Mann's Magic Mountain: World Literature and Closer Reading

This study investigates the non-academic interest in Thomas Mann's Der Zauberberg (The Magic Mountain) and explores its relevance to global modernism studies, comparative literature, and reception theory. It develops a critical practice called "closer reading" and positions it within the framework of world literature studies. The study conducts nine comparative readings of five novels, three films, and one short story, contextualizing them with references to hundreds of other diverse sources.

Format: Hardback
Length: 224 pages
Publication date: 06 October 2022
Publisher: Oxford University Press

This groundbreaking study is the first to explore Thomas Mann's iconic German modernist novel Der Zauberberg (The Magic Mountain, 1924) from the perspective of non-academic readers. It also serves as a case study that delves into a cluster of critical issues that are central to the interconnected fields of transnational German studies, global modernism studies, comparative literature, and reception theory. By focusing on the global circulation of German modernism, the popular afterlives of a canonical work, access to cultural participation, the relationship between high-brow and low-brow culture, and the limitations of traditional academic reading practices, the study intervenes in these discussions and develops a critical practice known as "closer reading."

Mann's Magic Mountain revolves around nine comparative readings of five novels, three films, and one short story, which are conceived as responses to The Magic Mountain. These works offer unique perspectives on Mann's text at three levels: they serve as records of the authors' readings of Mann, provide insights into broader culturally and historically specific interpretations of the novel, and feature portrayals of fictional readers of The Magic Mountain.

To contextualize, complement, enhance, and expand these nine case studies, the study draws upon a vast array of diverse sources that testify to a lively engagement with The Magic Mountain outside of academic scholarship. These sources include journalistic reviews, discussions on internet forums and blogs, personal essays and memoirs, Mann's fan mail and his replies to it, publishing advertisements, and marketing brochures from Davos, the setting of the novel.

By undertaking a closer reading of Mann's Magic Mountain and engaging with these diverse sources, the study sheds new light on the novel's complex themes, characters, and narrative structures, and offers a fresh perspective on its enduring relevance in the contemporary world. It demonstrates the value of interdisciplinary approaches in literary studies and highlights the importance of engaging with non-academic readers and popular culture to broaden our understanding of literary works.

Weight: 474g
Dimension: 162 x 240 x 20 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780192871794