Negra espalda del tiempo (Spanish Edition) [Paperback]

Javier Marias (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1998

A lost bullet, a tragedy in Havana, a mercenary-pilot, a one-eyed man, and the memories of a narrator all play a part in the mysterious masterpiece. Everuthing fits into this world, the unthinkable and what destiny brings.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Javier Marias is one of the worlds major living authors. If I had to name just one contemporary writer of his quality it would be Gabriel Garcia Marquez. -- Der Spiegel, Germany

About the Author

Javier Marias (Madrid, Spain, 1951) has become an international literary phenomenon. His books have been translated into twenty-two languages. More than two million copies of his books have been sold world-wide, and he could possibly be the most honored author in the world.

Product Details

• Paperback: 404 pages
• Publisher: Aguilar (January 1, 1998)
• Language: Spanish
• ISBN-10: 8420483834
• ISBN-13: 978-8420483832
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,972,746 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Javier Marías is an award-winning Spanish novelist. He is also a translator and columnist, as well as the current king of Redonda. He was born in Madrid in 1951 and published his first novel at the age of nineteen. He has held academic posts in Spain, the US (he was a visiting professor at Wellesley College) and Britain, as a lecturer in Spanish Literature at Oxford University. He has been translated into 34 languages, and more than six million copies of his books have been sold worldwide. In 1997 he won the Nelly Sachs Award; the Comunidad de Madrid award in 1998; in 2000 the Grinzane Cavour Award, the Alberto Moravia Prize, and the Dublin IMPAC Award. He also won the Spanish National Translation Award in 1979 for his translation of Tristram Shandy in 1979. He was a professor at Oxford University and the Complutense of Madrid. He currently lives in Madrid.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Javier Marías se merece el próximo Nobel de Literatura!, April 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Negra espalda del tiempo (Spanish Edition) (Paperback)

Negra Espalda del Tiempo es una novela inteligente, muy inteligente. Y fascinante. Es la novela de una novela, es la novela de Todas las Almas (All souls), escrita por Javier Marías en 1988 sobre la vida adocenada de Oxford y sus dons, o profesores, una auténtica historia de amor. Negra Espalda del Tiempo, pese a su vínculo umbilical con All Souls, se puede leer sola, quiero decir, sin necesidad de haber leído la otra novela, porque es tan fuerte la inventiva, perspicacia y sutileza del autor, que se defiende por sí misma, ¡y de qué manera! Recomiendo su lectura en español. ¡Ya!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An intelligent and innovative novel., May 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Negra espalda del tiempo (Spanish Edition) (Paperback)

The best written and most ironical and intelligent novel I've read recently. Reflexions on writing, fiction vs reality, life and time are brought together in a new narrative discourse calling for a new type of reader. Javier Marias is by far one of the best Spanish narrative writers today.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars La novela de la novela, August 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Negra espalda del tiempo (Spanish Edition) (Paperback)

Una narración interesante sobre el proceso de gestación de "Todas las almas", una de sus mejores novelas. Conocemos aquí las fuentes de documentación que empleó, sus andanzas para conseguir datos fiables, sus peleas literarias y cinematográficas y varias anécdotas sobre el mundillo cultural madrileño. La novela puede parecer atrayente por el reconocido estilo de Marías, por su maestría en la narración, por su demorada sintaxis, que revela a un gran fabulador, pero el argumento resulta totalmente anodino e intrascendente, y únicamente a los "entendidos" en esos mundillos les puede gratificar su lectura. Ciertamente, esta metanovela no ha conseguido ser una novela. Sólo para mitómanos de Javier Marías.