Product Details
- Publisher: McClelland & Stewart (2022-11-15)
- Language: English
- Paperback: 448 pages
- ISBN-13: 9780771096204
- Item Weight: 368.55 grams
- Dimensions: 7.89 x 5.18 x 1.2 cm
LONGLISTED FOR THE 2023 DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD
From the internationally bestselling author of Brooklyn and The Master comes the novel of a lifetime, Colm Tóibín's most dazzling and ambitious book yet.
When the Great War breaks out in 1914 Thomas Mann, like so many of his fellow countrymen, is fired up with patriotism. He imagines the Germany of great literature and music, that had drawn him away from the stifling, conservative town of his childhood, might be a source of pride once again. But his flawed vision will form the beginning of a dark and complex relationship with his homeland, and see the start of great conflict within his own brilliant and troubled family.
Colm Tóibín's epic novel is the story of a man of intense contradictions. Although Thomas Mann becomes famous and admired, his inner life is hesitant, fearful and secretive. His blindness to impending disaster in the Great War will force him to rethink his relationship to Germany as Hitler comes to power. He has six children with his clever and fascinating wife, Katia, while his own secret desires appear threaded through his writing. He and Katia deal with exile bravely, doing everything possible to keep the family safe, yet they also suffer the terrible ravages of suicide among Thomas's siblings and their own children.
In The Magician, Colm Tóibín captures the profound personal conflict of a very public life, and through this life creates an intimate portrait of the twentieth century.
About the Author
COLM TÓIBÍN is an internationally acclaimed, award-winning author of many novels, including The Blackwater Lightship, The Master, and The Testament of Mary, all three of which were nominated for the Booker Prize. The Master also won the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, Le Prix du meilleur livre etranger, and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction. Brooklyn, winner of the Costa Novel Award, and finalist for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, was made into an Oscar-nominated film in 2015. Nora Webster was a New York Times bestseller and was shortlisted for the Folio Prize. He is also the author of many short stories and works of non-fiction. He mainly lives in Dublin, Ireland.
