Featuring his world-famous masterpiece, "Death in Venice," this new collection o
f Nobel laureate Thomas Mann's stories and novellas reveals his artistic evoluti
on. In this new, widely acclaimed translation that restores the controversial pa
ssages that were cut out of the original English version, "Death in Venice" tell
s about a ruinous quest for love and beauty amid degenerating splendor. Gustav v
on Aschenbach, a successful but lonely author, travels to the Queen of the Adria
tic in search of an elusive spiritual fulfillment that turns into his erotic doo
m. Spellbound by a beautiful Polish boy, he finds himself fettered to this hypno
tic city of sun-drenched sensuality and eerie physical decay.
Also included in
this volume are eleven other stories by Mann: "Tonio Kroger," "Gladius Dei," "T
he Blood of the Walsungs," "The Will for Happiness," "Little Herr Friedmann," "T
obias Mindernickel," "Little Lizzy," "Tristan," "The Starvelings," "The Wunderki
nd," and "Harsh Hour." All of the stories collected here display Mann's inimitab
le use of irony, his subtle characterizations, and superb, complex plots.
