Der Zauberberg

Originally planned as a novella and intended as a light counterpart to 'Death in Venice', 'The Magic Mountain' became one of the great novels of classical modernism. A brief visit to a sanatorium in Davos turns into a seven-year stay for the protagonist Hans Castorp, with the resort serving as a stage for the European mood before World War I. Begun in July 1913 and interrupted during the war by essayistic works, particularly 'Reflections of a Nonpolitical Man', the novel was completed and published in 1924. Volume 5 of the 'Great Commented Frankfurt Edition' follows the first print.