The Magic Mountain
"The Magic Mountain" can be read both as a classic example of the European "Bildungsroman" – a "novel of education" or "novel of formation" – and as a sly parody of this genre. Many formal elements of this type of fiction are present: like the protagonist of a typical "Bildungsroman", the immature Castorp leaves his home and learns about art, culture, politics, human frailty and love. Also embedded within this vast novel are extended reflections on the experience of time, music, nationalism, sociological issues and changes in the natural world. Castorp’s stay in the rarefied air of "The Magic Mountain" provides him with a panoramic view of pre-war European civilization and its discontents.