Six Early Stories (Sun & Moon Classics)
by Thomas Mann
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Book Summary Information
Author: Thomas MannTranslator: Peter Constantine
Introduction: Burton Pike
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); German (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1997-08
ISBN: 1557132984
Number of pages: 128
Publisher: Sun & Moon Press
Summary of Six Early Stories (Sun & Moon Classics)
When they think of the stories of the great German writer Thomas Mann, most American readers will recall Stories of Three Decades, translated in 1936; however, that edition purposely excluded several early tales of Mann which the translator found "tentative and awkward efforts." As noted translator and editor of this volume Burton Pike notes, however, "Times and interests change; in 1936 Thomas Mann, in exile from Nazi Germany, was celebrated as a leading spokesman for the threatened humanistic values of Western Civilization." His early development seemed unimportant within that context, but such a judgment now seems arbitrary and wrong.Indeed the six stories of this volume are all quite wonderful examples of this genre, and even more revelatory with regard to Mann's themes and styles. Experimenting with a complex, multi-layered narrative, Mann explored new approaches to the psychologies of his characters with a "strong, fresh voice of a major talent."
"These early stories, ably translated by Peter Constantine and edited by Burton Pike, are well worth reading. They are also a welcome addition to the body of Mann's work in English. But they are something more. They remind us of what has been lost in the dissolution and passing of modernism. The boldness, daring and risk-taking in both formal, technical matters and in explicit, thematic explorations remain as admirable today as they were a century ago."-Steven Marcus, New York Times Book Review
In 1936, Alfred A. Knopf published a collection of Thomas Mann stories in a volume called Stories of Three Decades. Though Mann himself stated that the book contained all of his short stories, in fact, six were left out. Sixty years later, those six stories get a book of their own: Six Early Stories. These are the work of Mann's youth, written between the ages of 18 and 33. Though none of the stories matches the mastery he exhibited in his later short fiction, all the signs are here of the writer he would one day become.
The preoccupations are here as well; each story in the collection involves sexuality, the position of women in society, morality, and art. Six Early Stories will certainly be of interest to Thomas Mann enthusiasts, but even for those who have never read anything else by him, this collection is worth reading. Even in his juvenilia, Mann's work demonstrates the skill, intelligence, and courage of a bygone literary age.
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