The Magician
Book description
THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2022 RATHBONES FOLIO PRIZE
From one of our greatest living writers comes a sweeping novel of unrequited love and exile, war and family.
The Magician tells the story of Thomas Mann, whose life was filled with great acclaim and contradiction. He…
Why read it?
1 author picked The Magician as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
This novel's central character is a fictionalization, not of another character, but of an author, Thomas Mann. Tóibín presents the known outer details of Mann’s life well—his work, his fame, and the cultural and social upheavals of 20th-century Germany—but I find the intimate inner life of the great writer most fascinating.
Drawing on Mann’s published works as well as his posthumously published diaries, Tóibín can enter Mann’s mind and heart as he interacts with his wife, his brother, his children, particularly Klaus (nicknamed Essi), his sexuality, and above all, with his forbidden love for the young Tadzio, the love interest…
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Once the Army discharges him following World War II, Layken returns to Missouri to find his legacy in shambles and…
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