Tristan (German Edition) [Paperback]

Thomas Mann (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 10, 2008

Tristan ist eine Novelle Thomas Manns, angelegt als Burleske, die den Zusammensto von skurrilem Schonheitssinn mit der praktischen Realitat beschreibt Entstehungszeit: Herbst 1902.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Philipp Reclam Jun Verlag GmbH (September 10, 2008)
• Language: German
• ISBN-10: 3150064317
• ISBN-13: 978-3150064313
• Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 3.8 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,000,021 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars The title tells it all--a tale of deep romanticism, complete with a sensitive artist, and his dying lover., August 26, 2011

By 

Carlos T. Mock "carloschicago" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tristan (German Edition) (Paperback)

Tristan by Thomas Mann

Summary: The story takes place in the winter at Einfried, a sanatorium directed by Dr. Leander, a physician "whom science has cooled and hardened and filled with silent, forbearing pessimism." A young married woman (Frau Kloterjahn) arrives as a patient. Her husband denies the seriousness of her illness by calling it merely "a problem of the trachea." In reality, Frau Kloterjahn, who had recently given birth to a healthy son, is dying of consumption.

A not-so-sick novelist (Detlev Spinell) also lives in the sanatorium, and he quickly develops a romantic obsession with the new patient. One day most of the residents go for a sleigh ride, but Spinell and Frau Kloterjahn remain indoors. He cajoles her to play the piano for him, which has been forbidden. Picking up a score from "Tristan und Isolde," Frau Kloterjahn plays beautifully until exhausted. When her death becomes imminent, Herr Kloterjahn returns to her bedside. At this point Spinell writes Kloterjahn an excoriating letter, saying (in essence) that the man is an insensitive slob who doesn't understand his own wife.

Commentary: The title tells it all--a tale of deep romanticism, complete with a sensitive artist, his dying lover, her brutish husband, and the lovers' exquisite moment of communion, which takes place amid the achingly beautiful piano chords of "Tristan und Isolde," which exult love, death, and eternity.

There is a deep irony here because the generative love of Frau Kloterjahn and her husband has produced a healthy baby boy, who is cooing with delight at the end of the story, while the arch-romantic novelist, who stalks despondently from the scene, brings death to whatever he touches. Herr Kloterjahn, far from being an insensitive clod, actually understands his wife.