A review by escape_through_pages
The Magician by Colm Tóibín

informative reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

"...𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙖 𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙤𝙬."

"𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡 𝙞𝙨."

"𝙄𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙨𝙚, 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙬𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙖 𝙢𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙥𝙞𝙚𝙘𝙚..."

I begin with two confessions, I had not read a Colm Tóibín novel before this, worse still, I had not heard of Thomas Mann before Tóibín's introduction.

Thomas Mann was once considered the second most influential German, lagging only behind Einstein. Born in Germany in 1875, he became a famous writer in his twenties and won the Nobel prize for literature in 1929. He lived through two world wars, being forced to flee German and live in exile when the Nazis came to power. He spoke out against fascism and Hitler’s reign in power and was a prominent sociopolitical speaker and essayist.

Around the documented facts of Thomas Mann’s life, his siblings, his wife and six children, some of whom came to prominence themselves, Colm Tóibín crafts a detailed fictionalised narrative of the man he was, his private thoughts and reactions to the significant events in his life - of which there were many!

I adored this book. The writing style, the historical context, the journey through a character’s entire life is everything I could wish for in a novel. I loved being drawn in to the time, the places, the mind, such that I felt Thomas Mann was someone I could’ve known.

Similar in style and pacing to A Gentleman in Moscow but with the addition of a Crossroads-esque family drama, I’d recommend it to fans of the former. It put a smile on my face this, every chapter was satisfying and it wrapped up perfectly. One of my favourites of the year so far. 

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