Fiction

I think the lives and stories of these human beings are real for their time and their spirit timeless. The philosophical arguments are striking, historic, and, as the writer meant for them to be, humorous and sometimes contradictory. The arguments between Settembrini and Naphta are crazy. I thought it was fun watching our protagonist referee between them while his cousin stood mute at the side dreaming of becoming a soldier. But yeah, sometimes you have to dig a bit. I loved that.