The Magician

A Novel

By: Colm Toibin

Narrated by: Gunnar Cauthery

Length: 16 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

A New York Times Notable Book, Critic’s Top Pick, and Top Ten Book of Historical Fiction

Named a Best Book of the Year by The Washington Post, NPR, Vogue, The Wall Street Journal, and Bloomberg Businessweek

​From one of today’s most brilliant and beloved novelists, a dazzling, epic family saga set across a half-century spanning World War I, the rise of Hitler, World War II, and the Cold War that is “a feat of literary sorcery in its own right” (Oprah Daily).

The Magician opens in a provincial German city at the turn of the 20th century, where the boy, Thomas Mann, grows up with a conservative father, bound by propriety, and a Brazilian mother, alluring and unpredictable. Young Mann hides his artistic aspirations from his father and his homosexual desires from everyone. He is infatuated with one of the richest, most cultured Jewish families in Munich, and marries the daughter Katia. They have six children. On a holiday in Italy, he longs for a boy he sees on a beach and writes the story Death in Venice. He is the most successful novelist of his time, winner of the Nobel Prize in literature, a public man whose private life remains secret. He is expected to lead the condemnation of Hitler, whom he underestimates. His oldest daughter and son, leaders of Bohemianism and of the anti-Nazi movement, share lovers. He flees Germany for Switzerland, France and, ultimately, America, living first in Princeton and then in Los Angeles.

In this “exquisitely sensitive” (The Wall Street Journal) novel, Tóibín has crafted “a complex but empathetic portrayal of a writer in a lifelong battle against his innermost desires, his family, and the tumultuous times they endure” (Time), and “you’ll find yourself savoring every page” (Vogue).

©2021 Colm Toibin (P)2021 Simon & Schuster Audio

Critic reviews

"Cauthery's crisp, warm voice carries listeners easily through the narrative, and his thoughtful characterizations populate the conversations with individuals, adding to the pleasures of Tóibín's writing." (AudioFile Magazine)

Wonderful book very well read

I enjoyed this very well narrated book about Thomas Mann and his writing so much. I read both Buddenbooks and the Magic Mountain so many years ago and this really motivates me to go back and read them again. I have often wondered seres about the life of Thomas Mann and this really gave me a path to imagine the man. An excellent book and very well narrated.

What it is to Write

Of course I loved it - a book about one of my favorite writers written by another of my favorite writers.

I'd Heard of Thomas Mann but Not What He Did

This was surprisingly good. It was a very interesting life. I haven't read any of his books yet but I found this biographical historic fiction to be engrossing.

Historically Fascinating

Strong characters, wonderfully drawn. I. Including the conflicts in their lives, and their difficulty in handling them.

Biographical Fiction a Tad Too Exhaustive

I’ve long admired Colm Toibin’s fiction, in particular his novel about Henry James, THE MASTER. In that book he focused on a poignant period of James’ life late in his career. In this novel, for some reason, he felt obliged to track Thomas Mann’s life from birth to age eighty, just before his death. The result comes off less a well-shaped novel with penetrating examination of personality than a dutiful account reliant on the timeline of history. I had the sensation for the first few hours that the novel had yet to really start, then I realized that this is what it was.

Captivating

Definitely worth the read if you are taken with Germany and it’s writers and poets.

Thomas Mann brought to life

Very believable fictional bio of Mann. It’s well balanced showing the real man with his faults and admirable qualities. The narrative often comes straight out of Mann’s mind though told in the third person. Well done and interesting. The audio version is excellent. Such excellent narration.

Complicated man

I don’t know how much license Toibin takes with Mann’s life but I found the story engrossing. I read The Magic Mountain in college and had no deep curiosity about Mann, but I very much enjoyed learning of the era and was surprised at the prominence of Mann within it. Thomas Mann is not always likeable and sometimes his callousness toward his children is difficult to understand, but Toibin allows us to see the forces behind him and what makes him so complicated. I’m thinking of going back to his books.

Excellent Production

Absolutely stellar production and story. Now I am ready to read Thomas Mann. This story exposed me to the world of Germans who left when the Nazi came to power. Will listen again.

Magical book

A masterpiece of sensitive prose and storytelling performed wonderfully by a talented narrator. Chapeaux again for colm toibin.