Thomas Mann
Rebecca McCallum (remc@uhura.cc.rochester.edu)
Tue, 27 Jan 1998 10:40:45 -0500 (EST)
> In a message dated 1/26/98 8:35:47 PM EST, beckerj@uwec.edu writes:
>
> Have any of you ever had a book that you just instantly clicked with?
> Catcher in the Rye was one of mine. Another was A Seperate Peace by
> John
> Knowles (which I read before Catcher but now recognize as a distinctly
> Salingeresque piece of literature).
>
> jessica :)
> >>
There is a short story by Thomas Mann that shows the same unbelievable
compassion for its characters that much of JDS's fiction does. The first
time I read it, it pulled at me the same way that the Nine Stories do. The
title in German is "Das Gluck", which translates literally as "The
Happiness" or "Luck." But I think when it shows up in English translation
anthologies, the title has been altered. Alas, I can't remember what that
other title is! The story is roughly about a young Viennese (I think)
army wife married to a conceited and entirely over-flirtatious officer,
and the connection this woman makes with one of the young singers/dancers
that her husband is flirting with... It's a beautiful story - I highly
recommend it!
- Rebecca