The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann. Short summary

5 seconds

Engineer Castorp goes to a sanatorium in the Alps where his cousin is staying. Gradually he befriends the patients and his planned three-week stay drags on for seven years.

1 minute

A young professional, Engineer Castorp goes to visit his cousin. The cousin was in a sanatorium high in the Alps near Davos. Tuberculosis patients were treated there.

When Castorp arrives, he likes the unhurried life in the sanatorium, the daily rituals of taking his temperature and praying before he eats. He meets the literary man Settembrini, who promotes the ideas of progress and enlightenment. He is opposed by the local Jesuit Nafta, who defends the value of tradition and is a typical conservative.

Also in the sanatorium was Peppercorn, a magnate in the coffee business. During his treatment, he began dating a Russian patient, Madame Chauchat. The main character is drawn to each of the main characters. Instead of spending a three-week vacation at the sanatorium, Castorp stays here for seven years.