BuddenbrooksBuddenbrooks
Score Classic
What it's about
Four generations of the Buddenbrooks, a wealthy merchant family in the German port city of Lübeck, from the 1830s to the 1870s. At the start they are prosperous and proud. Over the following decades the business falters, marriages fail, and each generation seems less suited than the last to the hard-headed world of trade, until the family's last heir, a delicate boy named Hanno, cares only for music.
Why it's worth reading
Thomas Mann wrote it in his twenties, and it was singled out when he won the Nobel Prize. It's on the Bokklubben list of the 100 greatest books, and it's one of the great family sagas, ironic, sad and full of life.
You'll love it if you liked
War and Peace
Anna Karenina
East of EdenGood to know
It's long and leisurely, with plenty of dinners, business deals and family gossip. Tony Buddenbrooks, the irrepressible daughter, is the reason many readers love it.
By the numbers
- Readers79 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics55 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller17 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
Why it made the list
Reads as
Moving, Epic
More by Thomas Mann
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Quick answers
Is Buddenbrooks worth reading?
Yes. Thomas Mann wrote it in his twenties, and it was singled out when he won the Nobel Prize. It ranks #574 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 77.5 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Buddenbrooks about?
Four generations of the Buddenbrooks, a wealthy merchant family in the German port city of Lübeck, from the 1830s to the 1870s. At the start they are prosperous and proud. Over the following decades the business falters, marriages fail, and each generation seems less suited than the last to the hard-headed world of trade, until the family's last heir, a delicate boy named Hanno, cares only for music.
How long does it take to read Buddenbrooks?
About 19 hours (768 pages), or about 5 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after Buddenbrooks?
If you liked it, try War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy or East of Eden by John Steinbeck.