Book SynopsisBOOK OF THE YEAR 2023 ACCORDING TO GUARDIAN AND THE SPECTATOR THE FINAL NOVEL FROM THE GREATEST SPANISH WRITER OF HIS GENERATION, JAVIER MARÍAS''The most subtle and gifted writer in contemporary Spanish literature'' Boston GlobeSpain in the 1990s is beset by a simmering campaign of terror from Basque separatists ETA, with periodic atrocities shattering an illusory calm. Against this backdrop, retired British Secret Service member Tomás Nevinson - now living a quiet life in his hometown Madrid - is approached by his sinister former handler, Bertram Tupra, with an offer to bring him back in from the cold, for one last assignment: a favour for Tupra, for old times'' sake, which is also a favour for a powerful Spanish friend.His mission: to go back undercover, in a small Spanish town, to find out which of three women who moved there a decade ago is in fact an ETA terrorist, on loan from the IRA, now on the run and living there Trade ReviewA meditation on thought and consciousness, identity and disguise, the gloriously rolling sentences offer the deep pleasures of a brilliant mind apprehending the world in real time * Guardian, '2023 Summer Reads' *This is a spy thriller, but it reads like one transposed into music . . . Marías mesmerises us again and we are swept on by the long, powerful swells of his prose * Guardian *The last word from a master . . . His writing is often thrilling in a way that's distinct from any other author I know . . . once you've been inside Marías' world, to spend too long outside is unbearable * The Sunday Times *How we will miss the late Javier Marías and his unique genre of slow-motion page-turners, blending thrillery plots with long, equivocating sentences . . . [Tomás Nevinson] is full of the complexities, comedy and most of all contradictions that define his work * Guardian, 'Best Translated Novels of 2023' *A writer who loves the propulsiveness of the thriller, the page-turning compulsion that drives a reader through Eric Ambler or John le Carré * Financial Times *Mariás demonstrates why so many of his peers believe him to be among the greatest of contemporary novelists * The Herald *The most subtle and gifted writer in contemporary Spanish literature * Boston Globe *A Marías sentence is a place of infinite richness and surprises * Independent *A Spanish literary great . . . His writing is fine and subtle * Le Monde *Javier Marías's writing doesn't resemble anyone else's. It's easy to parody, but impossible to imitate . . . Javier Marias was the best writer in Spain -- Eduardo MendozaMarías occupied a reputational perch in Spanish culture that would be almost inconceivable for an American author . . . Most considered him the greatest living Spanish writer * New York Times *Javier Marias’s farewell novel sees the late Spanish spellbinder leave us in a droll, delicious, thrillerish labyrinth * The Spectator 'Best Books of 2023' *
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