Mario und der Zauberer

Thomas Mann's famous novella – now available for the first time as a beautifully designed gift edition in linen. Torre di Venere, mid-August: It is hot and crowded in the Italian seaside resort on the Mediterranean coast. The beach is firmly in the hands of the domestic middle class, which proves to be unwelcoming and overly patriotic. Tension, irritability, and strain are in the air from the start, culminating one evening during a performance by the magician Cipolla. Through hypnosis, Cipolla manipulates his audience and finds in the waiter Mario the perfect victim, who is to submit to him without resistance. Thomas Mann's novella, published in 1930, was immediately interpreted as a political parable about the rising fascism in Europe. A contemporary critic wrote: "If Mussolini understood anything about art, he would have to have this novella banned in Italy." Even today, Thomas Mann's masterful novella has lost none of its relevance.