wordsofclover's Reviews (2.16k)

Afi is a young woman from a small village in Ghana, who dreams of becoming a fashion designer. Her life takes a turn when, via an arranged marriage, she marries the favourite son of a local businesswoman. Moving to the city to the city of Accra, Afi begins to live a much more luxurious life with opportunities she could never have imagined however things aren't perfect as there is another woman in her husband Eli's life whom he is not willing to let go of.

This was a well-written colourful story about a young woman's life as she starts out on the cusp of being an adult with a home, a husband and the potential of future children. I really enjoyed following Afi on this journey, and I felt really proud of her as she grew from an unsure, shy girl to confident woman with skills and the means to opening her own business.

I learned a lot about Ghanian culture in this book too especially family structure and the dos and don'ts. I felt for Afi as her greedy uncle kept holding his hand out for more, yet doing nothing for anyone in return, as well as the times when Afi felt like a pawn being moved around a chessboard by the Ganyo family. Polyamory is a theme in this book such as Afi's uncle Pious having multiple wives and children, but also the fact that Afi is expected o put up with her husband Eli also having another woman and child - just one his mother does not approve of. The book was a very interesting take on the 'other woman' trope with Afi technically coming second so being the other woman, yet she is the one approved by the family and married by Ghanian tradition (though not a legal wedding).

While the story as a whole is very mundane - it's just the day to day of Afi's new life, her journy into motherhood and her marital troubles/worries - I enjoyed the gentle pace of the novel and I loved Afi as a character. 

When 18-year-old Debbie makes the transition from secondary school student to college student, she's overwhelmed by the adulting decisions she now faces in school, the pressure to socialise with other students and she lives a life treading between two worlds - that of a more metropolitan Dublin, and her home on the family dairy farm caring for her unstable mother, and talking Greek mythology with her beloved uncle Billy.

This book is raw, dark and heartwarming all at the same time, and I absolutely loved it. I think Louise Nealon captured a girl on the cusp of the rest of her life so well, this absolute fine line between childhood and adulthood. A girl who absolutely does not know herself at all, does not know how to look after herself, and just needs to be kinder and more understanding to herself in all ways. This is very much a coming of age type novel, interspersed with some magical realism in a way thanks to Debbie and her mother's penchant for prophesising dreams, and Uncle Billy's reputation as a wise man. But is it really magical realism, or just a family with a bloodline that mean they are more sensitive to those around them, and the knowledge of the other plane of the world others have forgotten.

There are moments in this that are shocking and cutting in brutal ways from the way Debbie treats herself; her unhealthy relationship with alcohol and sex (the conversation about Debbie's maybe virginity between Debbie, Xanthe and Griffin was honestly terrifying at the thought any young girl would be unsure of that), Maeve's mental illness and Billy's secret that has haunted him since he was a young boy.

I absolutely loved Billy as a side character - the type of character that just walks off a page, hands in pocket with a gruff, 'how's things?' - just instantly alive. Think Matt Le Blanc as Irish dad in Friends Reunion episode - that is Billy. He was so multi-faceted in a way I loved, a farmer, an uncle, a dad figure, mentor, 'local politician' in Xanthe's words, but also a scholar, a learner and a dreamer. I just loved him.

This book is brilliant. It would make you sad and make you despair but it will also make you smile and think about the imperfect perfection that is a family unit. 

Thomas Mann, born in 1875 in Lubeck, Germany, grew up to witness some pivotal moments in world history including two world wars. During his career as a famed writer, Mann hid his homosexuality within his words, while outwardly enjoying a stable married life with his wife Katia, and raising six children. Outspoken against Hitler and the Nazi party, Mann and his family are exiled from Germany and eventually settle in Switzerland and the United States.

The Magician is Colm Tóibín's novelisation of Thomas Mann's life from his early childhood to his eventual death, and it's clear to everyone reading this that the author must be a very big fan of Mann and his work. While a lot of what Mann did in the lead up to the breakout of WW2 was interesting, and commendable, and some of the movements of his children in the anti-fascist circles were also fascinating and deserve praise, I did find a majority of this book quite dull.

Mann comes across as quite a cold character for most of this book, though I did enjoy seeing the warmth in his character come through in the latter half of the book with his love for his youngest daughter Elizabeth and then his fondness for his grandchildren. I definitely was a lot more engaged with the second half of this story as Hitler and the Nazi party rose to power within Germany and Mann realised something terrible was happening. At the end of the day it's also hard to forget that Mann and his family were in an incredibly privileged position where they could leave their home behind before they were in danger and go somewhere else where they could upkeep the style of life they were used to. They didn't necessarily struggle or endure any hardship when it came to their exile from their home country.

It was both sad and amusing to see Mann hide a huge part of himself in this novel, and instead content himself with watching young men he found attractive while out on his walks or in other places - always looking, never touching - and then some of his children celebrate their own queerness with aplomb for the majority of their lives.

While I can't deny this book was very well written, and Colm Tóibín always excels at a gentle, slow character study within his novels (thinking Nora Webster), I do think you have to be very aware and interested in Thomas Mann to get a whole lot out of this book as I'm sure the author did while writing it.