We are thrilled to be able to spend a lunch hour break with Mark Rubbo in conversation with Irish novelist Colm Tóibín.

Colm Tóibín’s latest epic novel, The Magician is the story of a man of intense contradictions. Centred on the life of Thomas Mann whose inner life is shown to be hesitant, fearful and secretive. His blindness to impending disaster in the Great War will force him to rethink his relationship to Germany as Hitler comes to power. He has six children with his clever and fascinating wife, Katia, while his own secret desires appear threaded through his writing. He and Katia deal with exile bravely, doing everything possible to keep the family safe, yet they also suffer the terrible ravages of suicide among Thomas’s siblings and their own children.In The Magician, Colm Tóibín captures the profound personal conflict of a very public life, and through this life creates an intimate portrait of the twentieth century.

Ticket prices

Link - $5

Link and a copy of The Magician sent to your home - $35 (Australian addresses only)

Please book here.

Attendees will be sent a promo code to claim $5 off the price of the book when they book their ticket. This code will be valid until 24 hours after the event has ended. When purchasing in store, simply mention the discount code or show your digital ticket at the counter to receive the discount.

How to ‘attend’ a virtual event at Readings

This event commences online at 12pm using the video conferencing platform Zoom.

To book for this event, you must provide your email address.

To ensure the Zoom event stays private, participants will be emailed a unique zoom link and a password 30 minutes before the event begins on the day of the event. Please check your email.

All bookings for online events will be closed one hour before the event begins.

You do not need to have a Zoom account to join a meeting, but mobile users will need to download the Zoom app for their device. Desktop and laptop users can either download the Zoom application or access the event via their web browser.