buddenbrooks

as mentioned earlier. i wish i could read german, or at least appreciate exactly what certain german dialects (the usage of which mann seems so fond) imply about their speakers. i cannot and may never, but i recommend this book anyway, as it was recommended to me — for those who read jane austen and know something of german history and eat chocolate with an eighty-five percent cacao content.

lost in (the first, lowe-porter) translation: much of the book's charm, i think.* i could barely get past the endless descriptions of one (1) dinner at the beginning of the book. i had no idea how anyone, much less the highly intelligent person who recommended it to me, could call buddenbrooks their favorite book. the woods translation remedies this; it wasn't a chore to read, not at all. it was a joy! the purest of them! plein de gratuitous french to boot! the chapters are of such manageable sizes that buddenbrooks managed to break my heart every morning over a bowl of oatmeal.**


the buddenbrooks, for much of their story, eat better than i do. the aforementioned family dinner lasts, like, eight chapters. as an adult, thomas takes breakfast, then comes back home two hours later for second breakfast. (are you listening, aragorn?) klothilde eats (quite literally, and without shame) anything and everything. despite all the loving attention mann gives to food, this book is no redwall; the title tells us it's "the decline of a family." it's worth noting, however, that the buddenbrooks continue to eat well throughout, even in their fully-declined state.

if you choose to read buddenbrooks (and you should): read the woods translation, not the lowe-porter translation! that's an order. if you don't, you'll never know that you're allowed to root for, laugh at, and root against (often all at once!) the most delightful little princess herself, tony buddenbrook. you won't understand why elisabeth buddenbrook (literally! not figuratively!) can't understand herr permaneder. you won't start to always feel the urge to say "assez" when you're over something. perhaps most importantly, you won't realize just how much like thomas buddenbrook you're at risk of becoming, and you won't know that you should probably take steps to prevent that.

but if you have no option other than the lowe-porter translation, that's fine. stick with it. it's a good story, once you get past the first 200 pages. what could possibly top this? not the hours, which i read merely as a palate cleanser. we ride north!*** this is not the last time you'll hear about this book.

*i'd feel more confident in saying this if i spoke more german than -- well, name all sepp herbergerisms in a movie i love nearly as much as star wars.

**...when i could find such a bowl, that is. the dining halls, previously full of oatmeal all the time, have begun serving of late, au lieu de oatmeal, "cream of wheat," "cream of rice" and other hot cereals that resemble baby food. antonie buddenbrook wouldn't put up with this.

***recently purchased, for a grand total of $3: atonement (ian mcewan), bel canto (ann patchett), complications (atul gawande), a madman dreams of turing machines (janna levin), language: its structure and use (finegan and besnier), a house for mr. biswas (v.s. naipaul). i! love! this! city!