@photovotary

Well spotted. The answer is Yes and No.

It's not his real name. Since I myself use an alias here, my buddy quite rightly insisted on having one too.

And yes, as his alias I chose the name of the hero in Thomas Mann's Magic Mountain, the book that shaped me more than any other.

As a young man, I once spent a long night with a friend in a bar and at one point exclaimed, for all to hear, "Ich bin Hans Castorp", "I am Hans Castorp". That was some 40 years ago. The Magic Mountain is still the book that defines me, and Thomas Mann still the one author that lets me keep some hope for humankind. If he was possible, everything is possible.

Castorp sits next to me and says hello. He loves attention.

#HansCastorp #ThomasMann #MagicMountain #whippet_moments #hope

Deeply moving tunes from my music system. The novel that defined my life on the table. Sribbles for my new paper on my lap. My daughters sleeping upstairs.

I don't really care, my friend, says Death, smiling at me. All this is extraneous. You had your time. It's over. Come with me now.

Not yet, please. Please.

Alright, he says, I am very busy elsewhere, so perhaps not now. But I will be back when it suits me. Be ready.

#vss #loss #Death #HansCastorp #ThomasMann

Happy Birthday, Thomas Mann.

Reposting here an earlier post of mine, pointing to a wonderful reading of all of Thomas Mann's Zauberberg, The Magic Mountain.

Yes, all of it. In 114 half-hour episodes.

The reading took place on the stage of a Hamburg theatre during the 2020 lockdown, by actor Sven Walser, who died in 2023.

It is a nuanced and faithful reading, and it is fresh, without the grandfatherly pomposity of some of the audiobooks.

(In German, so it helps if you know a little German,)

https://mastodonapp.uk/@the_roamer/110641959268298713

#ThomasMann #Zauberberg #MagicMountain #SvenWalser #HansCastorp #audiobooks

Als ich für die Rezension "Der Zauberberg, die ganze Geschichte" von Norman Ohler wieder in die Welt von Thomas Manns "Der Zauberberg" eintauchte, konnte mich dieser Klassiker der Weltliteratur nicht mehr so bezaubern, wie in meiner Jugend. Dieser Spur wollte ich nachgehen. #aktuell #DerZauberberg #HansCastorp #Interpretation #Kritik #Rezension #ThomasMann #Zusammenfassung

https://schreibblogg.de/der-zauberberg-thomas-mann-rezension/