“As with everything Colm Tóibín sets his masterful hand to, The Magician is a great imaginative achievement — immensely readable, erudite, worldly and knowing, and fully realized.”
NO MAJOR SPOILERS
Just finished The Magician by Colm Toibin. Audio version.
This fictionalized version of the life of the Nobel Prize winner for literature, Thomas Mann is a terrific insight into a great writer who lived in tumultuous times, through World War 2 and the Cold War.
Mann was a closet homosexual who married into a very rich family. His wife Katia and he produced six children, all with different political and social views.
Some of his children were also homosexual. Though his wife apparently knew of his secret desires, their marriage lasted until his death.
Most of Mann’s great works are based on his personal life experiences and these are showed thoroughly throughout the book.
The book goes into the hard choices that Mann had to make about his beloved Germany which had elected Adolph Hitler, and his own disdain for the man.
He and his family were in quite a hard place as he attempted to leave Germany while he still could.
The stories are fascinating and very heart felt.
His search for a permanent home and to bring his family together, a family with such a wide range of views is staggering in its tale.
This book was so interesting. A really good look into the life of a great writer and his fight with his inner turmoils.
Highly recommended.
Reviewed by:
Monique Battaglia
Added 8th June 2022
