Weighty!

This dauntingly long novel is set at the beginning of the 20th century, entirely in a sanatorium in Davos, Switzerland. Off in the mountains, the institution is physically very remote from “Flatland”, but perhaps even more so psychologically. Newspapers are available but current events and life down below in general do not seem to concern residents very much. The telephone is never mentioned and of course radio, television and the Internet did not yet exist. Thus, the novel essentially tells of a lock-up and how it affects a largely constant set of characters.

The work’s premise is a three-week visit by Hans, a 24-year old from Hamburg who has completed his studies and is on the verge on entering professional life, to his cousin Joachim who suffers from TB and has already been there a few months. Hans is an orphan and no romantic interest or even significant friends of his in ‘Flatland” are ever mentioned. He is described as mediocre and certainly comes out as ambitionless and even lazy. Initially reserved, he becomes very talkative as the novel develops, his cousin Joachim ever less so.

The plot unfolds very slowly, as days in the sanatorium are rigidly structured around five meals, interspersed with periods of imposed “rest cure”. Thus, ridiculously small events, even a banging door, take on major importance.

The novel is punctuated with at times ethereal discussions on topics such as:

• the perception of time as it passes;
• the nature of life and health;
• the relationship between art and science;
• the relative worth of liberalism and conservatism.

There are some unexpected events, much out of the ordinary, such as a ski outing in a snowstorm, communication with the Beyond, and a drunken all-night party. Strangely, these have no significant consequences for the characters, although they do raise questions as to how closely the sanatorium is managed beyond its strict schedule!

From a 21st century perspective, many health considerations seem strangely overlooked: nothing is said of the impact of altitude on ease of breathing, doctors and most patients regularly smoke tobacco, X-ray sessions last many minutes! (It would probably be unfair to read any significance into this, however, as medical knowledge has just progressed in the past 100 years).

The narrator is omniscient as to what concerns Hans and even includes very convincing detailed descriptions of some of his dreams. No doubt to keep the novel in focus, this does not apply to any other character. Quite a few times, the narrator directly addresses the reader, for instance to describe his literary approach of neither idealizing nor depreciating Hans, the “hero”.

The exceptionally smooth translation from German to English is truly excellent. In the audio version, the speaker does a truly outstanding, energetic job, keeping a straight face through the non-events and a lively tone through the most demanding philosophical passages. His pronunciation of French, Italian and German passages is more than honourable. So is his singing towards the end of the book.

This demanding, ambiguous novel has a haunting quality that makes it worthwhile despite the significant effort it calls for in terms of time and concentration.

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