Death in Venice

Thomas Mann

Jan 2026 · Parolita Libro · Narrated by Lee Smalley

Audiobook

3 hr 13 min

Unabridged

Eligible

This book will become available on January 1, 2026. You will not be charged until it is released.

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About this audiobook

In Death in Venice, Thomas Mann crafts a masterful tale of inner turmoil and aesthetic longing. Gustav von Aschenbach, a distinguished writer facing creative and existential decline, journeys to Venice in search of renewal. Amid the city's languid atmosphere and looming decay, he becomes captivated by the ethereal beauty of a young boy - an infatuation that leads him into a profound psychological descent.

Set against the backdrop of a city gripped by an invisible plague, this novella explores the tension between discipline and desire, intellect and instinct. Mann's lyrical prose and philosophical depth offer a timeless reflection on the human condition and the perilous allure of idealized beauty.

About the author

Thomas Mann was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1929. Called "in a class by himself" by Oprah Daily, and "a master in his field" by The New York Times, Edoardo Ballerini is an award-winning and celebrated narrator of audiobooks. Born in Pittsburgh, Burke was educated at Ohio State and Columbia universities. During his early career, he became involved with a number of little magazines, including Broom and Secession. He also wrote for The Dial and The Nation as a music critic. His greatest fame, however, has been as a literary critic. Omnivorously eclectic, Burke has found in the analysis of human symbolic activities a key to the largest cultural issues. For Burke, literature is the most prominent and sophisticated form of "symbolic action," one that provides "equipment for living" by allowing us to try out hypothetical strategies for dealing with the endless variety of human situations and experiences. Human society demands some principle of order, but the language and reason that create order can fall into rigid abstractions that can be destructive and violently imposed. Literature shows us an image of sacrifice, forgiveness, and flexibility that plays an important role in keeping society functioning flexibly. Burke's writing is extensive, complex and wide ranging, but also unique and uniquely important among current critical approaches.

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