Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

What a joy it was to read this book. It is the story of a very average family in Lubeck somewhere in the last century. The description of the members of this familiy with all their flaws, carefully depicted in all detail like in the great realistic paintings, is wonderful and it is difficult to believe that the writer was only 25. In particular his description of the "kleinbuergerlichkeit"( I have not seen this German word translated correctly in any language, but it means something like the small citizen in a small town)is phenomenal. In the reviews I see quite some comments on the translation. I am both fluent in German and English and I have read this translation with the original on the side. Indeed, the absolute purist may complain that some of the German nuances and wordgames Mann likes to use get lost. However, you have to have such a good understanding of the German, that you would not need a translation. In my view the translator absolutely got the spirit of the novel right and was able to re-create this typical small town atmosphere in Northern Germany very, very well. And fact is, Mann in German is very difficult, even for Germans. This translation has made the work of an unique author available to a wider public