El Movil/The Motive (Andanzas) (Spanish Edition) [Paperback]

Javier Cercas (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 120 pages
• Publisher: Tusquets; 1st. edition (December 1, 2003)
• Language: Spanish
• ISBN-10: 8483102323
• ISBN-13: 978-8483102329
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,671,293 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars dark origins of literature, March 6, 2006

By 

Carlos Vazquez Quintana "cvq" (Linares- Spain) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: El Movil/The Motive (Andanzas) (Spanish Edition) (Paperback)

In Barcelona, Alvaro is a young lawyer, but as sometimes happens, these career is an imposition and truly he's not interested in that. So, he works only the indispensable to survive, because what he really wants is to become a successful writer, and he thinks literary success demands absolute dedication. Alvaro will not hesitate to use the most irregular, machiavelic methods together with enormous tenacity to attain his goal.
As he forceful lives in a modest apartment building, the neighbors are also from a low middle class; at less that seems so but there are some surprises. He thinks poetry have few commercial acceptation and so, decides to write a novel. At first he plans that work as autobiographical, but this is the case in his flat with weak thin walls, the conversations of the neighbors are easily heard, and Alvaro thinks that can aid to find a realistic, dramatic plot, an without scruples, he manipulates fatally his neighbors to attain his purpose and doesn't hesitate in lie to them to carry their lives to dramatic situations. Firstly he makes love with the stupid wife of the porter of the building to know more gossip and puts a small cassette magnetophone in a convenient place of the flat to record intimate conversations. Soon he dominates this procedure that he arrives to do almost automatically while works hard in his book. There are two flats that are more accessible to these recordings. One is that of Enrique Casares, a married man to which Alvaro spies together his wife. Enrique works in a car factory. After Alvaro gets some slight trust with him, Enrique says to Alvaro he's worried because he knows his company was to dismiss some employees and he's afraid he has to be one of these, so as Alvaro is a lawyer, Enrique asks him to study legally his problem. Alvaro accepts the task and soon he's aware the dismiss of Enrique has to be very difficult for the car firm according law, but lies to him and says it's very probable he was to be dismissed. The purpose of this is to provoke a degradation of a marriage he knows otherwise goes well. Soon, effectively, the relations of the couple of the Casares abounds in discussions and deteriorates progressively, but Alvaro, who works feverishly in his novel, isn't satisfied with only that. He knows above his apartment lives Sr. Montero, an old shy man, difficult to approach, but Alvaro attains to know Montero likes to play chess and thinks he's very good in that. Alvaro doesn't know nothing about chess, but he has old friends which play, buys books and a computer game and trains methodically until he judges he knows enough to engage Montero. This idea works well, and after some plays, old lonely Montero relax his shyness and tells to Alvaro he was a soldier in Spanish Civil War, he doesn't trusts in democracy nor banks, and furthermore he has much more money people suppose by his modest external way of life but hidden in a small security box in his own flat.
Alvaro thinks the couple Casares would wish the money of Montero if he speaks about his habits. For that, he invites Enrique and his wife to dinner and tells about that as casually, so, Alvaro's novel turns in a sketch of crime plot. The rest, you must read the novel.