# The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann

5 Hacker News commenters recommended The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 1 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Readers call it funny and memorable, but critics find it slow, boring and hard to finish.

## What people warn about

- Slow and boring (3 comments): "but I find it so dragged and boring, I just can’t get myself to read it for long." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46486899)) "Well it was at that time no pleasure and boring." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46488805)) "I just found it remarkably boring given the glowing reviews." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46486679))
- Hard to get through (2 comments): "but I find it so dragged and boring, I just can’t get myself to read it for long." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46486899)) "I found this book (idk which English translation) unreadable when I looked at it in college." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46486479))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://hackerapproved.com/p/crime-and-punishment.md): 39 recommend
- [The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://hackerapproved.com/p/brothers-karamazov.md): 28 recommend
- [Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace](https://hackerapproved.com/p/infinite-jest.md): 26 recommend
- [The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://hackerapproved.com/p/great-gatsby.md): 24 recommend
- [Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand](https://hackerapproved.com/p/atlas-shrugged.md): 23 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1446468763?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9781446468760) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann", https://hackerapproved.com/p/magic-mountain/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).