The Artist's Arsenal by Melvin Tess

The Artist's Arsenal (c.1950)

Melvin E. Tess (American, 1926-     )

Oil on canvas panel

20 x 16 in.

Death in Venice by Thomas Mann

New York: Harper Collins, 2004

When I decided to revisit Thomas Mann's Death in Venice (originally published in german in 1912), the first question was "Who's translation?" There have been a number of new translations in the last two decades, so I read a few of them -- much to the amusement of some in my life and the confusion of others. Michael Henry Heim's 2004 translation is accessible and embraces the inherent sensuality of the work. In it, Aschenbach feels like a fully formed human, not the two-dimensional figure I remembered.

In Michael Cunningham's introduction to this translation of Death in Venice he suggests that this novella is probably more appreciated by a slightly older reader. Having first read Death in Venice in my early 20s and now again a couple of decades later, I couldn't agree more. Cunningham's commentary on the nature of translation also put me in the correct frame of mind to appreciate the complex choices that are made when attempting to convey the story and the feeling in another language.

Clayton Koelb's 1994 translation for the Norton Critical Edition includes Mann's notes and a half-dozen essays. One of these essays, Why is Tadzio a Boy?: Perspectives on Homoeroticism in Death in Venice by Robert Tobin provides an analysis of the text through a gay lens. I found this essay invaluable as a companion to my most recent reading of this beautiful novella.

Bibliographies & Ratings: Cory (IV); Garde (PRIMARY, **); Mattachine Review (IV); Young (2485, *)