Death in Venice
by Thomas Mann · Der Tod in Venedig
Assigned by 1 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- 1912
- Form
- Novel
- Language
- German
- Length
- Short · 80 ppunder 120 pages
- Difficulty
- Demanding3 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendDeath in Venice, translated by Michael Henry HeimEcco (HarperCollins), 2004A modern translation praised for catching Mann's irony, with an introduction by Michael Cunningham.
These links go straight to Amazon and Bookshop.org and earn this site nothing today. Prices are the same either way. How this works.
Gustav von Aschenbach, a celebrated and disciplined German writer in his fifties, is seized by a sudden urge to travel and goes to Venice. At the Lido hotel he becomes fascinated by Tadzio, a beautiful Polish boy of about fourteen, and his fascination turns into an obsession he never acts on. As cholera spreads through the city and the authorities conceal it, Aschenbach stays, has his face painted young by the hotel barber, follows the boy through the streets, eats infected strawberries and dies in his deckchair watching Tadzio at the water's edge.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns Death in Venice are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.
