The Magician

Thomas’s oldest children, Erika and Klaus, seem more boisterous and theatrical to him than their younger siblings, yet quite serious about politics. Their best friends are the clever and good-looking Ricki Hallgarten and Pamela Wedekind, the daughter of a playwright. While Erika takes her Abitur (high school exam), Klaus drops out of school, insisting that he’s an artist and doesn’t need a diploma. In time, the two move to Berlin. Klaus writes stories and essays, and Erika pursues an acting career. Their personal life is the subject of much speculation in Germany. While Klaus gets engaged to Pamela, rumors hold that Erika and Pamela are lovers. Likewise, when Erika marries famous actor Gustaf Gründgens, many say that Klaus and Gründgens are in love.

Thomas experiences several losses in his birth family: Julia passes away in Polling, and Thomas’s sister Lula dies by suicide. Amid the upheavals in his large family, Thomas finishes The Magic Mountain. He likes his use of time in the novel, slowing down or expanding events to reveal the characters’ inner lives. Though he’s unsure about the reception of the long novel, Katia tells him the book shows that he’s a serious writer and “[w]ill be read by every German who cares about books” (156).