Joseph and His Brothers: The Stories of Jacob, Young Joseph, Joseph in Egypt, Joseph the Provider

This is the third of Mann's long works that I've read, the first two being "The Magic Mountain" and "Buddenbrooks," in that order, the former being one of my favorites. I'd once read a quote by Mann saying he considered "Joseph and His Brothers" to be his masterpiece. If so, I used to think, why wasn't it still in print? I suspected it may have been disingenuous on Mann's part. The two novels I just mentioned had already secured Mann's reputation as a master novelist and their staying power must have seemed all but assured at the time. Joseph, on the other hand, was a different story. Apparently, it never attracted near as much attention as those other creations of his. Whether or not Mann truly believed Joseph was worthy of being considered his best work, it was his longest and the one on which he spent his most strenuous effort. Its neglect clearly caused him anxiety. This is all discussed in the translator John E. Woods' introduction to this edition of Joseph, as well as in Mann's introduction from a much older edition which is also included here. Will this latest edition from Everyman help Joseph finally garner the critical acclaim Mann thought it deserved?A potential reader must seriously ponder at the outset the problem of deciding whether or not to read a 1500 page novel based on a quite familiar biblical story of about 40 pages in length. It would seem that the legend of Joseph has done just fine on its own in its inherited form. The main reason I would say to read this, if for no other, is that Mann demonstrates here that he is the consummate scholar-novelist. Beyond its novel aspect, Joseph is really an elaborate commentary and explication on the Book of Genesis and, in a most indirect manner, its impact on the Judeo-Christian heritage. The novel is rewarding in that regard, as well as for its magnificent historical set pieces. We are presented with vignette after vignette of how the people of this time lived and viewed the world, and particularly how myth blended with, indeed was synonymous with, their consciousness and how that determined their actions. Through Mann's glosses of the ancient myths of Egypt and Mesopotamia, one is able to trace the origins of many of the primary theological concepts of the Christian and Jewish faiths.If, however, the astounding scholarship is the novel's strength, then it is also its weakness, for it labors under it. There is too little mystery to the story - we all know what happens from the outset. Mann takes the biblical myth, blows it up, and refills the lacunae. Thus, one can get a better understanding of the motives of the players, and why things may have happened in the biblical myth as presented. To me this is all very interesting, yet academic. In reading a novel I desire the novel experience, and in this I look for characters not pre-determined. This would present quite a challenge to Mann were he not to alter the story. He is often successful in breathing new life into the players. For instance, his portrayal of Esau as the piping, uncouth goat-man and the disdain which Jacob feels for him in that regard; or Abraham as the shadowy figure who spurns the moon citadel of Ur and wanders Mesopotamia, forging a new religion along the way. Yet I feel the novel seldom becomes more than a presentation of exquisite detail, and the character Joseph is always as one would expect him to be. If you love Joseph already, as Mann clearly does, and feel he holds a special place in your faith or worldview, then this will be quite a delightful book. If not, if Joseph is looked upon only as a very important mythical figure with some basis in history, then it may not be so easy to share Mann's 1500 page enthusiasm for him.

Thomas Mann’s claim that “Joseph and his Brothers” was his masterpiece always took me by surprise. Surely, this book isn’t better than “Death in Venice” or “Magic Mountain,” critics respond. Well, perhaps not but it is in the same ballpark and that’s no mean accomplishment.This sweeping, often comedic, novel was a joy to read despite some initial frustrations and one of the most rewarding books I’ve come across in some time. John Wood’s translation brings this great book back to relevancy as Mann offers an interesting take on Genesis, life, death, family bonds, love and mythology. Wood’s introduction is stellar as well. Still, this is not a book for everyone and I suspect many readers will give up as they try to make sense of it all. I’d encourage them to slog through though the introduction is a bit cryptic and there are often strange and bewildering asides that only become clearer as the reader continues. The payoff is worth it to say the least though I’d advise readers to bone up on Genesis before reading this novel. Mann was one of the finest craftsmen to ever assemble a novel and readers will be swept up in his plot and characters. I finished this novel, which clocked in around 1,500 pages, and wanted more. Easily one of the best books I’ve come across in years.

For long this has been one of my very favorite novels. When I read the last page I wanted to start all over again. I would read a passage in the Bible and then turn in awe to see how Thomas Mann had managed to embroider the simple story, while remaining true to its inner resonances. It is a novel in every good sense of the word, but it is also a superb exegesis of the meaning within the story.I read it first in its entirety maybe when I was 30 years old or so and now in my 79th year am rereading it in the new translation by Woods. If you are a first time reader of the novel, I would probably on balance suggest that if you can find it, you are better off with the original Lowe-Porter translation. The Woods translation is probably more faithful to the German but does not read as smoothly in English.I find this one of the world's great novels and I have over a life time, read pretty much all of them. You have to be a patient reader, however, and be willing to tax yourself somewhat to go with the flow of the novel.

Joseph and His Brothers was Thomas Mann's "Humane Comedy" of the 1930's and 1940's. As his European world was collapsing in ideological extremism and descending into chaos, Mann turned his imagination to the Semitic and Egyptian worlds of 1600 BCE and invested the prodigious gifts of his ironic imagination in the all-too-human desires and deities of that world. Though it is enormously long--over 1400 pages of smallish print--the Joseph Saga unfolds its treasures of humane perception to the patient reader who savors Mann's delicious comedy. Read it slowly for full effect.Formerly available in Lowe-Porter's impossibly stilted Biblical prose, John Woods continues his Mann-cycle of translations here in what must have been a labor of love. No doubt the audience for this work is only a tiny fraction of that for his earlier Mann translations--especially Magic Mountain and Buddenbrooks. Let's hope Woods is still game for Felix Krull or, perhaps, a large selection of the shorter works. Woods' English is smooth and agreeable most of the time (consistent with Mann's German) and tart and biting when Mann's irony deserves it.