by Javier Marias (Author), Margaret Hull Costa (Translator)
Juan knows little about his widowed father Ranz, a man with a troubled past; if he has been told no lies, that is because he has asked no questions. All he does know is that before marrying Juan's mother, Ranz was married to her elder sister and she had committed suicide. What gradually emerges into the cold light of day is a repetition of scenes already witnessed by Juan in the course of his travels - of a married man blackmailed by his mistress in a Havana hotel, of a woman in New York pursuing a sequence of shabby lovers through the lonely-hearts columns. With remarkable skill and delicacy Javier Marias builds up his colours to produce a startling picture of two generations, two marriages, and of the secret commerce between spouses that rests on the gossamer-thin threads of an unspoken accord.
Format: Paperback
Pages: 288
Edition: New
Publisher: Vintage
Published: 19 Jun 1997
ISBN 10: 0099448521
ISBN 13: 9780099448525
Book Overview: 'It has achieved the status of a manifesto: it is one of those unusual books breaks new ground' Le Monde