Gustav von Aschenbach is a respected German writer in his fifties, disciplined and increasingly weary. After a chance encounter in Munich, he decides to travel and ends up at a hotel on the Lido in Venice. There he notices a beautiful Polish boy, Tadzio, and is gradually overtaken by an obsession that he does not act on directly but that pulls him away from his self-control. Meanwhile a cholera epidemic spreads through the city, and authorities hide the truth. Thomas Mann writes in a measured, ironic style about art, beauty, and decay.
It is a short classic for readers who like psychological novellas. It is a good introduction to Mann and to ideas about the artist's relation to discipline and desire.
Deep, inward-looking, contemplative and thought-provoking; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Wisdom Collector. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 2006
- Publisher
- Edhasa
- ISBN
- 9788435034678
- Language
- ES
