Read "Buddenbrooks" by Thomas Mann online for free on Textopian. Full text with search, annotations, highlights, and AI-powered reading aids.
Jean Jacques Hoffstede's verdict on the two sons of Consul Buddenbrook undoubtedly hit the mark.
Thomas had been marked from the cradle as a merchant and future member of the firm. He was on the modern side of the old school which the boys attended; an able, quick-witted, intelligent lad, always ready to laugh when his brother Christian mimicked the masters, which he did with uncanny facility. Christian, on the classical side, was not less gifted than Tom, but he was less serious. His special and particular joy in life was the imitation, in speech and manner, of a certain worthy Marcellus Stengel, who taught drawing, singing, and some other of the lighter branches.