Well, part of my deception of reading the book was the lack of depth and growth of the
characters. Tony made bad decision after bad decision and she didn't learn from it, even though she proclaimed herself to be wiser in the ways of the world. She vacillated in her own make-believe-world and didn't grow up. The 'stays' of society and her family held her floating.
I can believe that Thomas Mann made an example of a family that didn't have any growth in it. There is nothing heroic, in the moral sense, in these people.
It began as an interesting family saga, but I found it too long....
edit: and of course; the context of that period is interesting and it is an advantage knowing this context. But a book has to be able to stand on his own feet as well.
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