Death In Venice - Softcover

Mann, Thomas

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0060576170 ISBN 13: 9780060576172

Publisher: HarperCollins Ecco, 2005

Synopsis

The world-famous masterpiece by Nobel laureate Thomas Mann--here in a new translation by Michael Henry Heim with a new introduction by Michael Cunningham, author of The Hours

"It is a story of the voluptuousness of doom," Mann wrote. "But the problem I had especially in mind was that of the artist's dignity."

Published on the eve of World War I, a decade after Buddenbrooks had established Thomas Mann as a literary celebrity, Death in Venice tells the story of Gustave von Aschenbach, a successful but aging writer who follows his wanderlust to Venice in search of spiritual fulfillment that instead leads to his erotic doom.

Amid this growing fixation, Venice is struck by an epidemic, and the once-idyllic city devolves into a decaying, ominous backdrop that mirrors Aschenbach's inner turmoil. Overwhelmed by his unfulfilled desires and the tension between art, morality, and human passion, he chooses to remain in the city, unable to part from Tadzio's presence.

The novella climaxes as Aschenbach, now physically and emotionally enfeebled, watches Tadzio from a distance on the beach one final time. As the boy gazes out at the sea, symbolizing purity and eternal beauty, Aschenbach succumbs to his own deterioration and dies alone.

Through its rich symbolism and classical references, Death in Venice serves as a meditation on the transcendence of beauty, the frailty of human existence, and the paradox of longing for the unattainable.

About this title

About the Author

German essayist, cultural critic, and novelist, Thomas Mann was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1929. Among his most famous works are Buddenbrooks, published when he was just twenty-six, The Magic Mountain, and Doctor Faustus.

From the Back Cover

The world-famous masterpiece by Nobel laureate Thomas Mann -- here in a new translation by Michael Henry Heim

Published on the eve of World War I, a decade after Buddenbrooks had established Thomas Mann as a literary celebrity, Death in Venice tells the story of Gustav von Aschenbach, a successful but aging writer who follows his wanderlust to Venice in search of spiritual fulfillment that instead leads to his erotic doom.

In the decaying city, besieged by an unnamed epidemic, he becomes obsessed with an exquisite Polish boy, Tadzio. "It is a story of the voluptuousness of doom," Mann wrote. "But the problem I had especially in mind was that of the artist's dignity."

Edition details

• Publisher: HarperCollins Ecco
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0060576170
• ISBN 13: 9780060576172
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 160