|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Frequently Bought Together
Product Details
|
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
The mechanisms of reflection and digression, broken down into their tiniest constituent parts, are always the focus of attention in Spanish novelist Marías's sophisticated novels (A Heart So White; Dark Back of Time; etc.). In his leisurely, incisive latest, these preoccupations fuel a plot with a spy-novel gloss. Jaime Deza, separated from his wife in Madrid, is at loose ends in London when his old friend Sir Peter Wheeler, a retired Oxford don, introduces him to the head of a secret government bureau of elite analysts with the ability to see past people's facades and predict their future behavior. A cocktail party test proves Deza to be one of the elect, and he goes to work clandestinely observing all sorts of people, from South American generals to pop stars. Deza also brings his finely tuned mind to bear on Wheeler's mysterious past and on his own family history, both of which are shadowed by the Spanish Civil War. Marías's long-drawn-out dance of withholding and revelation comes to a halt mid-step—the book is the first half of a single larger work, not a stand-alone volume—but readers with an appreciation for the author's deliberate, exquisite prose won't mind waiting for the second volume. (June 24)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Review
Marías...has found an unexpected way to retail the art of fiction as the art of detection. -- Benjamin Lytal, The New York Sun
The first part of Javier Marías's triple-decker tour de force...entangles and fascinates readers and critics. -- Ian Mitchell, naming this TLS Book of the Year
The first part of Javier Marías's triple-decker tour de force...entangles and fascinates readers and critics. -- Ian Mitchell, naming this TLS Book of the Year
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence
One should never tell anyone anything or give information or pass on stories or make people remember beings who have never existed or trodden the earth or traversed the world, or who, having done so, are now almost safe in uncertain, one-eyed oblivion. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
One should never tell anyone anything or give information or pass on stories or make people remember beings who have never existed or trodden the earth or traversed the world, or who, having done so, are now almost safe in uncertain, one-eyed oblivion. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fresh writing style..,
By Egil (Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Your Face Tomorrow #1 Fever And Spear (Paperback)
I'm about half way through Your Face Tomorrow, Fever and Spear. To put things into perspective; I have not read a fiction novel for years as I just find too many are formula based with mediocre skills of writing. That is not to say that I have better skills, I don't. Well not in writing books. My most read books are in philosophy and evolution, to keep it simple. In other words, science based, if philosophy can be considered a science.Javier Marias has a rambling style which takes you on a path of discovery of the logic behind his thoughts as portrayed by the characters in the book. You are on a wild adventure of discovery with hardly a clue as to where the next page will take you. You will find that it is hard to put down the book as you just have to see where it leads. I'm looking forward to more free time and quiet privacy to enjoy the next pages. It is a book which does not lend itself to be enjoyed in the company of others as you are drawn into the world of Javier's characters and any distractions snap you out of this wonderful story. Do not miss getting this book and take the time to understand the style and the characters.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Your face tomorrow,
By
This review is from: Your Face Tomorrow #1 Fever And Spear (Paperback)
This is not an easy reading with long sentences and ornate vocabulary. Nevertheless, it is very good and rewarding. Recommended without hesitation.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing,
By
This review is from: Your Face Tomorrow #1 Fever And Spear (Paperback)
I haven't commented a lot on what I buy, but this being a trilogy thought I'd express my disappointment. I've recently enjoyed Onetti and Bolano, and had high expectations. The writer is a bona fide literary man and it's on display in the text, but ... I found his effort to bring his well read sensibility to a spy story started out fine but falls flat. Once we know what the improbably intellectual protagonist is doing, the final flashback to his meeting with his mentor doesn't add a lot, and the "to be continued" ending was irritatingly contrived. There are fleeting references to 9/11 in the plot setting but the focus is all on arcana from the Spanish Civil War and WWII. I have a dry historical interest in all this but the implicit demand that I go further to be fascinated grates. Whatever our hero is actually up to is yet to be disclosed in the further volumes. I'm not buying the rest of the trilogy to find out.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
Most recent customer reviews |
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
