In this extraordinary collection of short stories, Thomas Mann uses settings as
diverse as Germany, Italy, the Holy Land and the Far East to explore a theme whi
ch always preoccupied him: the two faces of things. Thus, in A Man and His Dog a
nd Disorder and Early Sorrow, small domestic tempests become symbolic of the dis
cordant muddle of humanity. In The Transposed Heads and The Tables of Law the de
mands of the intellect clash with the desires of physiology - an idea developed
more fully in The Black Swan, where body and spirit are tragically out of harmon
y.
Written between 1918 and 1953, these stories offer us both an insight into
Mann's development of thought and also some impressive literature from these in
teresting times.
