I finished Buddenbrooks the other night. I find it hard to believe that Thomas Mann was only 25 when he wrote this book. I know I mentioned in a previous post its intensity and I was only a quarter the way into it! The intensity kept up and I found that Mann’s sly wit and his understanding of human nature increased as the book went forward. The only negative was the what I imagined was a hurried ending. Everyone begins to die and time leaps forward chapter by chapter. But young Hanno’s death seemed forced and out of place. This is not a book that you can fly through quickly. I found myself going back and rereading passages to make sure I understood fully what was really happening. Overall it’s a great book though one I’m glad to have finally read.

I think for the next classic I’m going to read Wilkie Collin’s The Woman in White. Has anyone else read it?