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47th out of 416 books
—
306 voters
Mephisto
by
Klaus Mann,
Robin Smyth , Robyn Smyth
Hendrik Hofgen is a man obsessed with becoming a famous actor. When the Nazis come to power in Germany, he willingly renounces his Communist past and deserts his wife and mistress in order to keep on performing. His diabolical performance as Mephistopheles in Faust proves to be the stepping-stone he yearned for: attracting the attention of Hermann Göring, it wins Hofgen an...more
Paperback, 272 pages
Published
September 1st 1995
by Penguin Classics
(first published 1936)
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I hardly ever meet anyone who's read this book, and I think that's a tragedy. I can't speak to the quality of the language, really; I read it in translation from the German and found the language serviceable. But the moral issues raised by the book fascinate me. Ostensibly, the book is about the Third Reich and its attendant sycophants among Germany's artistic community. But really, the book explores the duty of any artist in a darkening society: do you stand up for what's right and probably dis...more
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Verscheen voor het eerst in 1936 in Amsterdam, de plaats waar Klaus Mann naar toe gevlucht was voor de nationaalsocialisten. Pas in 1980 mocht Mephisto in West-Duitsland verschijnen. De reden hiervoor was dat de hoofdpersoon Hendrik Höfgen gemodelleerd was naar de bestaande acteur Gustaf Gründgens. Deze was in de naoorlogse jaren na een korte periode van gevangenschap weer een belangrijk acteur geworden waardoor uitgevers zich niet waagden aan het boek en later streed zijn zoon tegen uitgave omd...more
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It's not that hard to understand why this book had to be published outside Germany and why it was banned by the Nazis. After all, it gives no flattering view on the rise to power by the brownshirts and the way people switched sides for their own benefit. Klaus Mann uses the carreer of Hendrik Höfgen and his blatant opportunism to describe the way people were willing to go along with the nazis just to make fame and fortune. Throughout the story the main protagonist has some inner, moral struggles...more
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Dit is het verhaal over een bodemloze ambitie. De provinciale acteur Hendrik Höfgen heeft één doel en dat is de top bereiken in Berlijn. Alhoewel hij zichzelf soms, voor een ogenblik, wijs maakt dat hij zijn hart en geweten op de juiste plaats heeft, offert hij met gemak alles en iedereen op die voor hem een obstakel kunnen zijn. Zijn ambitie is zo schaamteloos dat hij zich verbindt met de nazi-top, terwijl hij ze feitelijk ordinaire bruten vindt. Met name raakt hij zeer bevriend met Göring. Kla...more
The dark and salutory tale of Hendrik Hofgen, an obsessive actor in pre-war Berlin who, when the Nazis come to power and his friends opt for resistance or flight, chooses to ingratiate himself with Goering when the latter enthuses over his performace as Mephistopholes in Faust. He is sucked into a corrupt and self-destructive world and realises too late that he himself has effectively sold his soul to the Devil. I read this after watching the German movie of the same name starring Klaus Maria Br...more
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I think the story behind this semi-biographic novel is more compelling than the story told here. I'm not sure if this is the translation's problem or not- I would damn well make sure I read a good translation of this- I read the edition of the book pictured. I feel that the author stumbled upon a great real life situation to test moral boundaries against, but this journey is detailed much better in the novel, 'I Served the King of England" by Bohumil Hrabal, a Czech writer detailing the same tur...more
Klaus Mann based his portrayal of the everyman evil that was responsible for the ease with which National Socialism seized control of everything German upon his brother-in-law, the actor Gustav Gründgens. Written during Mann's political exile in Czechoslovakia, Mephisto is a withering literary accusation blasted at the commonplace moral capitulation that enveloped German society in the early thirties and allowed itself to be stirred to a fever pitch of aggression.
Gründgens, thinly disguised in t...more
Gründgens, thinly disguised in t...more
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Klauss Mann is Thomas Mann's son.Thomas Mann wrote Death in Venice,Tristan,Magic Mountain & Dr. Faustus. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
I love books about moral choice. Although I haven't picked this up since 1996, it is one of my favorite books.
How easily some learn to embrace what they once abhorred when it effects them personally.
Written in 1937 Mephisto gives a view of the rise of the Nazis before the subsequent Nazi mythology grew after the war.
It is a portrait of Mann's broth...more
I love books about moral choice. Although I haven't picked this up since 1996, it is one of my favorite books.
How easily some learn to embrace what they once abhorred when it effects them personally.
Written in 1937 Mephisto gives a view of the rise of the Nazis before the subsequent Nazi mythology grew after the war.
It is a portrait of Mann's broth...more
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Roman einer Karriere - eine politische Satire über Gustaf Gründgens (1899–1963), Schauspieler und Intendant des Berliner Staatsschauspiels, das Porträt eines Menschen, der die politische Realität zugunsten eigener Vorteilsnahme ignoriert.
brilliant, one of the best books I've read. A journey of a man who is selling all of his higher ideals for fame, subsequently loosing himself in the process. An excellent depiction of pre-war Germany and the rise of the Nazi regime.
Read for my book club; had seen the movie when it first came out (early 80s). I thought it was compelling with a well-paced story, but I didn't think the writing was particularly strong (though it might have been the translation). The characters were really well-drawn and though I had a sense of dread as the lead character shape-shifted to suit the politics of the time, I read along with a slight detachment.
Die ersten paar Seiten hat es mich überhaupt nicht gefesselt, aber dann konnte ich plötzlich nicht mehr aufhören. Selbst wenn man es beendet hat, muss man noch drüber nachdenken ;-)!
Wow, this book impressed me. It's intense. It is a great social commentary. I love learning about history through the stories/opinions of those who were there.
Fascinating read, the Big Issues neatly weaved with the inter-texts. I felt it a bit structurally flawed -- maybe I just mean too predictable -- but really insightful. I think there's much more to the central character than the narrative presents; when the narrative steers towards presenting Hendrick as a cliché, a case study in the sort of lost soul that would sell himself to the Nazi regime, I think it seems to at the same time present something more than that.
Not to mention, I was shocked at...more
Not to mention, I was shocked at...more
"Mir lag nicht daran, die Geschichte eines bestimmten Menschen zu erzählen [...]. Mir lag daran einen Typus darzustellen[...]. Mission accomplished :-).
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Ein doch etwas überschätztes Buch. Lebt sehr von dem Wissen, dass es einst verboten wurde - was dem Ruhm des Buches zweifellos nicht geschadet hat.
Dieses Buch bietet einen Blick hinter den Vorhang der Theaterwelt vor und nach der Machtergreifung.
Sehr aufschlussreich.
Sehr aufschlussreich.
This is not an unflawed work but the themes are so powerfully conveyed that one must forgive it and shortcomings.
I think about this book almost every day. To me this is one of the most important books of German literature.
How the human mind can abandon itself to greed, and switch back again
Very good book presenting a man making a career in diffcult time of Nazi rule in Germany in 1930s. It shows an artist that had to make a choice - accept the Nazi doctrine to keep the position on stage. Hendrik Höfgen becomes a character similiar to Dr Faustus from Thomas Mann's book Doktor Faustus (published in 1947 - 2 years before Thomas Mann's son, Klaus, commited suicide).
Completely amazing. Maybe the best European novel about the rise of fascism in the 30s?
Immer noch aktuell!
I didn't know Mephisto at all at first. I received as a gift. And it really surprised me - great book about time in front of the WW II. I'm really interested on that time, everything was described very gentle but you can still see the point.
I thought it was quite brilliant (the writing style (not the content!) reminded me of Hesse, but more ironic). And I cannot stop thinking about what I would have done. Höfgen should have gone another way, but that's not always the easiest.
Jun 10, 2008
André
marked it as to-read
·
review of another edition
Recommended to André by:
Gudrun Krause
Shelves:
school
Boring, I didn't read it entirely (or at all?) but we spoke about it at school in all lengthiness. And we watched the movie. I disliked it and rather would have read something interesting instead.
Dec 06, 2011
Michael Herfort
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
literature-group
Großartige Gesellschaftsbetrachtung, die im Gewand einer persönlichen Abrechnung daher kommt. Also vorsichtig sein und aufmerksam lesen. Das Ganze zählt. Wie immer :-)
Thomas Mann gets all the credit in the family but Mephisto is one of the best Third Reich-era "novels" that exists.
Writing itself: 3 stars.
Content/Subject Matter: 5 stars.
Content/Subject Matter: 5 stars.
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Son of Thomas Mann, author of The Magic Mountain. In 1930s Klaus had to leave Germany because of Nazi regime. He wrote Mephisto and scandal around this book made him famous after his death.
Klaus Mann died in Cannes overdosing sleeping pills.
More about Klaus Mann...
Klaus Mann died in Cannes overdosing sleeping pills.
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“„Der Propagandaminister -- Herr über das geistige Leben eines Millionenvolkes -- humpelte behende durch die glänzende Menge, die sich vor ihm verneigte. Eine eisige Luft schien zu wehen, wo er vorbeiging. Es war, als sei eine böse, gefährliche, einsame und grausame Gottheit herniedergestiegen in den ordinären Trubel genusssüchtiger, feiger und erbärmlicher Sterblicher. Einige Sekunden lang war die ganze Gesellschaft wie gelähmt vor Entsetzen. Die Tanzenden erstarrten mitten in ihrer anmutigen Pose, und ihr scheuer Blick hing, zugleich demütig und hassvoll, an dem gefürchteten Zwerg. Der versuchte durch ein charmantes Lächeln, welches seinen mageren, scharfen Mund bis zu den Ohren hinaufzerrte, die schauerliche Wirkung, die von ihm ausging, ein wenig zu mildern; er gab sich Mühe, zu bezaubern, zu versöhnen und seine tief liegenden, schlauen Augen freundlich blicken zu lassen. Seinen Klumpfuß graziös hinter sich her ziehend, eilte er gewandt durch den Festsaal und zeigte dieser Gesellschaft von zweitausend Sklaven, Mitläufern, Betrügern, Betrogenen und Narren sein falsches, bedeutendes Raubvogelprofil.”
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“So lebte Barbara, und vielleicht gab der Umstand, das sie auf Nicoletta wartete,daß sie zu jeder Stunde des Tages auf Nicolettas überraschende Ankunft vorbereitet war, ihren Leben den geheimen Sinn, das rätselhafte Zentrum, das es bedurfte.”
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