Thomas Mann began writing Der Zauberberg, The Magic Mountain, in 1913. He first planned a short novella. The novel appeared in 1924, in two volumes. In its foreword, the narrator announces how he will tell the story. “Wir werden sie ausführlich erzählen, genau und gründlich.” We will tell it in detail, precisely and thoroughly. He rejects the idea that a story is boring because it is long. He leans rather to the view “daß nur das Gründliche wahrhaft unterhaltend sei,” that only what is thorough is truly entertaining. He warns that the seven days of a week will not be enough to tell it.