novel by Thomas Mann. german realism... the "pyschological" thing... whatever. a really good book. an affectionate look at the lives and loves of the early bourgeoisie. practially a soap opera. but the main thing is its realism. you have to read a book like this to even get a sense of the full meaning of "realism". i acctually liked this better than the magic mountain just because it wasn't so long and tedious.