Colm Toibin has undeniably mastered the art of literary fiction. But how enjoyable his literary fiction is remains a highly subjective manner. I’ve read five of his books prior to this, including The Master, his other stab at a literary biography and by far my least favorite of the bunch. In fact, probably should have revisited that review before reading The Magician, but what can I say…in a rare feat of optimism I wanted this book to be…well, magical. But then again, you can’t fight the empirical facts and sure enough empirically it was decidedly less than. In fact, the easiest thing to do for me here would be to copy and paste my review of Toibin’s Master, because so much of it applies perfectly here. But no, I’m going to try to write something fresh about it…
So…this is a literary biographical imagining of the life of Thomas Mann, a highly respectable much lauded Pulitzer winning author I’ve never had any interest in reading. The main draw here was historical fiction aspect, Mann lived for 80 years and the novel follows his life pretty closely across time and oceans from the late 19th all the way through the mid 20th century. Through two world wars (though the main focus remains on the second one) and many ups and down of personal and professional life.
It’s all very intellectually interesting and undeniably well written and stylized. It’s also languidly paced, not overly emotionally engaging, occasionally soporific and with very deliberate and very obvious choices to focus on some things and skim others to represent its star in the best possible light. So your overall enjoyment of the novel will be directly proportional on your overall enjoinment of Mann as a man.
So Mann…Mann wrote very long, very heavy novels. Mann was a semi closeted (non practicing) gay with distinct (albeit allegedly unacted upon) pederastic leanings. Or maybe it’s safer to say that his homosexual tendencies ere very much of a classic Greek variety featuring a very pronounced fascination with youth. But for all his life Mann tried to choose the path of least resistance, so he married a woman from a very wealthy family and stayed married to her for something like fifty years, producing six children, which is prolific for any man, gay or straight, and as rendered in the book the marriage was a fairly happy one, though outside of a jokey explanation by his wife that she didn’t want her man to sleep around with other women like her father did, the appeal of Mann to Katia isn’t as immediate as her appeal to him. She was instrumental to him, as his partner, assistant, defender, etc. A number of their kids turned out variously useless, some inherited Mann’s homosexual tendencies, none inherited his writing talents. Throughout their life they frequently required his financial and otherwise support as did his brother, a writer himself, albeit of less success and from the opposing political spectrum.
Mann opposed fascism, but prevaricated in renouncing it (as he did navigating most turbulent politics waters of his time), always all too well aware of exigencies of staying a published author. Eventually (his wife was Jewish) he had to take a stance. The Manns immigrated and had a relatively cushy life in America, until he went and pissed off the powers that be by traveling to the communist East after the war. This was the only time Mann took a vehement stance of something political and it seemed almost out of character.
Throughout his life Mann helplessly ogled young men, enough so that people around him noticed, not enough that they minded. Who knows what sort of sadness that level of repression produces in a man. We won’t know, the novel (for all its length and details) oddly enough doesn’t really delve to that extent into its subject psyche. The overall impression is of skimming waters, almost deliberately refusing to go dive in. Subsequently, you get to know the autobiographical facts, but not really the person behind them. And you don’t necessarily like what you do get to know of him. For me, that was kind of frustrating. And so the novel dragged.
Because social media has so lamentably enabled people to be their worst rudest selves, I’ve recently been told by a random stranger on GR to learn to differentiate between a good novel and a novel that doesn’t work for me. I believe I can (thank you very much) and thus I can state with confidence that this is most likely a good book but one that didn’t really work for me. Toibin’s writing itself isn’t in question, it’s how uncompelling his technically flawless fiction comes out that leaves a lot to be desired. And it seems I do prefer it when he sticks to fictional subjects. I’m sure this’ll work differently for different readers. It’s definitely one of those books. Thanks Netgalley.

The Magician is destined to land on many Best Books lists for 2021. This sweeping family saga reveals the inner mind of a great writer, Nobel prize winning author Thomas Mann.

Each member of the Mann family deserves of book of his or her own. Colm Toibin can write the novels and Netflix can air the stories as the German version of Bridgerton. I want more!

Just as he explored the life of Henry James in THE MASTER, Toibin excavates the life of the famous German author Thomas Mann in THE MAGICIAN. This immersive novel begins in Mann's childhood and follows him through his formatives years, his marriage, and two world wars. Mann grew up in a time when homosexuality was not accepted, and the novel deals with his same-sex attraction. In denial about his sexuality, he marries a fascinating woman and begets several fascinating children. The novel also explores his very full inner life, where he often retreats to escape from the real world.

Anyone interested in the German author will probably enjoy this book. Those less familiar with Thomas Mann may not care as much. The book is a bit long, but the length is necessary to give full due to its subject. While I didn't enjoy this book as much as some of the author's other novels, I'm still glad I had the opportunity to learn more about Mann and his vivid inner life.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

I'd heard of Thomas Mann, but had no idea the impact he had on the literary world. Colm Toibin does a lovely job educating and entertaining the entire way. While I wasn't swept away with the plot, I am now fascinating with Mann and his entire family. Toibin clearly loves and admires his subject.

Good story, and likely to be enjoyed by historical fiction fans. This is a nice showcase of the author's talent. It's quite engaging and is surprising interesting given it's about an author. Recommended.

I really appreciate the ARC for review!!

It took me a long second to realize that this book is about "the" Thomas Mann, but not some random Thomas Mann. After passing that initial stage of "what was I thinking?". I dove right in! Even though it is a historical fiction, this book gives us pretty good idea about Thomas Mann's life, his choices, his travels (or exile), and his dilemmas. Starting with his adolescent days, the story takes us through Mann's sexual awakening, then his marriage and fatherhood while highlighting when and how his most renowned works came to life.

I don't know how it felt for him but having the family Mann had must be stimulating. Everyone had strong will, varying world view, and enough knowledge and awareness to form an opinion on numerous subjects. His brother, his wife, his children - they all shaped his life by opening his eyes and making him question his ideas and ideals. I would love to share a table with this crew.

If you are interested in historical fiction, especially WWII storied based on real life and more about saving artistic world from fascism and Nazism, you will enjoy this book. It's almost like reading a biography but having that fictional touch to it makes it more appealing.

I think many readers will be thrilled to see a new title from Mr. Toibin. Not my own personal style, but I gave it a try as I loved Brooklyn.

Thanks to Netgalley and Scribner for the early ebook. This is a fascinating novel by one of my favorite writers. We follow Noble Prize winning author Thomas Mann from his young life, where he has artistic aspirations he doesn’t know how to talk about and a strong attraction to men that he can barely admit to himself. He follows the one, becoming one of Germany’s most famous writers and tries to ignore the other by marrying and having six children. And what a wife and children he has. These are some of the most amusing and complex characters the author has ever written. By turns amusing, adventurous and exasperating. Thomas by contrast is seen as the slightly befuddled author who spends his days either writing or reading, but his inner life is so full. One of the best things that Toibin does is show how this great writer wrote some of his best books. It’s an exciting excavation of one great writer of how another great writer works. All this and on top of it all are two world wars and a complicated exile in America and so much more. Extraordinary work.

Colm Toibin is simply one of the great novelists and essay writers of the last three decades. His novels THE BLACKWATER LIGHTSHIP, THE MASTER, BROOKLYN and THE TESTAMENT OF MARY are each thrilling fictional journeys that inspire the reader well into their nighttime dreams.

With THE MAGICIAN, Toibin again works his impeccable magic. A fictional imagining of the life of Nobel-winning German author Thomas Mann, this book is searing in its’ insight into the mind of an artist forced to flee the Nazis who will destroy much of the world including Germany itself.

Though Thomas Mann is a writer who demands his mornings alone to create his great body of work, he is also a man of flesh and blood. And desire. As Toibin did with Henry James in THE MASTER, he brings out the repressed and not so depressed desires of a gay artist who happened to have a lasting, beautiful marriage and multi-talented children.

This is the best book I have read all year. I recommend it highly and without reservation.

Thank you, Mr. Toibin, for another stellar work. Bravo.

Colm Toibin characteristically weaves together history, culture, and tradition in a literary exploration of time, consequence, and family. I loved this focus on Thomas Mann, a figure from literature who is fascinating and notable. The Magician is a wonderful introduction or return visit with a masterful literary voice.