A sumptuous new translation of the sublime novella of desire obsession and one man's downfall
another classic from the author of THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN . "Probably the greatest of modern German
novelists." ― The New York Times One of the pre-eminent works of modern European literature
this enthralling story of desire beauty and infatuation follows the erudite respectable
writer Gustav Aschenbach's descent into obsession. Aschenbach has always lived a life of
structured routine but he has begun to be troubled by diminishing creative inspiration from
his strict writing schedule. While walking in a cemetery north of Munich he has a dizzying
vision which prompts him to abandon his settled life and travel south to Venice. On checking
into his hotel Aschenbach notices a young Polish boy of perfect sculptural beauty: Tadzio. As
he lingers on at the hotel Aschenbach falls into an ever-deeper infatuation with the youth
whose curled blond hair and porcelain face fill him with rapture and even seem to cure his
stubborn writer's block. Ignoring whispered warnings of a cholera outbreak in Venice
Aschenbach stays at the hotel and follows Tadzio with increasing obsession his mind swirling
with mad desire. Classical in structure yet roiled by disturbing passion Death in Venice is an
enormously powerful story of one man's undoing. Full of coiled tension and vivid inner conflict
it is one of Thomas Mann's greatest masterpieces and appears here in a lively new translation
by Lesley Chamberlain.
