Summary of Castorp
“Castorp” is a novel about the student years of Hans Castorp, the protagonist of Thomas Mann’s “The Magic Mountain”, and his romantic feelings for a Polish woman in Gdansk in the years before the outbreak of the First World War.
Reasons to read Castorp
Paweł Huelle, a Polish novelist, wrote “Castorp” as a prequel to Thomas Mann’s “The Magic Mountain”, but his novel stands on its own as a distinct work. The novel is a beautiful homage to Gdansk (Danzig) in the early 20th century and to Thomas Mann. “Castorp” was shortlisted for the 2008 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize. Other notable works by Paweł Huelle include “Mercedes-Benz” (about a young man who tells family stories to his driving instructor in Gdansk), and “Who Was David Weiser?” (about four classmates and their secret in Gdansk).
Setting: Gdansk (Poland)
Original title: Hans Castorp w Sopocie. Zaginiony rozdział z ‘Czarodziejskiej Góry’
Year of publication: 2002
Nr of pages: 256
