SHORTLISTED FOR THE INDEPENDENT FOREIGN FICTION PRIZE 2008 Picking up on a throwaway line in The Magic Mountain, Castorp tells the story of Hans Castorp?s student years in Gdansk, long before the adventures in Davos described in Thomas Mann?s novel. Pawel Huelle skilfully creates a credible scenario for this influential period in Hans Castorp?s development, imagining what happened when the rational German student was exposed to the Slavonic eastern edge of the Prussian empire. He comes across people, events and ideas that anticipate some of the encounters he will experience in years to come, including an enigmatic Polish woman who becomes his obsession. Set at the dawn of the twentieth century, Castorp faithfully recreates the atmosphere of central Europe as the storm began that would lead to two world wars. Beautifully written, full of humour, mystery and eccentricity, this is a moving tribute to a masterpiece of European literature.
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'A breezy and ingenious comic prequel to The Magic Mountain' -- Sean O'Brien, TLS Books of the Year 2007
'A delightful period piece... His style is charmingly effective, the book written with an understated wit very much of the era in which it is set, and gently, deceptively provocative' -- Observer
A writer whose work is full of depth and allusion... pulses with irony that Mann would have been proud of... wonderfully absurd humour -- Independent on Sunday
An intelligent, intriguing and atmospheric novel worthy of its inspiration. It is admirably served by Antonia Lloyd-Jones' nuanced and readable translation -- Independent
Book lovers queue here -- Scotland on Sunday
Huelle is a skilful ironist who displays great subtlety of touch as he embraces the absurd. -- Financial Times
'A delightful period piece... His style is charmingly effective, the book written with an understated wit very much of the era in which it is set, and gently, deceptively provocative' -- Observer
A writer whose work is full of depth and allusion... pulses with irony that Mann would have been proud of... wonderfully absurd humour -- Independent on Sunday
An intelligent, intriguing and atmospheric novel worthy of its inspiration. It is admirably served by Antonia Lloyd-Jones' nuanced and readable translation -- Independent
Book lovers queue here -- Scotland on Sunday
Huelle is a skilful ironist who displays great subtlety of touch as he embraces the absurd. -- Financial Times
About the Author
Pawel Huelle was born in 1957. The author of Who Was David Weiser?, Huelle is a novelist, playwright and journalist who has lived most of his life in Gdansk. His latest novel Castorp was published in Poland in 2004.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
In Castorp we revisit the life of Hans Castorp, of Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain. In The Magic Mountain, Hans Castorp visits his cousin, a patient in a Swiss sanatorium high up in the Alps. He is persuaded to have a medical examination, and drifts into a prolonged course of treatment during which real-life passes him by as he is drawn into the intense, over-heated relationships in the sanatorium, only brought to an end by the start of the First World War.
Pawel Huelle has written a highly effective prequel to The Magic Mountain, in which we see the young Hans Castorp leave his uncle's home in Hamburg and go to Danzig (Gdansk) to study ship-building.
Castorp's new life commences on board the ship Mercury as he sails to Danzig, in the company of three other passengers with whom he is obliged to spend an uncomfortable few days, dealing with their eccentricities and awkward conversations. On arrival at Danzig he is persuaded to delay his onward journey to his lodgings by a Dutch tradesman, Kiekiernix, who despatches his bags on to his new landlady and drags him into an elaborate and time-consuming lunch. Castorp eventually arrives at his rooms to find no sign of his land-lady or his bags, and determines to avoid all further distractions during his stay in Danzig.
He enrols at the Polytechnic and commences his studies, returning each night to his lodgings where the behaviour of his landlady and her maid cause him some consternation. He finds comfort in his beloved Maria Mancini cigars and an ample supply of Burgundy wine, and life carries on, amusing and entertainingly for the reader, as the young Hans explores his new surroundings.
I will not go into further detail of the plot for fear of spoiling the book, but needless to say, it involves Castorp's intense romantic feelings for a remote Polish woman, who he pursues at a distance, unable to carry the relationship further (at least intitally) because of his intense shyness. There is a denouement, and it is satisfactory as far as this book is concerned, while also leaving themes to be picked up in The Magic Mountain for those who care to read it.
I enjoyed this book greatly and have been asking myself whether it would be readable by someone who had not read the Mann novel. I have come to the conclusion that it stands very well on its own, and in some ways, I think it would be good to read this prequel first. For those who come to this book after reading the Mann novel, I think that they would enjoy this harmless speculation on what went before, and it will be an amusing (and brief) read bringing much of The Magic Mountain back to mind, and reinforcing the view that in Castorp, Mann created a strong and memorable character.
Pawel Huelle has captured Mann's style perfectly, while also adding more humour and direct interest to his story. Frankly, more happens in these 230 small format pages that in the whole of The Magic Mountain's 854 and I don't think this book is impoverished by omitting the lengthy philosophical dialogues to which Mann was so given.
Pawel Huelle has written a highly effective prequel to The Magic Mountain, in which we see the young Hans Castorp leave his uncle's home in Hamburg and go to Danzig (Gdansk) to study ship-building.
Castorp's new life commences on board the ship Mercury as he sails to Danzig, in the company of three other passengers with whom he is obliged to spend an uncomfortable few days, dealing with their eccentricities and awkward conversations. On arrival at Danzig he is persuaded to delay his onward journey to his lodgings by a Dutch tradesman, Kiekiernix, who despatches his bags on to his new landlady and drags him into an elaborate and time-consuming lunch. Castorp eventually arrives at his rooms to find no sign of his land-lady or his bags, and determines to avoid all further distractions during his stay in Danzig.
He enrols at the Polytechnic and commences his studies, returning each night to his lodgings where the behaviour of his landlady and her maid cause him some consternation. He finds comfort in his beloved Maria Mancini cigars and an ample supply of Burgundy wine, and life carries on, amusing and entertainingly for the reader, as the young Hans explores his new surroundings.
I will not go into further detail of the plot for fear of spoiling the book, but needless to say, it involves Castorp's intense romantic feelings for a remote Polish woman, who he pursues at a distance, unable to carry the relationship further (at least intitally) because of his intense shyness. There is a denouement, and it is satisfactory as far as this book is concerned, while also leaving themes to be picked up in The Magic Mountain for those who care to read it.
I enjoyed this book greatly and have been asking myself whether it would be readable by someone who had not read the Mann novel. I have come to the conclusion that it stands very well on its own, and in some ways, I think it would be good to read this prequel first. For those who come to this book after reading the Mann novel, I think that they would enjoy this harmless speculation on what went before, and it will be an amusing (and brief) read bringing much of The Magic Mountain back to mind, and reinforcing the view that in Castorp, Mann created a strong and memorable character.
Pawel Huelle has captured Mann's style perfectly, while also adding more humour and direct interest to his story. Frankly, more happens in these 230 small format pages that in the whole of The Magic Mountain's 854 and I don't think this book is impoverished by omitting the lengthy philosophical dialogues to which Mann was so given.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Mick H
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is my first excursion into Polish literature, and I found this book a wonderful introduction. I read books as a form of escapism, and enjoy the experience of being transported into another world by the author. Pawel has certainly managed to do just that. I'll be exploring more of his work on the strength of this book.Castorp
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