Keely's Reviews > Death in Venice

Death in Venice by Thomas Mann

by
84023
's review
Aug 21, 07

bookshelves: fiction, reviewed, german, novella, favorites
Read in October, 2002

A good book to be taught in tandem with Lolita, methinks. A literary achievement with the psychology of Tolstoy and a Greek commitment to The Story; and that is not the only thing about this book that is 'Greek'. A treatise on Death, Life, Sex, Desire, and Fear, Death in Venice is both enticing and terrifying, and for the self-same reason.

Here is the face of wretched animal man, teeth bared, cloudy desperation mocking his vision. Mann's succinct and powerful images are always reversed: the raw and brutal emotion herein is become feral, mitigated only by how it twists back upon itself as only such a morally indistinct, labyrinthine mass may so twist.

Eminently pleasing and disturbing, this battle between the barely-restrained Epicurean and the resignedly Absurdist meets the latter's comic fruition in the former's faux-tragic inaccessibility.

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Comments (showing 1-10 of 10) (10 new)

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message 1: by Kelly (new)

Kelly This review inspired me to read this. I don't know if I would have otherwise. I don't know when exactly I'll get to it, but it's on my radar screen. Thanks. :)


Keely Well, it's a novella, so if you have an afternoon free, shouldn't be too hard to tackle. I'm also glad I could inspire someone to do something. It feels all warm and flattering.


message 3: by Kelly (new)

Kelly Well, good then. I feel I have done my good deed for the day or something. I'll keep in mind that I can maybe read this sooner then.

PS- Chick on your Mists of Avalon review needs to calm down. I don't know what inspires a dramatic, verbose review if it's not that book.


Keely Tell her that. =P

One can always use a little backup from someone with a bit of wit and an opinion.

She may have been joking, though.


Daga I must say that at the beginning I was a bit sceptic. about this book. Not exactly what I've expected. But gradually I got more and more involve into the story and in the end, I enjoyed it. As you have written Eminently pleasing and disturbing, this battle between the barely-restrained Epicurean and the resignedly Absurdist meets the latter's comic fruition in the former's faux-tragic inaccessibility. I totally agree!


Keely When I first read it, I didn't have any idea of its reputation. I felt the same way you did, confused, sometimes repulsed, but gradually and inexorably drawn toward the vividly unsettling climax.


message 7: by Ian (new)

Ian Graye Surely you pinched that last par from the pitch for the Visconti film?


Keely You know, I've still not seen the film, but I think you must be right, in any case.


message 9: by Ian (new)

Ian Graye I haven't seen it for at least 30 years, but it's a genuine classic. So is your last par.


Keely Heh, thanks for that.


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