The Magic Mountain

One of the most influential works of 20th century German literature, it tells the story of Hans Castorp, a young orphan who, while visiting his cousin in a sanatorium where she is being treated for tuberculosis, contracts the illness himself and ends up remaining for treatment. The isolated sanatorium becomes his entire world, while functioning as a reflection of pre-war Europe.

Written prior to World War I, and heavily revised afterwards, it is a complex and dense novel that effortlessly blends realism and symbolism, and it has fascinated critics and scholars since its publication.