Buddenbrooks

Thomas Mann’s fictional narrative of the decline and fall of a German merchant family.

Originally called “Downhill”, Buddenbrooks charts the inexorable decline of a German merchant family from the post-Napoleonic era to the time of the Iron Chancellor, Bismark. The novel has the air of a Shakespearean tragedy in that, while it is acknowledged that, culminating with the death of Hanno in his childhood, the end is inevitable, one always hopes that the Buddenbrooks will somehow bounce back from the series of disasters that befall them - whether that be Tony’s disastrous marriages, Thomas’s failing business interests compared to those of his main competitor, Hagenstsrom, or Sebastian’s inherent wastrelsy. Upon its publication in 1901, Buddenbrooks received rave reviews. Indeed, Munich critic Otto Grautoff expostulated on the novel’s Wagnerian influence, artistic energy and epic proportions. And unsurprisingly, as Mann dictated the review. Except in Lubeck, Mann’s home city, where it was considered scandalous - for many of the characters in the novel are thinly veiled parodies of Mann family members, himself included.

The book is, indeed, an epic, and shows Mann’s skill at characterisation - from the faintly ludicrous and aloof Tony, the hypochondriac wastrel of Christian and the duty-bound merchant that is Thomas. Buddenbrook. Mann also manages to skilfully segue the societal changes of the age - out go the powdered wigs, in comes gas lighting and so on. However, the book does have it’s failings, one gets the impression that Mann uses his work as a template to show off his knowledge - certainly of music - in an attempt to impose his ego on the reader. The book is also in need of stricter editing - it is a long novel and certainly has areas that could be cut without making any change to the novel - young Hanno’s school years and time with Kai being the prime example. That said, the book is a fine, fine work; certainly as good, if not better than, his most famous work, Doctor Faustus.