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Cover of The Magician

Historical Fiction · 2021 · PG-13

The Magician

by Colm Toibin

Thomas Mann's inner life — Tóibín's intimate portrait of the great German novelist.

"The Magician opens at the turn of the twentieth century in a provincial German city where the young boy, Thomas Mann, grows up with a conservative, conventional father and a Brazilian mother, exotic and unpredictable, who will never fit in. He hides both his artistic aspirations and his homosexual desires from this father, and his sexuality from everyone. He longs for the charismatic, beautiful, rich, cultured young Jewish man, but marries his twin sister. He longs for a boy he sees on a beach in Venice and writes a novel about him. He has six children. He is the most successful novelist of h

For14+GenreHistorical FictionLength448 pagesRead time~12 hours

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Content snapshot

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What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.

Violence

Barely any

WWII violence and the rise of Nazism

Language

None

No profanity

Sexual Content

Some

Repressed homosexuality; some sexual content

Substance Use

Barely any

Drinking

Emotional Intensity

Some

Themes of artistic exile, repression, and the political responsibilities of great writers

What this book is about

Tóibín's 2021 novel fictionalizes the life of Thomas Mann, exploring his repressed homosexuality, his family, and the catastrophe of the Third Reich. For adults.

Notes for sensitive readers

Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.

Repressed homosexuality

WWII context

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