Joseph and His Brothers

Rating:
Summary: A Work of Magisterial Amplitude
Review: Although Thomas Mann, my favorite writer, wrote half a dozen famous masterpieces, I think Joseph and His Brothers and Dr. Faustus are his very greatest books. I've never been able to decide which of the two is "greater" -- they are equally immense achievements (though Dr. Faustus is shorter) yet completely different.

Joseph and His Brothers is full of life and deep wisdom and godlike in its amazing breadth and amplitude. I have the old Knopf edition (hardcover, with some typographical errors), with English translation by Helen Lowe-Porter, the first and best of Mann's translators. Unfortunately, I'm guilty of the sin of not being able to read Mann in the original German, but the translation is so good that it seems the author is speaking directly in spite of the language barrier.

The length and scope of this book unfortunately keep many people from finishing it, and its heft may even deter some from attempting it at all. We are so busy about nothing that we no longer have time for greatness; this is the tragedy of our fallen time. My advice is to read only fifteen or twenty pages a day. But do not skip in the book, and do not skip days. By the third day you should be hooked, charmed to the very marrow by that insufferable little brat Joseph (but how angelic too!). Mann's narrative skill, his probing characterization of Jacob's spirituality and Joseph's intuitive (yet knowing) key to his heart, is breathtaking, and this artistic mastery never flags -- the book is beautifully sustained throughout.

This is a magical book and truly spellbinding once you get into it. However, it is not a page-turner. After twenty pages, I always feel I need to sit back and savor what I have read. It's a bit like the Bible itself (only vastly better written, as literature) -- certainly not something to be digested in one gulp, but rather a lifelong friend and reference.

Rating:
Summary: The soul of the God revealed
Review: In Doctor Faustus, Thomas Mann reached to the bottom of the German soul. In Joseph and his brothers he did the same in respect to the God and his chosen people - the Jews.
Happily, the result is much brighter and more optimistic.
Most delightfull of all T. Mann's books.

Rating:
Summary: spellbinding
Review: Thomas manns' work is sheer brilliance. He weaves a literal link between earth and the cosmos. Sheer genius..! captivating, a must have in ones library. smj.