Doctor Faustus

«Doctor Faustus» — a novel by the outstanding German writer Thomas Mann, Nobel Prize laureate in literature. In this book, the eternal plot of a genius who sold his soul to the devil is transferred to the first half of the 20th century. Composer Adrian Leverkühn, a brilliant madman, sees himself as the second Faust, chosen and cursed, and structures his life so that it resembles the old legend. In attempts to achieve fame and immortality, Leverkühn repeats the fate of his country: the novel, started during World War II and completed soon after its end, became a parable about the historical fate of Germany in the 20th century. Mann admitted that Leverkühn — a man «carrying all the pain of the era» — was his favorite character, and this book the writer called «the most intimate confession».