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The Magician
- Narrated by: Gunnar Cauthery
- Length: 16 hrs and 37 mins
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The Magician
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Summary
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.
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)
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What listeners say about The Magician
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ms E M O'Meara
- 02-06-23
What a brilliant book.
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.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mark T.
- 27-02-23
spectacular novel
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!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- HW
- 18-02-23
A magical realisation of a life
A beautiful piece of writing
engaging and complex. A fitting tribute to a to Thomas Mann
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Eva Davison
- 03-02-24
The history behind the story.
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.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- FREDDIE BATES
- 07-10-21
Cometh the Mann
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.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- LUCY
- 18-03-23
I thought it was really great
I thought it was really great. It’s story was wonderful. Intricate and full of surprises. I particularly liked it use of Irish idioms It’s humour and it’s general tone
The performance I also in general thought was good but occasionally the voice became a bit flat and dreary as if they had lost interest in what they were reading and maybe just wanted to leave and go off to the pub or home to bed with their spouse.
So overall it was a. Enjoyable listen overall despite the lapses in the narration.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- R. Long
- 07-04-22
remarkable
Absolutely fascinating description of Thomas Mann's life, family, and German society, and an insight into his secret sexual longings. Most interesting for me were his interactions with his children and with America, which first embraced then spurned him
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Waggy From Derby
- 17-05-22
ama,ing life of Thomas Mann
I knew little of Mann before listening to this. I am so grateful to have shared his life
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- cyclingcarol
- 30-03-24
Epic Family Saga
Across time and continents a very inciteful and fascinating tale of the life of Thomas Mann and his family.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- N Whitehead
- 15-04-24
Thomas’ imagery throughout The Magician
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
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