Thomas Mann: Tonio Kroger (German Texts) [Paperback]

Thomas Mann (Author), J. White (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 185399345X | ISBN-13: 978-1853993459 | Publication Date: October 15, 2010

A title in the Bristol Classical Press German Texts series, in German with English notes, vocabulary and introduction. Thomas Mann (1875-1955), was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1929, and "Tonio Kroger" occupies a central position in his spiritual and artistic development. A study of youth, it draws together many strands of his life and work: the duality of his parentage; his abhorrence of discipline; and the influence of Schopenhauer and Wagner on his early phase of writing.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Novella by Thomas Mann, originally published in German in 1903. The partially autobiographical work explores the problem of the artist who, in his devotion to his craft, confronts the antithesis of spirit and life. From earliest childhood Tonio Kroger is aware of his separation from other people, in particular his two schoolmates Hans Hansen and Ingeborg Holm, who represent the bourgeois norm, symbolized by their blond good looks. Tonio longs to be accepted into their company, but his artistic nature will not permit him to fully join their ranks. As Tonio grows older his talent matures and he becomes a writer, but he still feels like a stranger and yearns to fit into the world. He continues to be preoccupied with the essential dichotomy between life and art, between personal happiness and the discipline that leads to great achievement. These themes are known to have obsessed Mann throughout his career, and Tonio Kroger is almost certainly a representation of the author's persona. -- The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From the Publisher

Title of related interest also available from Waveland Press: Heller-Ehrlich, Dichter, Denker, und Erzahler: A German Reader (ISBN 9780881334326). --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Duckworth Publishers (October 15, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 185399345X
• ISBN-13: 978-1853993459
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,829,477 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The lonesome life of an artist, February 29, 2000

By 

Joseph D. Rockelmann (West Lafayette, Indiana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tonio Kroger (German edition) (Paperback)

In this short story, Mann very nicely depicts the problems of the lonely artist, who will always remain an outsider because he is different. In the short story it becomes obvious that it is very difficult for the protagonist Tonio Kroeger to accept this. Tonio Kroeger, who is a writer, falls in love with two people, Hans and Ingeborg, who have blue eyes and blond hair, because they possess the qualities he is longing for. He wants to be as care free as Ingeborg and Hans Hansen, who are not plaged by profound thoughts eliciting them to be depressed. It is extremely well written and will have a lasting effect on you.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The lonesome life of an artist, February 29, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Tonio Kroger (German edition) (Paperback)

In this short story, Mann very nicely depicts the problems of the lonely artist, who will always remain an outsider because he is different. In the short story it becomes obvious that it is very difficult for the protagonist Tonio Kroeger to accept this. Tonio Kroeger, who is a writer, falls in love with two people, Hans and Ingeborg, who have blue eyes and blond hair, because they possess the qualities he is longing for. He wants to be as care free as Ingeborg and Hans Hansen, who are not plaged by profound thoughts eliciting them to be depressed. It is extremely well written and will have a lasting effect on you.

4 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mann dishes up a tale that can relate to the "outsider"., October 24, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Tonio Kroger (German edition) (Paperback)

A story of the artist, of the mad in the world longing nothing more than to walk among the happy and commonplace. Of love and the inability to express it but from afar and embracing the anguish and tumult of it all for that is life! Mann knows the struggle, the mark of Cain as Hesse put it, and offers a guide for those with little dust in their eyes and comfort that you alone my friend are not mad and that the madness is not bad but nothing merely there to embrace and see. I highly recommend this short story for the artist in us all.