Customer Reviews
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz! - By: Lance Mitchell, 22 Jul 2008 
At the risk of being labelled a Philistine, I declare that this book is one of the most insufferably boring tomes that has ever made it onto my bedside table. I admit that I only struggled my way through the first 170 pages, but that was enough to convince me that I should not waste any more minutes of my precious life wading through any more of this drivel.
I know, I have also been chastised for criticising modern artin the same way. Tracey Emin's "Unmade Bed" & Thomas Mann's "The Magic Mountain" will just have to livein the pile of junk that I fail to understand.
I realise that I amin the minority, as most reviewers & professors of literature believe this to be a masterpiece, & probably the best book to come out of Germanyin the twentieth century. Then again, Hans Christian Anderson's boy who recognised the nakedness of his Emperor as those around him admired the splendour & wonderful colours of their leader's new clothes, was alsoin the minority.
Perhaps, then, I shouldn't feel too bad about my opinion of this amazing piece of creative writing. It may also explain why English literature was the only `O' Level that I failed, despite having been a prolific reader all of my life. It just happened that the books that were chosen for my studies for those exams also bored me to tears.
A beautiful work of art - By: Richard J. Cotter, 26 Feb 2008 
I've just finished reading The Magic Mountain this morning & I closed it with a smile on my face, having had one of the most rewarding literary experiences of my life. With it primary letimotifs of time, death & love, this wonderfully written & strange, magical book is worth every cent of your money & minute of your time. Nobody has written so eloquently on the mystery of time as Thomas Mannin this book. In a weird way it reminded me of Ulysses,in that just when some mundane detail was being described minutely, suddenly a flourish of prose would arise so breathtaking as to almost force you to close the book & wallowin the beauty of what you have just read. A masterclass of literature.
somewhat clunking translation - By: a23, 17 Mar 2006 
This is a book quite unlike any other, & is likely to be a read you remember for the rest of your life, it's that impressive.
One of the most sriking features is the pace, which is very deliberate....and will no doubt frustrate many readers by seeming slow & focussing on what might appear as trivialities. However, it builds into a superb picture not just of the characters but of what they represent. All of pre-WW1 european society is represented along with the preoccupations of that time. As a doctor, i also enjoyed the medical aspects of the book, including the sick role & the power of a paternalistic medical profession.
My reasons for ascribing 3 stars are entirely related to the translation by lowe-porter...she herself apologises for the quality of the workin the preface. With a shiny new translation by john woods now available, please consider obtaining that version. I "jumped ship" after reading the first 200 pages of lowe-porter's version & found the woods version so much more enjoyable, the characters have lost their muffled voices.
Big. Very big. - By: , 17 May 2005 Aptly titled book this; it is indeed mountainous - & not justin that it's huge. It is the Everest of books: it's a Herculean task to get try to conquer it but if you do the view is, to follow the metaphor, pretty spectacular. It's also entirely unlike anything I've readin just about any terms - the pace, the style, the narrative & the plot (or lack of it) are all as far as I know unique. Reading it isn't either laborious or fast-paced, I'd call it -in absence of a better word - luxurious; I found myself almost drifting through it, & at times it's no exaggeration to say I just found myself marvelling at the fluid, idea-strewn prose. Whilst it's probably not for the impatient, I still highly, highly reccommend it.
Magnificent and absorbing - By: , 29 Apr 2002 Not only a gripping story with characters constructedin the finest detail, but also an intense meditation on the passing of time. My eagerness to read the next chapter was constantlyin conflict with my desire to pause & think over what I had read so far. Persevere with it - the pace is slow to begin with - because if you like books filled with ideas, you really will be missing out if you don't give it a chance.
