Fiction – paperback; Picador; 436 pages; 2021.
Colm Tóibín is one of my favourite writers, but The Magician didn’t quite work for me.
It’s an account of the life and times of Nobel Prize-winning German author Thomas Mann (1875-1955), whose work — Buddenbrooks, Death in Venice, The Magic Mountain et al — I’ve never read, so part of me wonders whether I might have enjoyed the experience more if I was familiar with his writing.
Yet, on the face of it, Mann is the perfect subject for a fictionalised biography because his life was so intriguing on so many levels — economically, socially, politically, sexually. He was born into a rich mercantile family, but his father left them high and dry when he died, and it was up to Mann to find his calling as a writer.
A closeted homosexual with a (supposed) interest in young boys, he went on to marry the devoted and independently minded Katia, who was from a wealthy industrialist family, with whom he had six children. Three of their children went on to become famous writers.
But Mann’s life was marred by the times in which he lived, particularly the rise of Hitler and the outbreak of World War II, during which he fled to Switzerland and later the US. Despite his wealth, he and Katia never seemed to settle in one place, moving constantly between Europe and America, and spending time in Sweden.
His fame meant he was often called upon to criticise Hitler and the Nazi Party, but he was reluctant to use his platform, frightened that it would put other family members at risk, but perhaps, also, because he was more interested in his own self-preservation, of living a quiet life in which he could continue his writing uninterrupted.
Tóibín chooses to tell Mann’s story in a distant third voice so that we don’t really get much of an insight into Mann’s motivations. The closest we get to a seemingly non-existent interior voice is when he frets that his diaries, which detail his sexual fantasies, may fall into the wrong hands.
And despite the great cast of characters that surround him — in particular, his transgressive, sexually outrageous-for-the-times offspring Erika and Klaus — we never really discover what others think of him. The only hint is toward the end, when his youngest son Michael sends him quite a scathing letter, claiming that he has neglected his children in favour of his creative life.
‘I am sure the world is grateful to you for the undivided attention you have given to your books, but we, your children, do not feel any gratitude to you, or indeed to our mother, who sat by your side. It is hard to credit that you both stayed in your luxury hotel while my brother was being buried. I told no one in Cannes that you were in Europe. They would not have believed me.
‘You are a great man. Your humanity is widely appreciated and applauded. I am sure you are enjoying loud praise in Scandinavia. It hardly bothers you, most likely, that these feelings of adulation are not shared by any of your children. As I walked away from my brother’s grave, I wished you to know how deeply sad I felt for him.’ (page 394)
Perhaps the reason I struggled to fully engage with this novel was the complete lack of emotion in it. Both Mann and his wife come across as rather cold fish. Was it a protective coping device? A way of saving face?
It’s hard to know, because despite the many deaths in the family which are detailed here — including the deaths by suicide of Mann’s sisters in separate incidents, and the loss of a son-in-law when the Transatlantic passenger ship he was travelling on was torpedoed during the war — Mann does not appear to shed a tear. He chooses to bury himself in his work.
Even the rivalry that Mann has with his older brother, Heinrich, who was also a writer, does not seem to trouble him and yet they had been close, living together in Italy when they were both young men. United by their desire to escape their bourgeois roots and the long shadow of their late father — a senator and grain merchant of some repute — they appear to have chosen completely different paths; Heinrich takes the radical, outspoken path, Thomas chooses the one of least resistance.
This is reflected much later in the circumstances in which they live in America: Heinrich and his ditzy second wife Nelly live in a squalid apartment; Thomas and Katia reside in a large, flashy house with an enormous garden.
Of course, the problem with a fictionalised biography of this nature is the lack of distinction between fact and fiction. I do not know enough about Mann’s life to recognise what is an act of Tóibín’s imagination and what is real.
I had hoped to take The Magician as I found it, to enjoy a story about a fascinating writer who was beset by deeply personal challenges throughout his life, but what I got was a rather plodding account of a seemingly unknowable man. Perhaps, in the end, that was Tóibín’s point?
For other takes on this novel, please see Lisa’s review at ANZLitLovers and Brona’s at This Reading Life.
I read this book as part of Cathy’s #ReadingIrelandMonth24. You can find out more about this annual blog event at Cathy’s blog 746 Books.
Reading Matters 
Oh, I *did* enjoy reading this review! I went back and re-read mine, and Brona’s, and Theresa’s (and thus #phut! have not done the very thing I came to the computer to do, i.e. print out a page of something.)
It seems like forever ago that I read and reviewed this, and yet I remember it really well. Now, looking at what I wrote with fresh eyes, I see that I was really expressing the feeling that I’d been cheated somehow. I didn’t get the Toibin I was expecting, and I didn’t get the Mann I was expecting either, and others felt the same way. How hard it must be for authors when they misjudge their audience like this…
I haven’t looked him up to see if he’s written anything new, but The Magician has created a sense of uncertainty for me about Toibin. A shift from feeling confident about investing time and money in reading his books, to feeling that I should wait and see what the blogosphere thinks before doing so.
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I saw all the negative reviews when it first came out so decided I’d read the book after the dust had settled, so to speak. And so two or more years later I thought it was time to pull it from my TBR to take on my travels and TBH the only reason I finished it was because I was stuck on a five hour flight from Sydney to Perth with no other reading material, otherwise I fear I might have abandoned it.
He has a new one coming out this year, a sequel to Brooklyn, which I am looking forward to. And last year (or was it the year before?) he published an essay collection, The Feast, which was a bit uneven IMHO.
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Five hours, gosh…
Still, as you say, a long flight can be a good way of getting a book read.
I should have remembered reading that a sequel to Brooklyn is on its way. yes, it should be good. Have you read The Testament of Mary? I loved that.
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Yea, the flight from Sydney to Perth (5hr 5min) is almost an hour longer than Melbourne to Perth (4hr 10min) … you gain a real appreciation for the size of Australia when you fly from one coast to the other!
I haven’t read The Testament of Mary, but it’s in my queue. I think my favourite Toibin (aside from Brooklyn, which I adored) is The South.
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It’s interesting because I’m not the only one who felt that emotional perspectives were lacking in TM, but in ToM, Toibin gets it right.
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I’m keen to read now. Have you read The Master? I’m interested to know whether he employed the same devices to write about Henry James… 🤔
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Yes, I have, and I thought it was wonderful. I haven’t got a review of it because I read it before I started blogging, but I read it for a book group I belonged to and I really read it carefully and took reams of notes.
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I think you’re right that a grounding in Mann’s fiction helps you appreciate the book more – that was certainly how I felt!
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I was hoping the story would be strong enough to sweep me along without having read Mann’s work, but I think I was wrong. Anyway, despite struggling to “enjoy” this one it has made me intrigued to read Mann’s work. I know I have Death in Venice somewhere so may dig it out at some point. Do you have a favourite book by Mann?
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Probably ‘Buddenbrooks’, but I also have a soft spot for ‘Tonio Kröger’ if you’re looking for something a bit shorter 😉
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Thank you! Shall investigate further.
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Wonderful review, Kim! I was very excited when this book came out, but I haven’t read it yet. I love Thomas Mann, he is one of my favourite writers. His prose is incredibly beautiful and though I haven’t read any of his thick books completely, I’ve dipped into them or read parts of them, and I’ve loved what I read. It is sad that this book didn’t work for you though. I’m not sure whether I should read it now. Thanks for sharing your thoughts 😊
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Well, if you are familiar with Mann’s work I suspect this book might resonate more with you than it did me…
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This one hasn’t appealed to me at all, and I don’t think I’ll read it in the end.
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That’s how I feel about “The Master” but given I’m a completist I expect I’ll read it at some point 🤷🏻♀️
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Rereading my review reminded me that I felt many of the same concerns you did at the time. As I said though, when we spoke the other day 😊 The Magician has stuck with me in ways I could never have imagined. Some stories get under your skin and stay there!
I’ll check in with you again in a couple of years to see if you’ve had the same delayed reaction!
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😂 I’ll make a note in my 2026 diary!
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Thanks for this. Here’s a book that has been sitting, unread, on my shelves for ages, partly because I too am unfamiliar with Mann’s work. I was hoping your review would propel the book into my hands. Now I’m not so sure …
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I lugged this around on a recent 13-night trip to Melbourne and Sydney, and while I had plenty of time to read, I just never felt compelled enough to pick it up. Make of that what you will…
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I haven’t read any Colm Toibin even though I bought some of his earlier books over the years. This one never particularly appealed, I had seen mixed reviews, so thank you for saving me the trouble of buying another book 🙂 I do have The Blackwater Lightship and The Heather Blazing and was thinking of starting with either of these.
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The Blackwater Lightship is excellent! I’ve read The Heather Blazing but it was so long ago that I can barely remember it. I should give it a reread.
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I have mixed feeling about Toibin to begin with. I did not get on with House of Names at all. I won’t be reading this one, but the review is interesting. Getting the events and locations down through third person won’t have been enough. Can you imagine Toibin using a first person POV for it?! But that would have risked seeming more genre than literary. The problem with approaching figures as huge as Mann in a novel is that you’d likely become too reverent and too distant, when what is crucial is personal interpretation. Hm. Good review anyway!
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Just fished this comment out of my spam folder… not sure why WordPress sent it there 🤷🏻♀️
I haven’t read House of Names… and not sure I will because I’m not a fan of Greek myths being retold… but Toibin’s early novels are AMAZING, especially The South, and The Blackwater Lightship. Not sure if you have read those?
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I just elected to subscribe again to receiving your blog even though I was already receiving it. Maybe that will help with the spam issue.
I haven’t read either of those. I’d like to read The Blackwater Lightship. I get the sense that Toibin, like so many well-known writers, may be rushing into publication with projects these days before he has had sufficient time with them. I have no idea what he was trying to do with House of Names. I suppose if you get to be a big name yourself, there’s a lot of pressure to keep making public everything you do.
I listened to that interview with John Banville you sent the link for. He was wonderful. I found the North American interviewer very irritating. There were gems from him and it had a real impact on me. Thanks!
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Glad you enjoyed the Banville podcast. Can I recommend this one too, it covers some similar ground but he’s interviewed by someone Irish who is juts as entertaining as he is! https://audioboom.com/posts/8276740-john-banville
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Hooray! I will enjoy this so much. I have a bunch of his novels actually but my neighbour reads them, tells me they’re great, and then I never seem to get to them! I really loved the writing he read aloud for the last podcast. Thanks Kim!
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I’ve read others say it didn’t work for them. “Interest in young boys” would have made me throw it back. Well done review!
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LOL. Thanks. I’m a “completist” so when I find an author I like, I tend to read their entire backlist, which is why I persevered. And also, I read it on holiday and thought maybe I was distracted… 🤷🏻♀️ Anyway, still looking forward to his new book coming out in May!
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I’m looking forward to it, too!
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