Summary of The Magic Mountain
Hans Castorp, a young German engineer from Hamburg, visits his cousin, Joachim Ziemssen, at the Berghof sanatorium in Davos, high in the Swiss Alps, where Joachim is undergoing treatment for tuberculosis. What was meant to be a brief visit turns into a seven-year stay in the secluded and exclusive sanatorium. During his time in the mountain resort, Hans encounters a diverse cast of characters who embody the various ideological and cultural currents of European civilisation on the eve of the First World War.
Reasons to read The Magic Mountain
“The Magic Mountain” is one of the most significant works by Thomas Mann and a cornerstone of twentieth-century German literature. It is often considered a ‘Bildungsroman’ (a novel about a young person’s journey to maturity) or a satirical take on the genre. A deeply philosophical and symbolic novel of ideas, “The Magic Mountain” explores themes such as illness and health, the passage of time, the power of music, the role of love and desire in life, and, on a broader level, the conflicts in society between humanism, conservatism, and radicalism. Set in the clear air of the Swiss Alps, the novel provides a panoramic view of European civilisation in the early 20th century. Other notable works by Thomas Mann – who won the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature and the 1949 Goethe Prize – include “Buddenbrooks”, “Death in Venice”, “Joseph and his Brothers”, and “Doctor Faustus”.
Setting: Davos (Switzerland)
Novel set in Switzerland: Davos in the Swiss Alps (Graubünden-Grisons), specifically the Berghotel Schatzalp (now a venue for the annual meetings of the World Economic Forum).
Original title: Der Zauberberg
Year of publication: 1924
Nr of pages: 720
