I was reluctant to read this novel, because, for me, Toibin’s biographical novel about Henry James, The Master, was a dud.  However, the German author Thomas Mann proves to be a much more book-worthy subject.  Like Henry James, he is a closeted homosexual, but he marries Katia and fathers six children with her.  Plus, his life is in an almost constant state of upheaval, due to WWI, WWII, McCarthyism, and the political activism of some of his family members.  The success of his novels propel him to an affluent life but with the aforementioned serious bumps along the way, plus the drug addiction of one of his children and the suicides of two of his siblings.  After having moved to the U.S., he and Katia find themselves inconveniently in Sweden when Hitler goes to war, leading them to a harrowing and desperate escape from Europe.  I did find it a bit challenging to keep track of his siblings, his children, their spouses and lovers, and his many acquaintances, including composers and other writers.  Plus, there are three Klauses(!), but the vast cast of characters did not detract from my enjoyment of the novel.  I do have a copy of Mann’s The Magic Mountain, whose length is somewhat intimidating, but I’m more inspired to tackle it now.