Review: The Magician by Colm Toibin

The Magician tells the story of Thomas Mann, whose life was filled with great acclaim and contradiction. He would find himself on the wrong side of history in the First World War, cheerleading the German army, but 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; he was a man forever connected to his family and yet bore witness to the ravages of suicide. He would write some of the greatest works of European literature, and win the Nobel Prize, but would never return to the country that inspired his creativity.

Through one life, Colm Tóibín tells the breathtaking story of the twentieth century.

Review

The Magician is an ambitious novel written through the eyes of the prolific German writer Thomas Mann. It’s epic in scale, covering six decades and two world wars, and certainly isn’t a book to be rushed as there is so much to take in. It reads like a real labour of love from Toíbín; it’s clear that the life of Thomas Mann is a source of great interest for him, and it is as much a biography as a fictionalised interpretation. In the space of a few weeks I went from knowing nothing about Mann to being practically an expert on his work and extended family.

It’s a long, relatively gentle read, reflective perhaps of Thomas Mann’s nature. All the drama surrounding him, the wars etc, all happen off the page while Thomas sits in his study. The world changes rapidly around him, and yet he is still the same on the inside longing for the Germany of his youth, a place to which he can never return.

Another major theme of the novel is Mann’s homosexuality. Despite being a married father of six embedded deep within his novels are his private thoughts and infatuations with younger men. Whilst those around him feel free to express themselves, even his eldest children, Thomas chooses to keep his real self hidden, to uphold his stoic public image, a father figure for old Germany and the wider world.

The Magician is a fascinating, well crafted insight into a complex and introspective figure. Thanks to Viking Books for the review copy!