice. Of course you eventually come to Magic Mounatin... but I actually prefer Doktor Faustus myself.

[bouquin]

I too would like to discover more of Mann's works. So far, I have read only Death in Venice and several of his short stories which I liked very much. I have a copy of Buddenbrooks but have not come around to reading it yet.

[johann cruyff]

I liked The Magic Mountain far better than Buddenbrooks,honestly. Also,I agree with stlukesguild,Doctor Faustus may just be Mann's best novel. I haven't read The Holy Sinner yet though.

[jgweed]

My own preferences (in order) are Dr. Faustus, Death in Venice, and Magic Mountain. Some of his short stories and novellas are also very good.

If one is to read Faustus, one might read his own The Story of a Novel: The Genesis of Doctor Faustus (1961) in which he discusses some of his techniques; I always found it interesting that many of his passages were paraphrases of newspaper articles, etc., that he had collected in preparation for his writing.

[aabbcc]

I started with Tonio Kröger, then proceeded onto Death in Venice and The Holy Sinner. But again, it's personal, and I was younger when I started Mann and had no interest in his lenghtier works at that point (which I grew to be interested in later).

[Erichtho]

I started with his Felix Krull, but my favourite of the shorter works I've read is The Holy Sinner. You shouldn't start with the Magic Mountain or even Doktor Faustus, rather with the Buddenbrooks or one of his novellas. Personally, I can't say I like his writings, so I'm probably not the best person to give any advice.

[stlukesguild]

I would agree that The Magic Mountain and Doctor Faustus and even Buddenbrooks can be overwhelming to a firsttime reader of Mann and I love his work.

Of course that might depend upon what sort of readings by writers other than Mann that one already has experience with.

[Kafka's Crow]

I spent almost a year studying Walker Percy and The Magic Mountain was one of the major influences on Percy's work. I am scared of reading a big book these days but that one is definitely on my reading list. I have read Death in Venice and that's about it. I found it good, very good.