The Magician by Colm Toibin is a novelized version of the life of Thomas Mann, who was a famous German novelist. Thomas' family believed he had no talent and should become a clerk. His father had died, and his mother was a little odd. He had guardians, whom his father had selected, and they determined that the life of a clerk was for him. He disagreed and convinced them all to let him go live with his older brother, a poet, both supported by family money. He took much of his life and put it in his novels, which upset the people involved but her continued on. He was fascinated with Jewish life and eventually married a young Jewish woman who came from a very artsy family. She had a twin brother, and seemed to have an odd relationship with him. Mann struggled with homosexuality his entire life, but he and his wife had four children. Since he was secular Jewish and married to a Jew, it became expedient for him to flee once the Nazis came into power. He settled in the United States.

This was a compelling novel, but then again, it had a compelling topic. It seemed to point out what an odd life was to be had if you were no middle class, but you were not wealthy. Mann was a brilliant writer, if not entirely mainstream. Toibin did a brilliant jog with this piece of historical fiction. It was readable, accurate, well-researched, and intriguing. Mann is not necessarily a popular author in modern times, but maybe he should be. Based on this book he definitely should be. A brilliant job by Colm Toibin.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of The Magician by Simon and Schuster, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. #netgalley #simonandschuster #themagician

Brilliant and Intensely Flawed

Similar to many studies of histories, Thomas Mann is also anti-Hitler, comprehends the rudiments of war and is hiding something, too.

In this excellent historical novel. Toibin paints a distinct picture of Mann, he is very careful regarding certain philosophies which could be questioned. Mann, himself, grew up with a conservative father (similar to many progressives). His father was detached and no one was sure what he wanted However, his family, including Thomas and equally famous brother, Heinrich, was stunned when his Will was read, demoting his sons out of his business and providing little for his wife.

Thomas Mann had early hints of is own homosexual tendencies. However, he married Katia Pringsheim, who was the most interesting family member and person in this book. She was the daughter of a Jewish mathematician; he was loud and demonstrative with his feelings, especially his fears. Nazism and Hitler play a major role in their lives. Toibin does an excellent interpretation of the slow but ultimate move to anti-Semitism. Germany showed no mercy in either of their Wars.

Katia had six children, and may have suffered from tuberculosis. She was sometimes weak and ill but she carried on as Thomas’ office manager and the first reader of his novels. Katia’s insights were the most interesting part of the book. Her reactions to their children’s ideas and behaviors illuminated her intelligence. I found an interview of Katia when she was in her 90’s, I think, she was remarkable. I played it over and over.

Mann was brilliant but filled with angst. He was also one of the intellectuals and writers who disagreed with Hitler but was afraid to step up. Instead, like many others, he and his family fled Germany and temporarily lived in other European countries and finally in the United States.

Toibin’s characterization of Mann was fascinating. He was the winner of Nobel Prize in literature. He was, without doubt, an extraordinary writer; he knew he had a special gift and intelligence and was able to weave novels but he persisted to have underlying psychological tension. He was a difficult subject to grasp and Toibin seemed to portray Mann’s intellect and proclivities with remarkable skill.

My gratitude to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this pre-published book. All opinions expressed are my own.

This is a fictional account of the life of Thomas Mann. Given the length of the book and the time period during which Thomas Mann loved, I had high hopes for this book. I love a good historical fiction saga. I went back and forth while reading this with the number of stars I was going to give. I started it thinking this was a definite 5 star, Then toward the early middle I thought it was definitely leaning towards 3 and ultimately I ended up giving it 4. You can see how well researched this book was and you can see what a fan of Thomas Mann Colm Tolbin is. The characters were well written and developed. That being said, none of the characters, Thomas included, were particularly interesting or likeable. Given the length of the book it’s hard to continue reading with great interest when you don’t like or really care about anyone. I’m also not sure I cared for the writing style, which made the book longer than necessary. But given the research and the obvious respect for the time period and subject I would still recommend this one to certain readers, particularly fans of Thomas Mann or European history buffs.

This is a biographical novel about the German writer [[Thomas Mann]], and Tóibín sticks to Mann's life, using his authorial presence to create dialog and emotion rather than to play with the established facts. The portrait he paints is of a divided man, on the one hand, a man whose sexual preferences are forbidden and who has friends and family who regularly transgress against the accepted norms of traditional German society and, on the other, who is deeply conventional himself and is often indecisive when it comes to the moments when he could use his reputation and voice to influence events.

Mann is born into a conventional, upper class northern German family at the end of the 19th century, but his world is altered when his father dies when he is a teenager. The family is no longer affluent and his mother moves them to Munich, where she tries to set him up in a career. But Thomas wants the freedom and ease he sees his brother enjoying as a writer and decides to follow the same path. Mann's life is lived during tumultuous times in German history and his own views move from support for Germany in the First World War, to bitter disillusionment at the defeat, followed by the weird days of the Munich Soviet Republic and the later rise of the Nazi Party, which has the extended Mann family separated as they flee in different directions, or hunker down and hope for it all to pass. Mann ends up first in Princeton, NJ and then in California, growing older, indecisive on the best path forward, concerned and disappointed in his children and worried that his early diaries will fall into Nazi hands.

Mann isn't the most exciting of characters, despite the times he lived through, but the novel isn't boring. It is measured, beautifully written and has a deliberate pacing that made the novel oddly soothing to read. There is something so pleasant about a book that demands the reader slow down and just take the novel as it is. I suspect that those readers who have read Mann's works will get a great deal more out of it, but I enjoyed my time with this book and was sorry to have finished it.

Thomas Mann, acclaimed author of Death in Venice and many other books and novellas, is the focus of this book where fiction and nonfiction blend. This book begins with Thomas as a child growing up in a provincial German city. His father was conservative, and his mother was an alluring Brazilian woman. From an early age, he wanted to write. He was creative and artistic but that did not go over well with his father. He had to hide his writing and his sexuality. He eventually married Katia Pringshelm and they have six children. It is his children who referred to him as "The Magician"

Mann repressed his sexuality and crushes. One thing he did not repress was his writing ability and his success enabled him to move his family various times. He was a man who saw and experienced many things - political upheaval, world wars I & II, suicide, loss of loved ones, and success in his field. What a life he must have led. Hiding his homosexuality, having hidden crushes while being a husband and father in a world in constant upheaval.

There was a tremendous amount of research that went into the writing of this book. It is very evident, and this is the strength of this novel. What I would have liked more of Mann's thoughts, feelings, etc. This would have made this book more interesting to me.

I was all over the place with reviewing this book. The writing is top notch, and the research is impressive, but parts fell flat for me. I enjoyed this but didn't love it. I have never read a book by Thomas Mann - I know *gasp* perhaps if I had been a fan or even familiar with his work, I may have enjoyed this book more. I felt that I was being told about Mann (which I was) but I didn't really feel as if his personality shined through. I guess one could say that I wanted a little more pizzazz. I would have loved seeing Mann's inner thoughts and struggles. This is a long book and it felt long at times. Again, a little Pizzazz would have made this better for me.

Some are enjoying this more than I did so please read their reviews as well.

Thank you to Scribner and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is a great comprehensive (albeit imagined) look at Thomas Mann’s life during some of modern history’s most trying and tumultuous times. A patient reader will gain insight into the man and his motives and possibly even motivations for his works (I can only surmise here because I haven’t read any of his work).

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review.

This book takes you on a journey asking critical questions about home & identity along the way. I loved it & found it thoroughly captivating. At times, however, it felt more like a biography detailing a series of events instead of a novel telling a story. Thankfully the subject matter was interesting enough that it was easy to barrel through in spite of that. I think this book would have benefitted greatly if it were narrower in scope. It spans such a great amount of time that it could never dig too deeply into any one event. I wish it had just focused one on part of Mann’s life instead.

A reader can easily see that Toibin’s fictional account of the life of Thomas Mann was a true labor of love. The book is comprehensive, covering all aspects of Mann’s life and work from youth through old age. However, comprehensive might not necessarily reveal an honest portrait of the man. Toibin’s Mann practices the ultimate sleight of hand in the face of reality.

The progression of Mann’s story is somewhat awkward and uneven. Readers are presented with brief snippets of his life experiences, while being suddenly fast-forwarded to a new phase in his life, whether it be a meeting of new acquaintances, a piece of writing, a family situation, or some other significant moment. Some readers might find the sudden shifts in time initially disorienting, as the reader tries to catch up to speed with the present moment, while one’s thoughts might still be stuck with the seemingly more recent past.

While the story is mainly told from Mann’s point of view, he arguably seems ethereal, living in a constantly imaginative, or other-worldly and detached state, grounded only by the strong personalities of his family and acquaintances around him.

At times, Toibin seems to be trying to model his writing style after Mann’s—subtle satire mixed with an ambivalent and contradictory sense of intimacy. There are moments, however when Toibin forgets himself, using modern turns of phrase that were not in existence at the point of time being described. There is also a brief moment when Toibin suddenly switches the point of view from Thomas to his wife, Katia—a turn that might also disconcert some readers.

Hopefully, Toibin’s work will interest readers in further exploring the works of Thomas Mann, or potentially revisit his works, to review them from the context of his personal life.

The Magician by Colm Toibin is a lush literary account of the German author Thomas Mann as he strives to escape from the passions that bind him and pursue his muse. Heavily centered around his acclaimed novel Death in Venice, The Magician is fall 2021's newest literary tour-de-force and is perfect for fans of any genre, particularly the classics.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Very interesting and informative novel based on the life of Thomas Mann, Katia Mann, and their children. I learned a great deal about them through this historical novel.

I have long wanted to read the works of Thomas Mann. Perhaps now I shall. This reaches deep into the world of the Mann family and into the psyche of Thomas himself. Tobin has researched, as well as reimagined a prominent German family that had produced one of the finest writers of that time. The book follows as Mann explores and creates, dreams and loves deeply. Atmospheric, chilling at times - a story of Germany in tumult thru the eyes of Mann.

Colm Toibin brilliantly wrote The Magician which blended fact with fiction. It was an intimate exploration of the life of the intriguing and talented German author, Thomas Mann, best know for his literary contributions of Death in Venice and The Magic Mountain. Mann was the recipient of The Nobel Prize. Toibin traced Thomas Mann’s life beginning in 1891 and followed it through both World Wars, the rise of Hitler and the Nazis, as he escaped to America and finally came full circle when he made his way back to Europe.near the end of his life in the 1950’s.

Thomas Mann grew up in Lubeck, Germany with two brothers and two sisters. He was the second oldest son of a Brazilian born mother and domineering and strict German father. Thomas’s family was well liked, respected and lived a comfortable life. His father died at a young age of natural causes. Thomas’s homosexuality was quite apparent from the early years when he was in his teens. His mother wanted Thomas to learn a business after his father died. Thomas had no interest in doing this. He was determined to become a writer.

Thomas had been infatuated with Katia and her twin brother for years. He was able to get an introduction to Katia and an invitation to a party at her family’s home. Thomas was determined to marry Katia and she finally relented. They had six children together during their marriage. Katia and Thomas had an understanding from the very beginning. His novels earned Thomas recognition and eventually fame. He became a Noble Prize recipient. Thomas and Katia lived a quiet but comfortable life at their home in Munich. When Hitler came to power, Thomas and Katia knew that they had to escape Germany. Their lives were in jeopardy. Fortunately, Thomas, Katia and their children were able to escape from Germany. Thomas and Katia immigrated to America and settled in Princeton, New Jersey. Thomas was a man of routine and his routine rarely differed. His reputation and recognition became greater with each novel he wrote and each lecture he delivered. Eventually, Thomas and Katia moved to California and then to Switzerland when the repercussions of the Cold War became too taxing for the family. Thomas did visit Germany near the end of his life.

This was Colm Toibin’s tenth novel but the first that I have read. I was impressed with his execution, writing and research. He offered a window into Thomas Mann’s life and circumstances. I learned a lot about Thomas Mann as a person and the conflicts he struggled with throughout his life. His children and siblings were described in great detail. I enjoyed reading The Magician and recommend it very highly. Publication is September 7, 2021.

Thank you to Scribner Publishers for allowing me to read this digital version of The Magician through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Alternate title suggestion for The Magician: The Never-Ending Saga of Thomas Mann. Oh, baby, this was a long book! Chronological in its arrangement, The Magician imagines the life of Nobel Prize winning author, Thomas Mann using rich details from biographies and journals to piece together an epic transatlantic story of a writer who seemed to live in his mind and hide his true self. Historical insight abounds - and showcases a respected and successful author who had tremendous focus on his career, but, maybe, was too selfish or too afraid to be authentic. The story is compelling and there is constant inquiry into the forces that shaped the decades of writing offered by an author who conjured questions of propriety, offering a narrative for a changing world while uncertain as to how he, himself, fit into it. Literally and figuratively, Mann was a man without a country. His colorful family, impossible connections, and exclusive lifestyle make the book worthwhile. But you have to commit - and that's a really big theme, so be prepared.

Two words: Colm Toibin [why I requested].

That said: full disclaimer--I would have benefitted much more if I had known more about Thomas Mann. I felt that it was a disservice to be ill-informed. This is an incredibly detailed book of historical fiction--and long.

This novel tells the story of how Mann found "...himself on the wrong side of history in the First World War, cheerleading the German army, but [to] have a clear vision of the future in the second, anticipating the horrors of Nazism. He would have six children and keep his homosexuality hidden..."

Mann wrote highly acclaimed novels: Death in Venice, Buddenbrooks, and The Magic Mountain, are his most famous. He won the Nobel Prize in literature. He left Germany, moved to Switzerland, then United States--first to teach at Princeton, then moving to the Pacific Palisades, then back to Switzerland. There is much on his conflict with being German and the direction of Germany and Nazism.

Informative and interesting, but SO DREARY and I was never really engaged [hence the rating--in distinct minority].

The novel traces Mann from a young boy in Lubeck--the infuences of his Brazilian mother, and stern, businessman father, to his budding,then successful career, and later life.

There is so much in this book! His marriage to Katia [secular Jewish, but...] and their six children--all stories in themselves. His brother Heinrich. Her brother Klaus and many, many more other characters including Mahler, Wagner, and interactions with other German emigres. Insert McCarthyism. Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, Agnes and Eugene Alfred Meyer, W. H. Auden. I could go on and on.

Though I am a former employee of the Library of Congress, and know some interesting factoids about the Library, I learned that Mann was a consultant in Germanic literature there.

It's Toibin, so the writing is excellent. A sentence says so much:

"They were neither married nor single. They bore each other a sort of mild dislike."
"Her silence seemed like an artful way of asserting herself."
"Part of the daily grind of exile was that it was necessary to do a great deal of smiling and to say very little."

In sum, I think this book was not for me. But, if you are interested in Mann, persevere.

As he did with Henry James in The Master (2004) Colm Tóibín again tackles the complex life of a literary master, this time German writer Thomas Mann (1875-1955). Beginning in 1891 Lubeck, Germany, while Mann is a teenager and ending during a return visit to Lubeck after his eightieth birthday, Tóibín’s latest novel, The Magician (Sept. 2021), dramatizes Mann’s life, bringing him alive to readers within the context of parents and siblings, wife and children, and a changing world.

More an observer and thinker than an active participant in life, the introspective Mann views himself in comparison to others around him, often finding himself falling short. Criticized as a child for his lack of studiousness, viewed as less successful than his older writer brother Heinrich, Mann craves and seeks approval throughout life.

When his siblings and Brazilian mother are forced to leave a nice home and Lubeck due to terms in his father’s will, they relocate to Munich where Mann eventually marries into a wealthy Jewish family that is not without its own peculiarities.

The backdrop to his life spans World War I, Hitler’s rise to power, World War II, and McCarthyism in the U.S. as Thomas Mann and family relocate several times, leaving Munich for Switzerland and eventually making their way to New Jersey and California, then back to Switzerland. As Tóibín tells Mann’s story, he fills in the history—world history, family history, literary history, even a bit of music history.

He paints a portrait of a brilliant but conflicted man, whose life influences--even inspires--his writing and whose attraction to handsome young men is at odds with his role as a husband and father of six children, some of whom grow up with artistic talents and sexual desires similar to their father’s.

Both a master and a magician, Tóibín vividly portrays a conflicted man’s life, bringing Mann’s story to a satisfying end during a brief return trip to Lubeck, gradually being rebuilt after the ravages of war. At the back of the book, Tóibín provides a wide-ranging list of sources.

My thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for an advance reader copy of this highly recommended biographical and historical novel. Tóibín has made me want to reread some of Mann’s novels and to open the others for the first time.

An epic journey...

"The Magician" by Colm Tóibín is a fictional portrayal of German author Thomas Mann covering a history from pre-war Germany in the 1890's through post-cold war America. It is a fascinating insight into Mann and his colorful family-- particularly when they were forced to witness the Nazi takeover and had to abandon their home. Politics would also follow them to America after the war as they were subjected to the wave of anti-Communism.

In Germany Mann was initially reluctant to voice his opposition to Hitler or even get involved in the political mess developing there. Fearful for his reputation, he hid his homosexuality throughout his life, even as his children were unafraid to flaunt their very open lifestyles. The Thomas Mann we see is a lover of art and beauty, yet he channels most of his passion into his Pulitzer Prize winning writing, electing to project a detached personae on the outside. The problem is we do not delve into his actual work at all. The title "The Magician" refers to the nickname his children gave him for his ability to create magic in his literature-- a magic we are not exposed to from an otherwise guarded and distant man.

This saga covers a considerable amount of time, an epic history of a spirited family and how they were sucked into the political and social tidal waves of the age. Be prepared for a challenging but rewarding read. 4 stars.

I am grateful to Colm Tóibín, Scribner Books, and NetGalley for providing the Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review. #TheMagician #NetGalley

"The Magician" is to be published on September 7, 2021 and this review will be posted on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, BookBub, Facebook and Twitter on that day.

The life and works of Thomas Mann—the greatest German writer alive at the height of World War II, winner of the Nobel Prize of Literature— come to life in The Magician, from his teenage school years in Munich in the last decade of the 19th century, to a raging Europe and convulsive America in the first half of the 20th century, along with the personalities that shone brightest during that period.

The Magician is an excellent novel, literary yet accessible and page-turner-y. Despite its 512 pages, it won’t feel like heavy reading at any moment during the narrative. Since the Manns were very artistic and flamboyant, and their lifestyles mimic-ed that, the novel may not be to everyone’s taste, though it’s their loss really; Colm Tóibín walks a fine line between propriety and deep eroticism without sacrificing neither. Also, this novel is a veritable who is who of the personalities that dominated the art, science, and political scene of the era, such as Bertold Bretch, Gustav Mahler, Albert Einstein, and Eleanor Roosevelt.

For a novel that is every inch about the life, times, and works of Thomas Mann, the man is as much the center of the narrative as is his family...And what a family that was! A woman (Katia Mann) who indulges her man in his lurid inner world yet is capable of maintaining a firm grasp on her marriage and her own identity within that union, three people with very fluid sexualities (Thomas, Erica, and Klaus Mann), two writers of stature (Heinrich and Thomas Mann), one playwright (Klaus Mann), two actresses (Erica and Carla Mann), one professional musician (Michael Mann) ... All with diverging opinions on art and politics! There are times when The Magician feels surprisingly intimate, almost voyeuristic (as in the descriptions of Thomas Mann’s male fantasies), at other times introspective (as when detailing his lack of political foresight both in the role of Germany in WWI and the rise of Nazism leading up to WWII), and yet at other times it is outrageously funny thanks to the antics of the Mann siblings.

This is by far the best novel I have read this year. I enthusiastically recommend it!

Disclaimer: I received from the publisher a free e-book via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Even if you know nothing about the published work of Thomas Mann you will enjoy this "novel". It is an intimate story of a man and his family who lived through interesting times in Germany and were involved with other well-known historical figures such as Albert Einstein and Christopher Isherwood. I will go back and read The Master for that same insider information about an important author.

This is a fictionalized account of the life of Thomas Mann. It made me realize how little I knew about Thomas Mann, despite having a couple of his books in my possession. For example, I thought he lived about a hundred years before he actually did. Having read this book, I am thoroughly fascinated with the entire family.

One thing that stuck out to me was his perspective, as a German (with a nominally Jewish wife), of WWI and WWII. Granted, he was living in exile for the entirety of WWII.

The entire book is interesting and well written. I definitely recommend it.

The Magician by Colm Toibin covers the life of Thomas Mann, from birth to death. You begin the story with Mann as a child, listening to stories of his mother's childhood, and you end the story with Mann remembering the stories his mother told him of his homeland. Mann's story ebbs and flows in the way that a full long life does, deftly handled with Toibin's words. From the unification of Germany, the Great War, the Second World War, the partition of Germany, Mann's story touches on many different parts of 20th century history as well as the shifting tides of culture across the Western World. There isn't much that is left out of The Magician; family dynamics, political identity, responsibility to our country and our values, sexual orientation, all play a role in the story, with various members of the Mann family pushing and pulling Thomas Mann's course.
The book is over 500 pages long, and at times it felt tedious, though so much was covered, it's hard to consider what would best be left out. If there's a weakness here, it's surprisingly, the portions where Toibin imagines Mann's thought process while developing the ideas for his books. These sections feel forced and speculative in a way that the rest of the novel manages to escape being.
Altogether an interesting read for anyone interested in 20th century European history or arts.