In this episode, Matt and Ryan were afforded the immense pleasure of speaking to one of the greatest living novelists of our time, Colm Tóibín. Tóibín joined us on the occasion of his latest novel, 'The Magician', being released in paperback.

The novel traces the life of 20th-century German writer Thomas Mann, author of 'The Magic Mountain', 'Death in Venice', and 'Buddenbrooks.' Thomas lived a life of profound contradictions and complexity. He was a homosexual man happily married to a woman who bore him six highly eccentric children. He was a German nationalist who became a fierce critic of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime. Above all, Thomas was a person most comfortable in his study, working confidently on his books, away from the fray. Due to the broad sweep of German history during the first half of the 20th-century, this position becomes untenable, and Thomas is forced by circumstance to become a man of action and consequence.

As you will hear from the conversation, Tóibín has become something of an expert on Thomas Mann, and speaks about his life in a way that grabs you from the first moment of the conversation. We could not be more thrilled to have spoken to him about this truly remarkable novel, perhaps the finest book Tóibín has written to date.

Hosted by Ryan Edgington and Matt Hennessey.