[.ca] Thomas Mann: Tonio Kroger (ISBN 185399345X)

The Myth of the Bliss of Ignorance:
The blessing of the simple is that they will never have to endure the harsh responsibility and horror that knowledge and understanding bring, but it is also their curse because they will never experience life as completely as we. Tonio is transfixed by rays from the sun, the simple cannot be so. This story's intention is to give strength to those who suffer the isolation of genius. Rather then give into the dispair that seems to seep from every pore of our lives and bleed at every stabbing thrust from the simple, we should view them in their simplicity with gentle envy, faint contempt...and no little innocent bliss.This book is one of the most worthwhile reads I have happened upon in quite some time. Don't wait until you are too old for it to save you from your depression. Its lines have returned to me time and time again and saved me.