The Magician

More about the book

The story begins at the turn of the twentieth century in a provincial German city, focusing on young Thomas Mann, who navigates life with a conservative father and an unpredictable Brazilian mother. He conceals his artistic ambitions and homosexual desires, longing for a charismatic Jewish man while marrying his twin sister. His infatuation leads him to write a novel about a boy he sees on a Venice beach. Despite having six children and achieving fame as a successful novelist, winning the Nobel Prize, he faces the rise of Hitler and the exile of many German writers and artists. Mann narrowly escapes to America, where he spends time at Princeton with fellow exile Einstein, eventually settling in Los Angeles in the late 1940s. There, he becomes a central figure in a vibrant community of writers, artists, and musicians, including Brecht and Schoenberg, even as his children encounter tragedy. This narrative captures the complexities of an artist and his family, deeply engaged with the world, marked by flaws and flamboyance, reflecting a rich tapestry of German propriety and Bohemian revolution.