This will be the fifth year The Reading Life has participated in German Literature Month. This event is one of the reason it is great to be part of the international book blog community. Last year I was motivated to read world class literary works by writers like Thomas Mann, Hermann Broch, Stefan Zweig, Hermann Hesse as well as lesser know treasures. I learned a lot from the many very erudite posts by coparticipants and from those by our very generous hosts Caroline of Beauty is a Sleeping Cat and Lizzy of Lizzy's Literary Life. You will find excellent reading suggestions and planned events on their blog. To participate all you have to do is to post on any work originally written in German and put your link on the event blog.
My Readings For German Literature VI November 2016
1. The Glass Bead Game by Hermann Hesse
2. Royal Highness by Thomas Mann
Lsst November during German Literature V I read one of the greatest novels of the last century, Buddenbrook The Decline of a Family by Thomas Mann. In previous years I have read his classic The Magic Mountain and his very popular novella, Death in Venice.
Royal Highness is perhaps a lighter, and certainly a shorter work, than Mann's gargantuan classics. It seems to me almost a comedy and some have likened it to a fairy tale.
The story is set in a small German principality. The time is the early 20th century. It is kind of like the inherited royal family thinks they are really ruling the family when they are really just figureheads caught up in Byzantine Dramas.
Aprince ascends to the thrown when his older brother is just to lazy to bother. The prince wants to improve the lives of his subject. Unfortunately the ministers that run things are very incompetent. The finances of the country are in a horrible mess.
The plot excitement begins when the prince falls in love with a very wealthy American woman. There are all kind of people in the novel. It is Avery charming satire of the pretentions of minor European royalty. It can also be seen as an America versus Europe story.
I enjoyed this book am glad I read it. I would suggest those new to Mann dive into his classic Magic Mountain.
I have a copy of Dr Faustus on my E reader and hope to read it one day not to far away.
Please share your favorite Mann works with us
Mel ü
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