I’m re-reading Der Zauberberg. It’s been a good fifty years since the last ‘read’, and I now know to take it slowly and with enjoyment.

The novel was published over 100 years ago, in November 2024. And two new translations are about to appear, one by Susan Bernofsky in the USA (translation only just finished), with W.W. Norton, and one by Simon Pare in the UK, Oxford World’s Classics, appearing on March 12th 2026. The Pare translation has an introduction by Ritchie Robertson, and detailed notes explaining the many cultural and historical references in the text. Sounds excellent, and I am looking forward to seeing what the reviewers say about the novel.

More about the translation work at Bernofsky’s weblog translationista.com and Pare’s webblog  (here, for example, is a fairly complete list of reading while translating
both contain ongoing posts about their translations.
Bernofsky links to further thoughts of hers here.
I have managed to borrow Michael Neumann’s German commentary, which is sold as a separate volume. Have also just re-read Colm Toibin’s novel of Mann’s life, The Magician, and recommend the film by Breloer, Die Manns, wonderful real-life photos and videoclips, especially with Elisabeth Mann Borghese, the last surviving child – available free of charge on YouTube as well as elsewhere.

Thomas Mann’s works enter the public domain in 2026.