THE MAGICIAN

Gunnar Cauthery's articulate and nuanced narration of this novelized biography of author Thomas Mann melds perfectly with Irish novelist Colm Tóibín's approach to Mann--he seems captivated, measured, and mildly perplexed. Mann, the author of such famed novels as A DEATH IN VENICE, was a happily married father of six. He was also bisexual at a time when public homosexuality would have ruined his career and might have landed him in jail. Tóibín's book follows the arc of the Manns' family life from Germany through America and back to Europe, examining what drove the intense yet repressed writer, his remarkable wife, and his unsettled children. Cauthery's crisp, warm voice carries listeners easily through the narrative, and his thoughtful characterizations populate the conversations with individuals, adding to the pleasures of Tóibín's writing. A.C.S. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2021]