> 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