The Magic Mountain

Summary

«The Magic Mountain» is a novel by Thomas Mann that narrates the intellectual and spiritual development of a young German, Hans Castorp, who arrives for a three-week stay at a Swiss sanatorium to treat a minor ailment but ends up confined there for seven years. During his enforced stay, the protagonist encounters a multitude of intriguing individuals, each reflecting various aspects of early 20th-century European avant-garde thought, including humanism, science, philosophy, questions of life and death, and the political ideologies of the time, all contributing to his personal growth and worldview formation. The book is rich with allegories and symbolism, addressing themes of time, illusion, and transcendence, leading the reader to ponder the meaning of life and the inevitability of death.