By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson
MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — It was with an immense sense of achievement (and a huge sigh of relief) that I finished Thomas Mann’s Joseph and His Brothers which I read over a period of several months.
This weighty tome comprising almost 1,500 pages of closely-printed text, is in fact four novels combined, and took the author some 17 years to write before it was first published in German in 1944. The translation into English by John E. Woods, reads fluently and convincingly, presumably mirroring the original German.
The novel follows the course of the life of Joseph, beloved son of the patriarch Jacob, as outlined in the Bible, but goes into events in far greater detail. In fact, what is described in the first of the four novels, entitled ‘The Stories of Jacob,’ goes far back into the history of that venerable ancestor, describing in vivid similitude the events surrounding his life, his love for Rachel, his being cheated by Laban, Rachel’s father, and the way he turned the tables and eventually duped Laban to enrich himself.
Even Rachel, the beloved wife, tricked her father and stole his idols when Jacob decided to leave Laban’s household. In fact the entire history of our venerable ancestors seems to be one of cheating and being cheated (Mann describes how Rebecca cheated her husband Isaac to obtain the first-born blessing for her favorite, Jacob, rather than for his twin brother Esau).
True to the spare Biblical narrative, Joseph is described as a rather spoilt and arrogant youth, so that the opprobrium and envy felt by his ten older brothers is quite understandable. Their act of revenge is carried out in a way that seems almost justified, although the account of Joseph’s suffering in the dry well into which they have cast him succeeds in arousing the reader’s compassion. The entire process by which Joseph is drawn out of the pit and taken into Egypt is also described in convincing detail, giving the reader an insight into the way life was lived in the eastern Mediterranean region in ancient times.
Mann had evidently undertaken considerable research into the mores and morals of the various peoples who lived in the region in ancient times and even went there himself early in the 20th century.
But the most interesting part of the book comes in the latter part, entitled ‘Joseph in Egypt’ and ‘Joseph the Provider,’ focusing in immense detail on Joseph’s life in Egypt. We are first shown how Joseph becomes a servant in the house of Potiphar, a senior member of Pharaoh’s court, eventually becoming a trusted member of the household. We then witness his downfall and imprisonment, as well as the way his intelligence and charm enable him to eventually become Pharaoh’s deputy and the ruler of all Egpyt.
The bare bones of the story are told in the Bible, but Thomas Mann manages to bring each episode to life, embellishing every segment with extensive details about life in ancient Egypt, the splendor of its buildings, court rituals, decorative objects and the way of life of both the aristocracy and the general populace.
The book comes to its expected end with the drama of the events in Egypt, when the famine throughout the region impels Joseph’s brothers go to Egypt to buy grain, and the subsequent disclosure of his relationship by Joseph and the joyful (and tearful) family reconciliation. We are all familiar with the story but reading Thomas Mann’s account of how everything came about is both moving and exciting.
Thomas Mann’s inimical literary style, which won him the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1929 for his first great novel, Buddenbrooks, rings out throughout this book, too, with frequent interruptions of the narrative for philosophical asides or contemplations, often ironical in character, and altogether a voice that is timeless and rings true across the ages.
The length of the book causes it to weigh far more than the average novel (it is, after all, four books in one), so that the publisher of this hardback edition (issued in 2005) has taken pains to minimize its bulk by using especially thin paper, and close-printed Garamond typeface, because otherwise the book would have been twice as heavy. I have made it my personal mission to finish this book, despite the discomfort caused to my neck and shoulders, and have had to limit my reading time to the few hours of really good light, thus preventing further strain on my eyes. Nevertheless, I consider the effort well worthwhile as it has given me additional insight into the ancient world, which is in effect the world of our ancestors, and exposed me to a reading experience which is both unique and inspiring.
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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson is an author and freelance writer based in the Jerusalem suburb of Mevasseret Zion, Israel.