Tonio Kroeger
This autobiographical short piece of fiction is the best writing of Thomas Mann that I have laid eyes on. For me it was much more compelling than his famous first major novel The Buddenbrocks. At least one German writer (Martin Walser) claims to have learned the entire novella by heart so that he could readily draw upon it as a role model for his own writing. I suspect there are many more. I have just reread Tonio Kroeger and once again found that Thomas Mann’s ability to describe human emotions is breathtaking.
Confession of a Murderer
Joseph Roth died in his Paris exile, leaving behind thirteen novels as well as many stories and essays. The Confession of a Murderer Told in One Night is after Job Roth’s most spellbinding novel that I have read to date. Roth had to flee from the Nazis in Germany. The book is a wonderful parable of the spirit that fuelled the Nazi movement without ever saying one word about it. The story, in fact, takes place in Russia and Paris.
Reports from Berlin, 1920-33
A couple of months ago (March 2003) I started reading Joseph Roth’s newpaper columns about life in Berlin in the 1920s. He turns out to be a master of short essays on social life. I became so enamored with his powerfully perceptive prose that I started to read his novels. Savoy is a fine story but Job is truly outstanding.
The Story of Job
Roth has the ability to create suspense even though we are reading about the "Life of a Simple" man. The central theme of the novel is the role of destiny in human life that has become surrounded by the products of science and technology. The tale begins with a prophecy in prerevolutionary Russia and ends up in New York. More I shall not tell.
Collected Fictions of Jorge Louis Borges
I have lately become quite enchanted with Jorge Luis Borges. What a pitty that he did not get the Noble Prize for his work! I hereby bestow upon him the Murmann Prize! If you don’t enjoy his work, write to me and I may give you back the money you spent on Borges.
Read his story Funes, the Memorious.
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