Book Musik 007 - "Doctor Faustus" by Thomas Mann

Tosh & Kimley tackle a work of fiction on this episode - "Doctor Faustus" by Thomas Mann. A twentieth-century, German composer (very loosely based on Arnold Schoenberg) makes a devilish deal. We get into the esoteric weeds on this one and focus on the themes of what it means to be an artist in society and why the work of an artist is so mysterious and mythologized. A little Nietzschean nihilism, some blood, sweat and tears and a backdrop of warfare drive this conversation. This book is far too deep for us to cover in full, but we have fun scratching a bit of the surface.

Theme music: "Behind Our Efforts, Let There Be Found Our Efforts" by LG17

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bookmusik.substack.com