Mario und der Zauberer

A German-speaking family on holiday in the Italian seaside resort of Torre di Venere finds the atmosphere tense, with nationalist feeling, petty rules and annoyed hotel staff. They attend a late-night show by Cipolla, a hunchbacked conjurer who claims powers of hypnosis. He humiliates volunteers from the audience, including a young waiter named Mario, until the performance ends in violence. Thomas Mann wrote the novella in 1930, and it reads as a parable of fascism, will and submission, told by a narrator who regrets that the family stayed.

It suits readers who like political allegory in compact form. It also serves anyone curious about how a literary work captured the mood of Italy under Mussolini.

Deep, contemplative and thought-provoking; a moderate read.

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