Buddenbrooks - Thomas Mann

"A family saga disguised as a social novel" - so Thomas Mann (1875-1955) himself characterized his masterpiece of the century. Through hard work, discipline, and business acumen, the Buddenbrooks built considerable wealth. Now the merchant family stands at a crossroads: for the consul and his wife, entrepreneurship brings obligations toward employees and the common good. But which of their children still holds to the old ideals?

Antonie and Christian bring new, individualistic ideas into the family. Christian roams the clubs of London and Valparaiso, while Antonie, under family pressure, enters a marriage befitting her station - unhappy from the start. Only Thomas ambitiously continues the merchant line and grants the family business one more moment of economic splendor.

His son Hanno - artistically gifted yet always somewhat frail - stands as a symbol of the end of an era. Overwhelmed by the challenges of a changing century, the Buddenbrooks are increasingly left behind by the spirit of the age. This novel earned Thomas Mann the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1929.