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The Magician

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The Magician

By: Colm Tóibín
Narrated by: Gunnar Cauthery
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

The Sunday Times top 10 best seller

Winner of the Rathbones Folio Prize 2022

Shortlisted for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction 2022

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 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 Toibin tells the breath-taking story of the 20th century.

©2021 Colm Tóibín (P)2021 Penguin Audio 20th Century Biographical Fiction Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction World War I Thought-Provoking War

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Critic reviews

"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." (Richard Ford)

"No living novelist dramatizes artistic creation as profoundly, as luminously, as Colm Tóibín...reading him is among the deepest pleasures our literature can offer." (Garth Greenwell)

"This is not just a whole life in a novel, it's a whole world." (Katharina Volckmer)

All stars
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What an innovative way of writing a biography. Toibin really entered into Thomas Mann’s consciousness and brought alive his way of being and writing with great dialogue and ideas, something that could only be done by another author of great stature. A sad and fascinating piece of literature.

What a brilliant book.

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i have thoroughly enjoyed this - such an insightful journey - this is the second novel i have read from this author (first was the story of the night) and it just makes me want to read more and more! i cannot recommend this enough!

spectacular novel

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A beautiful piece of writing
engaging and complex. A fitting tribute to a to Thomas Mann

A magical realisation of a life

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When I began listening to this story I was not convinced that it was for me. The subject matter didn't appeal to me at all but I'm extremely grateful that I persevered with it. It is a brilliant book and was read in a very accomplished manner. I learned a great deal about the rise of Hitler and the Nazi party from a different perspective than the documentaries I have seen in the past. I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in modern history and literature.

The history behind the story.

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Beautiful characters, so sensitively captured spanning decades and continents. The life of a family and the way they shape each other

A wonderful book

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Stunning chronicle of the life of Thomas Mann & his family through the 20th century & 2 World Wars.

Stunning Chronicle - what a life

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I knew little of Mann before listening to this. I am so grateful to have shared his life

ama,ing life of Thomas Mann

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Across time and continents a very inciteful and fascinating tale of the life of Thomas Mann and his family.

Epic Family Saga

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I liked the readers voice which was easy to listen to
The writing transported me to Europe before and after the Second World War with its detailed descriptions and great storyline

Thomas’ imagery throughout The Magician

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For anyone who has read all of Mann’s books this is an essential read. If you haven’t read his major works, be advised that spoilers run throughout. I loved this book. It has everything I love about literature and music. Yes the chapters are full of Mahler and Beethoven and I felt that Toibin was singing the book to me, helped on by the great deliberation by Gunnar Cauthery. However, there was one section which alluded to Mann’s observation to one of his sons that didn’t sit right with me. But that is just the view of an ageing heterosexual which might not be an issue with more modern readers. All in all I would give it 9.9/10 and will buy the hard copy when it comes out in paperback.

Cometh the Mann

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