Confessions of Felix Krull, Confidence Man: The Early Years Paperback – March 31, 1992
by Thomas Mann (Author)
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Recounts the enchanted career of the con man extraordinaire Felix Krull--a man unhampered by the moral precepts that govern the conduct of ordinary people.
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5.16 x 0.84 x 8.1 inches
ISBN-10
0679739041
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Recounts the enchanted career of the con man extraordinaire Felix Krull--a man unhampered by the moral precepts that govern the conduct of ordinary people.
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Recounts the enchanted career of the con man extraordinaire Felix Krull--a man unhampered by the moral precepts that govern the conduct of ordinary people.
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Product details
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Vintage; 1st edition (March 31, 1992)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 400 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0679739041
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0679739043
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.2 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.16 x 0.84 x 8.1 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #659,578 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
#1,784 in Biographical Historical Fiction
#2,381 in Biographical Fiction (Books)
#34,385 in Literary Fiction (Books)
Customer Reviews: 4.0 out of 5 stars    56 ratings
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Thomas Mann
Paul Thomas Mann (German: [paʊ̯l toːmas man]; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novellas are noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual. His analysis and critique of the European and German soul used modernized German and Biblical stories, as well as the ideas of Goethe, Nietzsche and Schopenhauer.

Mann was a member of the Hanseatic Mann family and portrayed his family and class in his first novel, Buddenbrooks. His older brother was the radical writer Heinrich Mann and three of his six children, Erika Mann, Klaus Mann and Golo Mann, also became important German writers. When Hitler came to power in 1933, Mann fled to Switzerland. When World War II broke out in 1939, he moved to the United States, returning to Switzerland in 1952. Thomas Mann is one of the best-known exponents of the so-called Exilliteratur, literature written in German by those who opposed or fled the Hitler regime.

Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by Carl Van Vechten [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

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felix krull thomas mann magic mountain finer clay confidence man confidence man death in venice confessions of felix young man mann last museum in lisbon wants becomes whole life krull confidence marquis artist finished godfather hotel later

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sad and timeless
4.0 out of 5 stars Another remarkable book by Thomas Mann
Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2022
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Why is Felix Krull so often passed over in consideration of the works of Thomas Mann? I would never have read it except that I just finished Colm Toibin's recent The Magician and had gotten interested in Mann all over again. One cannot and should not stop at Death In Venice and The Magic Mountain. This book is ac accessible in style as Buddenbrooks and a good deal funnier. Mann meant it to be the first volume of a longer work, but died too soon to go on, so some things in the novel'sdevelopment are left hanging. Too bad, as more would have been gloriously welcome.
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smarmer
5.0 out of 5 stars A small masterpiece about the reality of illusion.
Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2000
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Those who know Thomas Mann for his weightier books will be surprised to see how light this short novel is.
Felix Krull is a "Con Man." This book recounts his early years, from early childhood, through his ingenious method of avoiding being drafted into the army, to his initial jobs. He avoids the army by appearing too eager to join, thus inducing suspicion regarding his mental stability. He works his way up by recognizing that having a good appearance and a willing attitude more than compensates for lack of experience or ability. Being a confidence man requires supreme self-confidence and Felix has that in abundance.
For me the pivotal scene is when Felix is taken to the theater by his father to see a play in which one of the father's old school chums is starring. Felix is captivated by the magnetic attraction between audience and star. This is made even greater by the back stage visit he and his father make after the show. The star turns out to be much shorter than he appeared to be, with reddish hair instead of black, and rough skin instead of the smooth skin he appeared to have. His manner is coarse, not like the refined character he portrayed. Topping it off, he is in need of continuous reassurance that he did a good job, whereas the character he played was supremely confident and poised. This is the key to Felix's realization that for most of the world illusion is reality, and that the illusionist needs the audience just as the audience needs the illusionist.
Whether Mann had a sequel planned is uncertain. We do leave Felix as a young man, wondering what his further adventures and potential growth might have been.
As it is, this is a delightful story with a profound subtext. Are there any people like Felix around today?
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idiosophy
3.0 out of 5 stars Wasn't finished so that's likely why it doesn't have the ...
Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2018
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Wasn't finished so that's likely why it doesn't have the polish or weight of Mann's other work. If you're new to this author, go with Magic Mountain or Buddenbrooks or Death in Venice.
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peter dichsen
5.0 out of 5 stars yet all that's needed to enjoy and understand Mann's view of what makes up a ...
Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2016
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Mann's last novel, but unfinished, yet all that's needed to enjoy and understand Mann's view of what makes up a con man. The book has less philosophy and detailed argument then most of his other works, is a little easier reading for those who might find some of his other work a touch daunting.
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R. G. Banker
5.0 out of 5 stars Aesthete's Gather Round, and enjoy this book
Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2008
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If you're a struggling writer, artist, musician, Thomas Mann is for you. This book is wildly funny and satisfying.
The author understands the struggle and invites you in. The protaganist of the novel is realistic and naughty. You will see how Mann has inspired other writer's in his wake---look at the Talented Mr. Ripley novels by Patricia Highsmith---this book was her inspiration.
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Ralph Blumenau
3.0 out of 5 stars Role-playing
Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2015
Set at the end of the 19th century, this self-satisfied first person account, tinged with many a philosophical reflection on life in general, we learn how already as a beautiful child (who would develop into a strikingly handsome adult with a mellifluous voice), Felix Krull was fascinated by what actors were able to get away with; how he was a very good mimic himself; how, when asked by his painter-godfather to model in different costumes and of different periods he looked the part; and how he was able to turn this talent to his own advantage from childhood onwards. He was thrilled by his achievements, very aware of his difference from ordinary people, and he learned to despise the gullible nature of those who fell for his performances.

He will need his gifts when the suicide of his bankrupt father leaves is family in the most straitened circumstances. He uses them to be rejected for military service, and that enables him to leave his home in the Rhineland to go to Paris where his godfather had arranged for him to be employed in a grand hotel. He is taken on as a lift-boy and has a quite unbelievable but immensely profitable night with a wealthy woman who is besotted with his good looks. He resisted other hotel guests, men and women, who threw themselves at him. For he continued working in the hotel where he was promoted to being a waiter; but he used some of his new wealth to lay in a secret wardrobe of fashionable clothes in which he would lead a very different life as a gentleman in his time off duty.

On one of those occasions, when he is dining in another grand hotel, he is recognized by a young marquis who was a guest at the hotel at which Felix was a waiter. The Marquis wished to stay in Paris with a pretty little soubrette, but he was obliged instead to travel the world without her; and the two men decide to exchange roles: Felix was to undertake the journey impersonating the Marquis, while the latter would remain incognito in a suburb of Paris with his beloved. It was brining to life all the fantasies with which Felix had played since childhood.

The remaining 130 pages or so are an account of how he carries this off. It begins with his journey from Paris to Lisbon, from where he was to sail for Buenos Aires. But he stays in Lisbon for many months, was received into society and describes his adventures there is great detail. As always he knows how to make himself liked, at least in part because he lays on flattery with a trowel. Only in one case does his charm not carry all before him, when he lays a long and rather tedious siege to a girl’s affection.

And then abruptly the novel ends. There will be no account of The Later Years, for this was Mann’s last work, and was left unfinished at his death. Had he lived longer, he probably would not only have finished it but might have given the sprawling story a greater sense of unity than I think it has. As it is, it is mildly entertaining in a ponderous German way. Some of Felix’s opinions are Mann’s own; others are obviously not. It is a satire on class distinction, a play on “the apparel oft proclaims the man” and on “manners makyth man”. The dialogue is often completely unrealistic, indeed unbelievable. There are extensive, discursive but graphic passages - descriptions of fashionable shop-windows in Paris; of a circus performance; of a long and learned lecture from a professor of paleontology on the Paris-Lisbon train, which will lead to Felix’s philosophical reflections when he visits the Professor’s Natural History Museum in Lisbon; of a bullfight.

Narrated in Thomas Mann’s habitual leisurely, stately and elaborate prose, it is beautifully translated by Denver Lindley.
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Taoiseach Da Caisel
5.0 out of 5 stars Funny but one must adapt to mittel-Europa kultur of a ...
Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2014
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Funny but one must adapt to mittel-Europa kultur of a bygone age in order to enjoy.
The reviewer happens to be an ancient mariner. Thus, adaptation fairly easy
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NGT
3.0 out of 5 stars i loved the first 100 pages
Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2017
i loved the first 100 pages..the rest... not so much. it was as if two different writers took hold of the story.the other reasnable explanation for the vast difference of tone and perspective may be explained as: mann started writing when he was in his 30s. stopped.came across the draft many years later, while he was going through some kind of middle age crisis and took it from there. the first 100 pages or so : magical. even better than the magic mountain. than the story and the character..all go downhill. i skipped pages .this is a first for me since mann is ona of my favorite authors.i am sorry to say that it is a good thing he did not / could not finish krull's story.
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Rod
3.0 out of 5 stars OKish
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 11, 2017
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At first I thought I was onto a good thing but it didn't really go anywhere. I did finish it and thought it was worth reading, just.
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davepattenden
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 11, 2018
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No c.omplaints
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ETG
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 10, 2015
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Loved it. Excellent translation of a fantastic novel.
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Halut
5.0 out of 5 stars Good Job.
Reviewed in Canada on July 14, 2015
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Top! Fast delivery. Good Job.
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Mr. F. I. Dudaniec
2.0 out of 5 stars Not great
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 14, 2010
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Fanciful meandering tale, too passive and whimsical for my liking but if you're a fan of Mann, maybe it will float your boat.
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Confessions of Felix Krull, Confidence Man: The Early Years

Thomas Mann
, 
Denver Lindley
 (Translator)
3.83
4,487 ratings269 reviews
Thomas Mann's final novel recounts the strange and entranced career of the gifted swindler, Felix Krull, through his childhood and early manhood. Krull is a man unhampered by moral precepts that govern the conduct of ordinary mortals, and this natural lack of scruple, coupled with his formidable mental and physical endowments, enables him to develop the arts of subterfuge and deception with astonishing success and to rise swiftly from poverty to affluence. Following Krull along the shady paths his nature has destined him to take, the reader moves through a world peopled by bizarre characters from the lowest to the highest reaches of European society. Chameleon-like, Krull readily adapts himself to the situation of the moment, and so adept in the practices of chicanery does he become that his victims almost seem to count themselves privileged. And so it is too with the women who encounter the irresistible Krull, for where Krull is, the normal laws of human behavior are in suspense.

Originally the character of Felix Krull appeared in a short story Mann wrote in 1911. The story wasn't published until 1936, in the book Stories of Three Decades along with 23 other stories written from 1896 to 1929, the year in which he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Much later, he expanded the original story into a novel, managing to finish and publish Part 1, "The Early Years," of the Confessions of Felix Krull to great public success. Due to Mann's death in 1955 the saga of the morally flexible and irresistible con-man remains unfinished.
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400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1954

Original title
Bekenntnisse des Hochstaplers Felix Krull
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Felix Krull
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400 pages, Paperback
Published
March 31, 1992 by Vintage
ISBN
9780679739043 (ISBN10: 0679739041)
Language
English
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Thomas Mann was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and Nobel Prize laureate in 1929, known for his series of highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novellas, noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual. His analysis and critique of the European and German soul used modernized German and Biblical stories, as well as the ideas of Goethe, Nietzsche, and Schopenhauer. His older brother was the radical writer Heinrich Mann, and three of his six children, Erika Mann, Klaus Mann and Golo Mann, also became important German writers. When Hitler came to power in 1933, Mann fled to Switzerland. When World War II broke out in 1939, he emigrated to the United States, from where he returned to Switzerland in 1952. Thomas Mann is one of the best-known exponents of the so-called Exilliteratur.

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Luís
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December 12, 2022
The confessions of the knight of industry Félix Krull stand out in the romantic work of the 1929 Nobel Prize winner. Forget the Teuton and invigorating prose of the masterpieces that preceded him. Instead, you enter a world of masks and fantasy.
The novel is part of the tradition of the Bildungsroman or training novel. Félix Krull is the son of a bankrupt who produced poor-quality champagne. His godfather, who, when our hero was little, adorned him with costumes and disguises that suited him wonderfully as he was a handsome boy. Testifying the latter's precocious disposition to take on all the roles, he sends him to a friend who runs a high-class Parisian hotel. First, you have to go through military service to get reformed. Here he is in Paris, where everything seems to smile at him and where he will begin with the humble position of elevator boy.
Félix Krull presents well; he expresses himself easily and shows himself in turn with extreme politeness, irresistible charm and a loose spirit depending on his audience. However, despite the promising opportunities offered to him, he only seizes. The victims seem ahead of him in his projects, stunned by his brilliance, seduction, and wit. Hardly a crook does steal anything from them. Instead, he sells them dreams.
What a delightful novel; it removed the story, is funny, and irresistibly stuns you. One would believe in reading a French book. Sometimes it turns into vaudeville; that Thomas Mann could write such a work leaves you speechless. With the greatest regret that we discover that the text is unfinished, the Eternal Father has recalled it very annoyingly to the pantheon of writers.
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May 4, 2020
The Great German Picaresque that never was, interrupted by Mann’s passing at the tender age of 80. Apparently a parody of Goethe’s pompous autobio, the antihero of Felix Krull is a self-regarding poseur in the likeable mould, and the comic antics in the novel are sparse, making the novel more a bildungsroman than a Fieldingesque romp. As the novel was part of a proposed epic, there are longueurs galore, most of which are riveting exchanges on the nature of beauty, morality, and shiny things aristocrats own. The Robin Askwith adaptation, filmed in 1978 as Confessions of a Saucy Marquis, was one of the finer British sex comedies, and no discerning cineaste of softcore will forget the romping scene with Felix and Zouzou (played by a young Jane Leeves) in the asters of the rear garden without throbs of nostalgia.
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Jan-Maat
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September 21, 2016
I had a sudden thought about this book which I had read some time ago which was how curious it was that a writer's last work was focused on a confidence trickster and his trickery when what is writing but a confidence trick created with the collusion of the reader. As a result this is a book about fantasy and invention, in which we might be best advised to trust nothing and to believe less.

I wondered how far the subject of the book was a confession on the part of the author - the Patriarch with bad relations with many of his children, the husband with a taste for same sex relationships,the non-political man who ended up in exile for political reasons all the same, we can see the author as one who played at different identities as much as his fictional hero.

such anyway were my idle thoughts on my way to a hospital out patient appointment as I wondered if my shirt and underwear would pass muster as Felix's did before the conscription board.
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Emilio Berra
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April 28, 2020
Estetismo e inganno
Testo pubblicato incompiuto nel 1954, un anno prima della morte dello scrittore, dopo una 'gestazione' lunghissima e, pare, controversa.
Iniziato nel 1910, ripetutamente lasciato per la stesura di altre opere, quasi che il protagonista del romanzo non fosse così importante per l'autore, e neppure tanto evanescente da essere lasciato cadere nell'oblio.
Se ne intuisce l'incompiutezza dai vari rimandi a situazioni previste successivamente. C'è comunque una conclusione che m'è parsa posticcia e affrettata, sicuramente una soluzione tutt'altro che grandiosa.

Chi ha ammirato T. Mann in opere di alto livello e grande fascino, è probabile che qui rimanga parzialmente deluso. Non tanto per lo stile comunque ragguardevole, quanto per la vicenda narrata che ho trovato non all'altezza.
Pare che lo scrittore abbia tratto ispirazione da un libro di memorie di un avventuriero il quale, simulando un'identità aristocratica, frequentava alberghi di lusso e rinomati stabilimenti termali europei, praticando la truffa e il furto di gioielli.

T. Mann segue il suo personaggio dall'infanzia alla giovinezza, facendone un individuo di elegante bellezza e desideroso di scalate la società anche a costo di rischiosi compromessi.
Ritengo questo romanzo collocabile, per impronta culturale, non nel periodo di pubblicazione, bensì nell'epoca che ne vide l'abbozzo progettuale, quindi tra i cascami del Decadentismo al tramonto della Belle Epoque.
Il protagonista infatti può essere colto come potenziale esteta che esercita l'inganno con gusto elegante e raffinato, capace di captare stimoli culturali ovunque gli capiti. Un tipo di viaggiatore che, all'epoca, si poteva inconsapevolmente incontrare nei grandi alberghi fra i tanti ospiti incapaci di percepire il pericolo dell'incombente Guerra Mondiale.
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July 16, 2022
In writing Felix Krull, I wonder if Thomas Mann was trying to prove that after all his heavy-duty works he could still turn out a romantic comedy, although not the ordinary kind. He's still Thomas Mann. Magic Mountain is overshadowed by the inevitable coming of World War I, Doktor Faustus directly confronts the evils of World War II. Felix Krull takes place in 1895, a time when no one (well, no one but people like Bertha von Suttner), had any inkling of the imminent tragedies of the 20th century. Mann exercises his usual tricks but with a twist and a light touch. He loves assuming the voice of an eccentric narrator. This time it's a first person account by a no-account fake marquis, but a highly amusing fake who blithely tells his story for the refined and sensitive reader. Krull assures us he only writes for a cultivated audience, people cut from finer wood as he is himself. Like Mann's other novels, this one employs lots of teases, to hook the reader. On page nine Krull ever so briefly mentions that he has served time in jail, as well as lived in grand hotels. And he likes grand hotels better. But then he moves on and doesn't explain how he landed in jail, though one could easily imagine. Krull starts with his childhood and his close relationship to his godfather, the painter with the improbable name Schimmelpreester, who likes to paint his godson in the nude as well as in outrageous costumes, such as a matador outfit (a costume that plays a key roll at the end of the novel). The refined reader can ignore the implications of this or he can fill in the part of the story that occurs off stage. Like Tolstoy, whom Mann worshiped, the most important scenes are left behind a curtain. Felix works his way up, starting as an elevator boy in a grand hotel, then a busboy, and hits his stride as a waiter who serves a wealthy and frivolous clientele. The main drift of the story is that Felix's schemes work because people want to be fooled. So Felix steals a wealthy woman's jewels only to learn that she, something of a sadist who loves humiliation, would gladly give him more in erotic play. His charm and physical attractiveness becomes clear as people of both sexes offer him propositions. Mann has a lot of fun with aristocratic pretensions as Krull easily assumes the identity of an aristocrat, gets an audience with the king of Portugal and is awarded a medal, so he can dress properly decorated for formal occasions. One of the jewels of the book is Krull's "letter home" to the woman who is supposed to be his mother after he switched identities with a real aristocrat who wanted to continue slumming in Paris with a show girl. Mother is delighted to receive such a polished and gracious, and very long, letter. The fact that her real son could not possibly have written it just doesn't matter to her. And she particularly likes his defense of the natural order of society, because without beggars how could the upper classes show their sense of charity. Aristocrats, the wealthy, mothers and even academics get skewered. Mann himself came across, especially to Americans, as a professorial type, even though he actually failed repeatedly in school, and never went to college. So I think there is a certain authorial empathy going on here. Felix is a fake, but he is genuinely interested in hearing the technical details of evolution from a distinguished paleontologist, with the wonderful name of Professor Kuckuck...They thoroughly enjoy each other's pretentions. Well it goes on like this. Supposedly an unfinished fragment, the novel ends on a high note, and really doesn't need any further elaboration. Enough said.

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February 26, 2019
Chẳng biết bao lâu rồi mới đọc một cuốn tiểu thuyết hay như vậy. Nó kéo ta về v���i thói quen đọc xuyên đêm khi còn trẻ. Nó khiến ta phải có một con mắt nhìn khác khi đánh giá về những gì định hình Tiểu thuyết trong văn học phương Tây.
Một cuốn sách vừa lôi cuốn về tình tiết, vừa đảm bảo các yếu tính của một tác phẩm văn chương đích thực. Nó thỏa mãn thú vui giải trí khi đọc Tiểu thuyết lại vẫn cung cấp cho người đọc nhiều kiến thức, thông tin cả về văn hóa, khoa học và lịch sử. Thật tiếc nó chẳng bao giờ được hoàn thiện vì cha đẻ của nó đã ra đi không đúng lúc. Nhưng phải chăng chính những điều dang dở mới luôn trở thành bất tử.

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Amabilis
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February 9, 2020
"da živjeti znači slagati varku na varku” napisao je Ivo Andrić na samom kraju svog prvog djela ”Ex Ponto”. Često sam u Bosni čuo od ljudi koje sam zatekao da se bave nekim umjetničkim radom za koji i nisu bili svjesni da je umjetnost, (bar je oni nisu tako vidjeli ) kako kažu da "se varakaju". Znači nisu rekli da "se varaju", jer je to brutalno priznanje čina običnog varanja, međutim "varakati se" je sasvim nešto drugo. To ima jednu magičnu notu. Uostalom kao i cijela Bosna. Uostalom kao i ovo djelo. Koje je posvećeno maštanju koje je Prvotno, Prapočelo iz čega sve nastaje.
Ima jedan opis kada glavni junak Felix mašta ispred izloga bonbona i čokolada (budući da je radnja na prijelazu na 20.stoljeće, očaranje je veće, jer je to iznimno nova i posebna roba) koji me podsjeća na opis mladog dječaka Andrića kako siromašan ispred jedne sarajevske knjižare gleda obasjane knjige,koje su mu u to vrijeme bile nemoguće za imati. Od tog trenutka počelo se događati sve, uz gorku konstataciju gorčine siromaštva. Ali imao je maštu, maštao je o njima pa ih je na kraju i imao, a bome ih je i sam namaštao kao malo tko. Dosta je poveznica između Manna i Andrića, pa same dolaze i preko ovog djela, za nekoga tko voli oba ova pisca.
U djelu "Prevarant" španjolski pisac Cercas piše o doslovnom prevarantu Enricu Marcu, koji je u dva navrata prevario javnost "ulaskom" u uloge koje u realnosti nije doživio, uzimanjem novog identiteta i samim time bijegom od svog starog života. Pisac je probao ”ući u cipele” (jednom novinarskom metodom) tog čovjeka (koji je doživio ogromnu osudu društva) kako bi pokušao razumijeti zašto je on to napravio. Početna zgroženost, opiranje osudi do na kraju potpunog razumijevanja čovjeka zaključkom kako je i on posve sličan njemu, jer uzimanjem novih uloga, bijegom od starog , dosadne realnosti dolazi se samo nečim novim, nečim zamišljenim. Maštom. Maštom protiv realnosti života.
Međutim "varalica " Felix nije takva vrsta varalice. On je "plemić od rođenja", "pristalica prirodnog poretka", čovjek koji je preko mašte i riječi kroz situacije postao plemenitiji od samih plemića čija odijela ih nisu mogla učiniti unutra plemenitim. Neki su plemići poput Tolstoja, kad je potrgao grofovsko odijelo, a zaodjenuo seljačku košulju pa preko plemenitih djela riječi i jezika postigao još veću plemenitost. Kao što je i Andrić bio jedan "grof bez titule".
U jednom dijalogu jedan od Murakamijevih likova pita djevojku parafraziram :"s kim bi voljela ići na dugačko putovanje? Vozite na smjenu. S nekim tko je dobar vozač ali nepažljiv čovjek ili s vozačem koji nije tako dobar, ali je jako pažljiv? Ona odgovara : s ovim drugim. On kaže: I ja isto. Biti pažljiv-to je najvažnije. Biti smiren i osluškivati stvari oko sebe”
Biti pažljiv. Kako? Preko riječi. U djelu je jedna zanimljiva rasprava između Felixa i djevojke koja mu se sviđa pa ju obasipa riječima poput "ljupka", "dražesna" i sl., a ona poriče ljubav kao djetinju maštariju muškaraca koji nisu realna. A ona je brutalno realna i racionalna dok joj on pokušava "sredit glavu" kako sam kaže. Pomalo komična situacija. Ali i na tragu one Hesseove misli,parafraziram ”da je ljubav čudo, čisti incident, a ne pravilo. ” Na tom tragu je i Mann koji kroz lik Felixa priča o Velikom Uživanju, tj ljubavi kao nečemu čemu je težilo svo njegov biće. Netko je rekao da su muškarci namaštavali riječi i obogaćivali jezik da bi zavodili žene. Felix bi se složio, sigurno i Mann. Kad nas žene pročitaju, šta li ćemo morati izmislit dalje. Vidjet ćemo :)
Dosta je sličnosti samog života pisca i Felixa (propast obiteljskog posla, gubitak oca u mladoj dobi) pa Mann kao da je ovim svojim kako neki kažu "nedovršenim djelom" (ono uistinu je nedovršeno) htio ispričati što je on to uistinu bio. Ali veliki pisci i trebaju ostati "nedovršeni" pa je u tom velika simbolika ovog djela, pa se to također preklapa sa Andrićem čiji "Omer paša Latas" je također ostao nedovršen, tj. tako je trebalo biti.
To je prava potvrda onog što su bili, nepročitani, i nedovršeni tj.savršeni.

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Ronald Morton
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November 28, 2017
There are few authors whose works bring me as much pleasure as Thomas Mann. This continues to be the case with this all too short (and all too incomplete) book.

Mann was working on this when he died in 1955 – I’m sure this information is out there (Mann is significant enough of a literary figure, that – like Joyce and Eliot and other titans of 20th century literature – he is documented almost to the point of exhaustion) though I’ve yet to run across it: I can’t help but wondering what Mann intended for this book. “The Early Years” designation would seem to suggest that this was the first entry of some sort of larger series; even with this book – clocking in at 384 pages – it’s not clear how long the work was intended to be. I mean, 384 pages is not necessarily a short book, but it feels like Mann is just starting to hit his stride in the last 100 or so pages of the book – his prose begins to become much more philosophical and poetic as Krull begins to travel – and from a narrative perspective it feels like he’s barely begun to document Krull’s life as a “confidence man”; Krull is barely two months into his travels; and just around a year into having left home. The potential for expansion and continuation is fairly staggering. The book itself ends abruptly – though it manages to end on both a humorous beat, as well as a nice cliff hanger for the avid reader – and all I wanted there at the end was for it to continue, to go on; and as a reader I am sad that it will never be complete.

It was only after I read this that I realized it was a continuation of a short story Mann had written – once I recognized that I remembered that of all the stories in the Death in Venice collection (that Vintage put out) the story this is based on was the true standout of the collection. In fact, it would be a number of years after I read that collection that I would return to Mann, as I found myself a bit underwhelmed by most of the stories. It goes absolutely without saying – but I’ll say it anyways – that I am overjoyed that I returned to Mann eventually, as his oeuvre is simply stunning; I cannot imagine my literary life without him.

I was worried starting this book that I would not like it as much without Woods as the translator, but Mann’s writing is as wonderful as ever here; Mann himself was too talented of a writer to overly suffer a lesser translation; so while this was not as good as the Woods’ stuff, it is an accomplished enough work that it shines through. But the real jewel of the book is the character of Krull himself; his narrative voice is a joy to read; he is funny, witty, and observant in a way that manages to disclose an overwhelming amount of details (as Mann loves to do) while always flowing at a brisk clip. This book retains the compulsive readability and feeling of being over much too quickly that Mann’s other later works (Joseph and His Brothers, Doctor Faustus) also had; and though it never rises to the heights of those later books, it should still be considered an essential read for lovers of Mann.
"Sleep soundly. Dream of Being and of Life. Dream of the whirling galaxies which, since they are there, bear with joy the labour of their existence. Dream of the shapely arm with its ancient armature of bones, and of the flowers of the field that are able, aided by the sun, to break up lifeless matter and incorporate it into their living bodies. And don’t forget to dream of stone, of a mossy stone in a mountain brook that has lain for thousands upon thousands of years cooled, bathed, and scoured by foam and flood. Look upon its existence with sympathy, Being at its most alert gazing upon Being in its profoundest sleep, and salute it in the name of Creation! All’s well when Being and Well-Being are in some measure reconciled. A very good night!"
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Matt
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September 8, 2016

Here’s the copy of a letter I have sent to Felix Krull connected with the excuse that it is written in German. I wanted to make sure that Mr. Krull understands what I was trying to say. Although he claims in his memoir that he also speaks English, one can never be sure with a so called confidence man.

Unfortunately, I have not received any reply to date.


Mein hochgeschätzter, verehrter Felix Krull,

ich schreibe Ihnen diese Zeilen unter dem Eindruck Ihrer Memoiren, die ich vor kurzem die Freude und das Vergnügen hatte zu lesen und die Sie in, wie ich finde, schelmischer Weise als „Bekenntnisse“ betitelt haben. Die Tatsache, dass Sie außerdem mit dem Wort „Hochstapler“ in Verbindung gebracht werden, will sich mir allerdings nicht unmittelbar erschließen, sehe ich doch in Ihren Ausführungen eine franke und unverhohlene Darstellung Ihres bisherigen Lebens, das nur in einigen wenigen und meiner Einschätzung nach marginalen Ereignissen etwas von Hochstapelei erahnen ließen. Ich vermute daher, dass nicht Sie es waren, die den Titel ihrer Biographie wählten, sondern vielmehr ein gewisser Thomas Mann, denn dieser Name taucht auf dem Titelblatt des Buches an der Stelle auf, an der ich eigentlich den Ihren erwartet hätte. Ich kann leider nur mutmaßen, in welcher Beziehung Sie mit dem besagten Gentleman in Verbindung standen, denn Herr Mann ist in der Zwischenzeit leider verstorben. Über das sogenannte „Internet“, welches Sie womöglich als eine Art Ausfunkt-Buerau bezeichnen würden, ist es mir gelungen, einige nähere Informationen über Herrn Mann zusammenzutragen.

Es scheint, dass er ein berühmter deutscher Schriftsteller gewesen ist, dessen Werke bis heute in literarischen Kreisen einiges an Beachtung finden und ihm dafür sogar der mit so hohem Prestige verbundene Nobelpreis für Literatur zuerkannt wurde. All dies führt mich zu der Annahme, dass Herr Mann vielleicht auch nicht ganz ohne Einfluss auf die von Ihnen verfassten Memoiren gewesen ist, sehe ich doch an der ein oder anderen Stelle Formulierungen und Gedanken, wie sie durchaus auch von Herrn Mann hätten stammen können, soweit ich das, aufgrund meiner bescheidenen Kenntnisse seines Œuvres beurteilen kann. Bitte verzeihen Sie mir, wenn ich sogar soweit gehe und hier meine, zugegebenermaßen recht vage, Vermutung äußere, dass am Ende Thomas Mann selbst es war, der den endgültigen Text verfasst hat, und sich dabei lediglich auf ein von Ihnen vorgegebenes Exposé gestützt hat. Die Gründe aufzuzählen, welche mich zu diesem Schluss geführt haben, würde zum einen den hier vorgesehenen Rahmen sprengen, und zum anderen zu viel Ihrer wertgeschätzten Zeit in Anspruch nehmen. Ich bin dessen ungeachtet aber gerne bereit, diese meine Gründe in einem separaten Schreiben an Sie offen zu legen, sofern dies von Ihnen gewünscht wird.

Wie ich bereits zu Beginn ausführte hat mich die Schilderung ihrer Erlebnisse auf das Außerordentlichste entzückt, angefangen mit Ihrer Kindheit im Rheingau, die sie ja offenkundig sehr genossen haben. Ich wünschte, mein eigenes Elternhaus hätte einen ebensolchen Rahmen abgegeben, wie das Ihre, denn es muss für ein Kind außerordentlich inspirierend und belebend gewesen sein, und für sein weiteres Leben wegweisend, zu erleben, wie sich die Eltern und Gäste beiderlei Geschlechts bei üppigem Essen, Trinken, Tanz und anderen körperlichen Ertüchtigungen miteinander verlustiert haben. Und auch die Unternehmungen Ihres verehrten Paten Professor Schimmelpreester, Sie in die unterschiedlichsten Kostüme zu stecken, worunter ja auch – ich bitte diese scherzhaften Ausdruck zu entschuldigen – das Adamskostüm gezählt werden muss, um sie dann auf Leinwand zu verewigen, haben sicherlich viel dazu beigetragen, Ihren nachfolgenden Lebensweg in groben Zügen vorzuzeichnen.

Ich bin mir nach den obigen Ausführungen nicht mehr ganz sicher, ob Sie selbst es waren, oder eben Thomas Mann, der Ihr äußeres Erscheinungsbild als so überaus anregend beschrieben hat. Die besagte Recherche zu Herrn Mann hat mir gezeigt, dass dieser durchaus nicht abgeneigt war, das Schöne in einem jungen Menschen männlichen Geschlechtes zu erkennen und zu schätzen. Ob er dabei auch an Sie dachte, vermag ich aus naheliegenden Gründen nicht zu sagen. Eines erscheint mir jedoch gewiss und ich denke, ich gehe nicht fehl, wenn ich annehme, dass Ihre Erscheinung als „Beau“ sich nicht unbedingt nachteilig auf Ihre späteren Beziehungen zu Mitgliedern des schönen Geschlechts aller Altersstufen ausgewirkt hat. Habe ich recht? Ihre Ausführungen hierzu bleiben an den entscheidenden Stellen – verständlicherweise – etwas vage und lassen Details aus, die den heutigen Leser vielleicht interessieren könnten, wenn man einmal von Zusammenkommen mit Madame Houpflé absieht. Sie erinnern sich sicherlich an diese Dame, Autorin und Gattin eines Klosettschüsselfabrikanten aus dem Hotel St.James und Albany in Paris? Dieser Abschnitt, wie überhaupt der ganze Aufenthalt von Ihnen in diesem Hotel, zählt sicherlich den Höhepunkten Ihrer „Bekenntnisse“.

Damit will ich aber in keine Weise die gleichfalls erhellenden Schilderungen schmälern, die Sie Ihren Lesern von Ihrer Zeit im schönen Lissabon geben. Nach den Kostümierungen durch Ihren Paten, und den unterschiedlichsten Verkleidungen, die sich im Laufe der Zeit selbst angelegt haben, haben Sie hier nun offenbar die Möglichkeit gefunden, die ultimative Larve anzulegen, nämlich die eines anderen Menschen und ich muss gestehen, dass diese Ihnen zur vollen Ehre gereicht. Wer hätte gedacht, dass ein junger Mann aus bourgeoisen Verhältnissen, dem an der Schule und der damit verbundenen Bildung nie viel gelegen war, es einmal zu einem Marquis, einem Edelmann, und noch dazu dekoriert mit einem Ordern durch den portugiesischen König bringen würde, und der darüber hinaus auch noch auf die Zuneigung zweier Edelfrauen, Tochter und Mutter, zählen kann?

Zu dieser Ihrer letzten Eroberung kann ich nur gratulieren und ziehe in Demut, und, ich bekenne es freimütig, auch ein wenig Neid, meinen Hut vor Ihnen. Was für eine Karriere! Schade nur, dass Ihre Ausführungen an dieser Stelle so unvermittelt enden. Ich hoffe inständigst, dass Sie sich entschließen, Ihre Memoiren irgendwann einmal zu Ende zu schreiben. Es wäre doch sehr bedauerlich, wenn die Welt nichts mehr von Ihrem weiteren Schicksal hören würde. Für die Ausformulierung Ihrer Gedanken steht Thomas Mann ja nun unglücklicherweise nicht mehr zur Verfügung, aber vielleicht finden sich ja andere Schriftsteller, die sich dieser reizvollen Aufgabe gewachsen fühlen.

In der Hoffnung recht bald von Ihnen zu hören verbleibe ich
mit vorzüglicher Hochachtung und den besten Wünschen
&c. &c.


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Justin Evans
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April 4, 2016
A friend's review of this is: great first half, dull second half. My review is the exact opposite, which suggests that this is just about taste. The first half, for me, was a little too cutesy with the symbolism, as Krull discovers how much he enjoys acting, impersonating, and being praised for his beauty. Well done, but also (for me) hampered by the impossibility of doing anything new with the first part of life-stories. You'll be surprised to learn that Felix has a family, there is a crisis, he matures and strikes out to start life on his own. There is fun to be had with the threefold perspective of young Felix, narrating Felix, and implied author Mann, but to be honest, if you haven't had your fill of unreliable narrators at this point of history, I don't know what to say.

The second half, on the other hand, is a perfectly done 18th century picaresque, but in the early 20th century--and here the threefold perspective comes into its own, since the combination of modernist narrator and picaresque tale is something I, at least, haven't seen much of before (I don't count the pomo narrators in this category).

There's not much else to say. It's very funny, parts of it remind me of many other novels I have loved (a dash of Proust; a hint of Bassani; Mann's other works, of course). I, unlike my aforementioned friend, am very sad that he never finished it. This could easily have surpassed Buddenbrooks and the Mountain, simply because big serious novels are so rarely hilariously funny.

Also, I read somewhere that Mann modeled the narrative voice after Goethe's memoirs, which he found unbearably pompous. I enjoyed reading it much more once I could assume that the pseudo-aristocratic style really was meant to be mocked.
fiction

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