[actioliGalm]

I recently finished reading this book, and even composed a post for this thread which disappeared into the electronic ether.

I like it a lot. It didn't have the sheer sense of scale of The Magic Mountain, but part of that may have been because it largely attempted to come to terms with the fate of a particular nation rather than an entire continent and the world it dominated at the time.

The Faust legend has always fascinated me (Marlowe's being my favourite version for the power of its opening and closing monologues) as has music theory and music's philsophical and social implications (I read a lot of Adorno a few months back and it did contribute to my understanding of this book).

I'm not sure how good a parallel Leverkuhn's life and notional pact with the devil is with Germany's Nazi misadventure. There are broad strokes but I think the analogy does not correspond well all the way.

I was impressed by the way Mann sustained a dual narrative, Zeitblom's impressions of the years he spends living through the Nazi era and his memories of his friend's life. I also felt that in many ways, Leverkuhn and Zeitblom are involved in as telling a dialogue as Settembrini and Naphta in The Magic Mountain , only presented in more subtle variety of ways than simply a series of conversations.

I found the book both thought-provoking and moving. I also expect I will re-read this one at some point - I've already flipped back and revisited several passages in light of what happens later on.