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<book id="80890">
  <title><![CDATA[Buddenbrooks: The Decline of a Family (Everyman's Library, #107)]]></title>
  <isbn><![CDATA[0679417370]]></isbn>
  <isbn13><![CDATA[9780679417378]]></isbn13>
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  <books_count type="integer">59</books_count>
  <default_description></default_description>
  <id type="integer">3458174</id>
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  <original_language_id type="integer" nil="true"></original_language_id>
  <original_publication_day type="integer" nil="true"></original_publication_day>
  <original_publication_month type="integer" nil="true"></original_publication_month>
  <original_publication_year type="integer">1901</original_publication_year>
  <original_title>Buddenbrooks: The Decline of a Family</original_title>
  <rating_dist>total:878|5:23|4:18|3:14|2:4|1:0|</rating_dist>
  <ratings_count type="integer">878</ratings_count>
  <ratings_sum type="integer">3585</ratings_sum>
  <reviews_count type="integer">1441</reviews_count>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">80</text_reviews_count>
</work>

  <average_rating><![CDATA[4.08]]></average_rating>
  <ratings_count><![CDATA[674]]></ratings_count>
  <text_reviews_count><![CDATA[52]]></text_reviews_count>
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/80890.Buddenbrooks_The_Decline_of_a_Family]]></url>
  <authors>
        <author id="43226">
      <name><![CDATA[T.J. Reed]]></name>
      <role><![CDATA[]]></role>
      <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/43226.T_J_Reed]]></url>
      <average_rating><![CDATA[4.08]]></average_rating>
      <ratings_count><![CDATA[706]]></ratings_count>
      <text_reviews_count><![CDATA[58]]></text_reviews_count>
    </author>
        <author id="60286">
      <name><![CDATA[John E. Woods]]></name>
      <role><![CDATA[]]></role>
      <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/60286.John_E_Woods]]></url>
      <average_rating><![CDATA[4.09]]></average_rating>
      <ratings_count><![CDATA[2693]]></ratings_count>
      <text_reviews_count><![CDATA[304]]></text_reviews_count>
    </author>
        <author id="19405">
      <name><![CDATA[Thomas Mann]]></name>
      <role><![CDATA[]]></role>
      <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19405.Thomas_Mann]]></url>
      <average_rating><![CDATA[3.94]]></average_rating>
      <ratings_count><![CDATA[9256]]></ratings_count>
      <text_reviews_count><![CDATA[816]]></text_reviews_count>
    </author>
      </authors>
    <reviews start="1" end="20" total="1438">
    <review id="11300019">
    <user id="141921">
    <name><![CDATA[Michael]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Oakland, CA]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/141921-michael-braithwaite]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>2</votes>
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  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[People who like familial decline]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1997</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Dec 30 16:48:27 -0800 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Dec 30 17:04:21 -0800 2007</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[The Buddenbrooks are an  upper middle class bourgeois family in Germany. The story follows multiple generations through traditions of mediocrity and &quot;appearance only&quot; family life. As modernity takes hold and renders their family traditions antiquated and their familial bonds tenuous at bes...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/11300019">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/11300019]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="38195231">
    <user id="1729623">
    <name><![CDATA[Denis]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[West Hollywood, CA]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1729623-denis]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>2</votes>
  <sell_flag>false</sell_flag>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Nov 19 20:57:40 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Dec 01 02:13:39 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Another epic by one of the world's greatest writers. Couldn't put it down. Stunning in every way, complex, fascinating, it's one of those novels that seems to have at its core a beating heart that leaves the reader breathless and deeply moved. Mann's painting of the rise and fall of a family, and of...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/38195231">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/38195231]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="12272656">
    <user id="772359">
    <name><![CDATA[Lucian]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Germany]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/772359-lucian]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>2</votes>
  <sell_flag>false</sell_flag>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Jan 11 13:36:00 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Jan 11 13:41:19 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This remarkable novel follows the merchant family Buddenbrooks over four generations, to the demise of its last male heir. This marvelous work shows us the growth and decline of the family, their ambitions and disappointments, and ultimately their failure, or perhaps inability, to realize the dreams...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/12272656">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/12272656]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="20161873">
    <user id="1083427">
    <name><![CDATA[Lorne]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1083427-lorne-fienberg]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>2</votes>
  <sell_flag>false</sell_flag>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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        <shelf name="currently-reading" />
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[Pretty smart people who like long, worthwhile reads.]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Apr 14 15:22:33 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Apr 14 15:32:56 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[A giant book by a master author.  This is also an amusing and brilliant translation.  Sure, it's Thomas Mann and everyone thought Death in Venice was too heavy, even for a novella. But Buddenbrooks is a very accessible book, with a bit of Dickens, a bit of James, a lot of Flaubert and Balzac in it. ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/20161873">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/20161873]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="51265263">
    <user id="2161476">
    <name><![CDATA[Lee]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[South Burlington, VT]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2161476-lee]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>2</votes>
  <sell_flag>false</sell_flag>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Mon Jul 13 04:45:02 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Apr 02 10:02:19 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Jul 13 04:45:02 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Enjoying this so far (approximately one-quarter through an old translated copy [will update with translator's name:]). Rampant speculation in money matters lead to bankruptcy and family chaos.  Very topical!]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/51265263]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="25099592">
    <user id="974210">
    <name><![CDATA[erik]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Chicago, IL]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/974210-erik-graff]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <sell_flag>true</sell_flag>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="literature" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[Mann fans]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[no one]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Mon Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 1977</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Jun 21 22:17:20 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Jun 21 23:21:38 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I read Buddenbrooks because I'd already read quite a bit of Thomas Mann, had liked most of it and had been very impressed by college reading of his tetrology, Joseph and His Brothers, and his novella, Death in Venice.  Additionally, schooling had inculcated a sense that German culture was my spiritu...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/25099592">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/25099592]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="52380406">
    <user id="33771">
    <name><![CDATA[Tony]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Pittsburgh, PA]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/33771-tony]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <sell_flag>false</sell_flag>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="german" />
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Apr 12 08:06:59 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Apr 29 10:40:58 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[A 19th century family saga, rich in character study, which serves as a dissection of societal ritual and mores.  Mann kills off his namesake Buddenbrook (Thomas) by means of a decayed tooth (sorry for the plot spoiler), thus providing a metaphorical coda to what ultimately went wrong.  It is hard to...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/52380406">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/52380406]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="72423921">
    <user id="2711447">
    <name><![CDATA[Cliff]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Sydney, Australia]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2711447-cliff]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>2</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <sell_flag>false</sell_flag>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="novels" />
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Fri Sep 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Sep 24 23:22:31 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Sep 24 23:27:56 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count>1</read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Buddenbrooks (subtitled 'Decline of a Family') is a lengthy family saga set in Germany in the mid-19th century.  The most prominent character is Antonie ('Tony') Buddenbrook, who is introduced as an eight year old child at the opening of the novel, and is present as a fifty-year old at the end.  Onl...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/72423921">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/72423921]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="66755858">
    <user id="1743499">
    <name><![CDATA[Mazel]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[carrières sous poissy, France]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1743499-mazel]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <sell_flag>false</sell_flag>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="-littérature-étrangère" />
        <shelf name="saga-familiale" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Aug 09 12:03:28 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Aug 09 12:06:00 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[prix nobel de littérature 1929<br/>*<br/><br/>Trente ans après sa parution, Les Buddenbrook figure au nombre des livres brûlés dans les autodafés. Les chemises br<br/><br/>unes hurlent sous les fenêtres de Thomas Mann qu'une &quot; famille allemande, une famille de la race élue ne peut j...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/66755858">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/66755858]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="65381327">
    <user id="26639">
    <name><![CDATA[A]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Chicago, IL]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/26639-a]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <sell_flag>false</sell_flag>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Jul 29 05:53:07 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Jul 29 05:53:07 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I had always been frightened of Thomas Mann. I assumed he was dense and German because he had a four-letter name like Kant and he seemed to be a serious fellow. He was a friend of the Frankfurts and hung out with Teddie and Max in California in the exile times. The only German literature I had read ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/65381327">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/65381327]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="51598346">
    <user id="130065">
    <name><![CDATA[Josie]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[San Francisco, CA]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/130065-josie]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <sell_flag>false</sell_flag>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Apr 14 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Apr 05 13:27:06 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Apr 18 12:20:12 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Oh man so good!  I don't know where to start.  It is so good.  Go realism!]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/51598346]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="5603996">
    <user id="325125">
    <name><![CDATA[David]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[San Francisco, CA]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/325125-david-saslav]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <sell_flag>false</sell_flag>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[anyone over 21]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Mon Nov 01 00:00:00 -0800 1982</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Sep 03 17:18:29 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Sep 03 17:20:10 -0700 2007</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[One of the all-time masterworks in terms of plot and inter-generational character development.  One can see clearly what existed before soap opera - in terms of characters you simply cannot wait to find out their fate, next move, inner motivation, etc.  You could easily devour this in a few sittings...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5603996">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5603996]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="62204850">
    <user id="93909">
    <name><![CDATA[Joe]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Brooklyn, NY]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/93909-joe]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <sell_flag>false</sell_flag>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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        <shelf name="2009-july" />
        <shelf name="nobel-prize-laureates" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed Jun 17 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Jul 05 08:53:43 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Jul 19 21:33:20 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[An architectural marvel, made of only the simplest parts.  Four generations of family slowly, inexorably spiral down into ruin.  What's remarkable is the utter lack of unlikely events; everyone, in one way or another, is crushed by the milder things in life.  A triumph of realism that literally disp...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/62204850">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/62204850]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="30445436">
    <user id="1427949">
    <name><![CDATA[Jodi]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1427949-jodi]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <sell_flag>false</sell_flag>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Aug 18 07:41:07 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Aug 18 07:43:01 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I first read this in connection with a German history class and reread it for the first time some 20 years later and was amazed all over again by Mann's prescience. Throughout this story set in the late 19th/early 20th story are the rumblings which escalated into Hitler's reign. It's also a great st...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/30445436">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/30445436]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="69569719">
    <user id="2310268">
    <name><![CDATA[Kit]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Perth, 08, Australia]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2310268-kit]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <sell_flag>false</sell_flag>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Aug 31 10:32:52 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Sep 01 09:57:11 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Epic. Never really a fan of family sagas, but picked the book up anyway because it is Thomas Mann. This guy is an absolute genius. The book, despite its bulk, is very accessible without being tedious, maybe because of its translation, but Thomas Mann is known for his leisurely prose. He could be fun...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/69569719">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/69569719]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="29706377">
    <user id="1403985">
    <name><![CDATA[Zeno]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[San Francisco, CA]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1403985-zeno]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <sell_flag>false</sell_flag>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="world-literature" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Aug 09 13:19:14 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Aug 09 13:19:16 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[BUDDENBROOKS may not always receive its proper due since it inevitably must dwell in the shadow of Mann’s masterwork, THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN.  It is however a wonderfully involving tale of the decline in fortunes of a middle-class German family in the early 20th century.]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/29706377]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="66268855">
    <user id="747206">
    <name><![CDATA[Mel]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Jackson, MI]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/747206-mel]]></url>
  </user>
      <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <sell_flag>false</sell_flag>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Aug 22 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Aug 05 04:39:58 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Aug 22 08:24:26 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[An eye-opening epic tale of the decline of an aristocratic family as told by one of the world's great authors. It is the story of what happens to a family clinging to the antiquated tradition that your birth determines your destiny, not hard work or personal gifts. <br/><br/>What works for this no...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/66268855">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/66268855]]></url>
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    <review id="56733903">
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    <name><![CDATA[Judy]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Knoxville, TN]]></location>        
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      <rating>4</rating>
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  <read_at>Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed May 20 08:01:29 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed May 20 08:21:27 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I got caught up in this multi-generational family saga, a great lesson (listen up, America) in how to doom one's future by making decisions not for esthetic reasons but purely commercial ones.  The Buddenbrooks look at everything, from business dealings to marriageable daughters, in terms of &quot;t...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/56733903">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/56733903]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="39129005">
    <user id="1768720">
    <name><![CDATA[Lynette]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>        
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  <date_added>Tue Dec 02 12:51:36 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Dec 02 12:52:26 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[My favorite book. Made learning German worthwhile. :)]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/39129005]]></url>
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    <review id="60349137">
    <user id="596061">
    <name><![CDATA[Shurms]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Washington, DC]]></location>        
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  <read_at>Wed Jul 08 22:01:32 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Jun 19 16:55:59 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Jul 08 22:01:32 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This is a story of money, and love, or if you will, the love of money. Decisions about intimate personal relationships within the family are made 'for the benefit of the firm'. The story of the financial collapse of the House of Buddenbrook is even more poignant  given the current (2009) economic co...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/60349137">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/60349137]]></url>
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