The Magician

Colm Tóibín, Viking, £18.99

Colm Toibin’s 10th novel is a deeply personal exploration of the life of exiled German writer Thomas Mann, whose life was filled with great acclaim and contradiction.

Ranging from Mann’s childhood in conservative Lubeck to his family’s flight to America to escape the Nazis, it paints a detailed portrait of Mann, and the devastating impact of both world wars on his family.

Compelling and riven with dread, this is also laced with wry humour.