The Buddenbrook family enjoys an upper-class life as profitable merchants in a town near Hamburg. But as subsequent generations take over the firm and pursue the favorable marriages and activities expected of those in such a station, a series of events unfold that lead to inescapable decay, forcing the family to think on life and how it "crushes so much in us, and destroys so many of our beliefs."
This was my second Thomas Mann work; I loved the prose (but was bothered by the story) of Death in Venice. Buddenbrooks is similar in theme but (in my opinion) better conveyed. This story, too, is one of misplaced hope. The different members of the family all have idols that dominate their attention, be it prestige, power, success, appearances, or pleasure. And all end up dominated (and destroyed) by them. The mild hope expressed at the end- that perhaps they would one day see the dead again- is presented as 'an assault against Reason,' hinting at the resignation and despondency that would dominate Mann and be expressed more fully in his Venice tales.
I value this book as a cautionary tale- a stern, vivid, and heartbreaking reminder of the vanity of life without God. Nothing save the Lord can satisfy- even the rich are hopeless. That was conveyed well here. The prose isn't as good as in Venice (that could be the translator), but the story is more compelling. This is also semi-historical, as the book takes place over several decades (1840s-80s) of a seminal time in German history- unification of the German heartland to form the German Empire- and I enjoyed (and was thrilled to be knowledgeable of) the occasional nods to the historical backdrop. And there are hints of the misery to come- this was written in 1901, and you see the subtle shadows of a mindset that would come to dominate the people and lead to the horrors of war just 14 years later. This was the last book on my German Reading List, and it proved a worthy conclusion.
Rating: A
No comments:
Post a Comment