Alexander (1929) was Mann's sixth novel which, given he was born in 1906, is a measure of whar a prodigy he was. On the one hand he didn't exactly have to fight for publishers' attention, being the son of Thomas and the nephew of Heinrich. On the other, he didn't get on with his father, being gay, a heavy user of drugs, and somewhat on the socialisr side politically.
Only Mephisto (1936) really remains in the literary consciousness, mainly on account of the film. If Alexander is typical of his other work then this neglect is downright scandalous. Had I not already looked up his dates I would have thought Alexander the work of much older writer. Hesse's Siddhartha sprang to mind; Hesse was forty-five when he wrote it. Alexander has something of the same episodic nature. The battles are background matters as Mann focuses on the Macedonian prodigy's sexual problems and his inability to establish and keep friendships as his empite grows. Essentially Mann's Alexander is a superhero in search of a secret identity. He browses the cultures of the vanquished but only to see if he can fit himself in there. He takes on the exotic, the freakish. In every sense he is trying to determine how far he can go.
I was captivated. This is a beautiful book that should be much better known. I really like the presentation of this Hesperus edition. The translation by David Carter seems stylish and fine, but the punctuation is too often disastrous. Proof-reading required. On the plus side, the management of notes is spot-on.
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