The Magician, by Colm Tóibín

 

I thoroughly enjoyed this highly-researched novel that imagines the life of Thomas Mann, from his childhood in Lübeck, Germany through his moves to Munich, Switzerland, the U.S., and then back to Switzerland for his final years. Mann lived through the first world war, the Munich Revolution, and the rise of Nazism. He left Germany for good in 1933, to take up residence in Switzerland, but as war approached, he left Switzerland to take a post at Princeton University, later settling in southern California. Mann's wife and six children are prominent in this book; they are quite a set of characters. The children are writers, actors, editors, agitators, and much more.

While I have never read much of Mann beyond some assigned readings in college, I think Tóibín really brings the author to life with this book. Tóibín’s writing is really top-notch; he crafts sentences with care and draws out the plot at a pace that keeps the reader engaged and curious. I loved the way he evokes the late-nineteenth and twentieth century history and culture of Germany, including the family dynamics and pressures placed on them. As the story progresses through the 20^th century with Mann moving to the U.S., the book sheds light on all of the historical developments of the time and their impact on Mann, his wife, and their families