Thus Bad Begins by Javier Marias
Madrid, 1980. Juan de Vere, nearly finished with his university degree, takes a job as personal assistant to Eduardo Muriel, an eccentric, once-successful film director. Urbane, discreet, irreproachable, Muriel is an irresistible idol to the young man. But Muriel's voluptuous wife, Beatriz, inhabits their home like an unwanted ghost; and on the periphery of their lives is Dr. Jorge Van Vechten, a family friend implicated in unsavory rumors that Muriel now asks Juan to investigate. As Juan draws closer to the truth, he uncovers only more questions. What is at the root of Muriel's hostility toward his wife? How did Beatriz meet Van Vechten? What happened during the war? Marías leads us deep into the intrigues of these characters, through a daring exploration of rancor, suspicion, loyalty, trust, and the infinitely permeable boundaries between the deceptions perpetrated on us by others and those we inflict upon ourselves.
Editorial Reviews
Review
Reviews on UK publication of Thus Bad Begins
*Named the #1 Best Book of the Year in Spain by El País*
"A demonstration of what fiction at its best can achieve." —Hari Kunzru, The Guardian
"Marías is Spain's own modern-day Cervantes . . . His style is less showy than Umberto Eco's, and wittier and more playful than Elena Ferrante's." —Robert Collins, The Sunday Times
"A simply unputdownable psychological and erotic and political thriller." —Amanda Craig, BBC Radio 4 Saturday Review
"One of Marías's most enjoyable and accessible novels." —Luke Brown, Financial Times
"A ferociously addictive, troubling, seductive read . . . I was gripped by every word." —Emma Townshend, Independent on Sunday
"Hypnotic . . . There's a slow-building sense of Hitchcock in Vertigo mode that keeps us engaged." —Lee Langley, The Spectator
"Magnificent." —John Harding, Daily Mail
"Never less than seamlessly elegant . . . As brilliantly well conceived and emotionally profound as one has come to expect from this master." —Rosemary Goring, The Herald (Scotland)
*Named the #1 Best Book of the Year in Spain by El País*
"A demonstration of what fiction at its best can achieve." —Hari Kunzru, The Guardian
"Marías is Spain's own modern-day Cervantes . . . His style is less showy than Umberto Eco's, and wittier and more playful than Elena Ferrante's." —Robert Collins, The Sunday Times
"A simply unputdownable psychological and erotic and political thriller." —Amanda Craig, BBC Radio 4 Saturday Review
"One of Marías's most enjoyable and accessible novels." —Luke Brown, Financial Times
"A ferociously addictive, troubling, seductive read . . . I was gripped by every word." —Emma Townshend, Independent on Sunday
"Hypnotic . . . There's a slow-building sense of Hitchcock in Vertigo mode that keeps us engaged." —Lee Langley, The Spectator
"Magnificent." —John Harding, Daily Mail
"Never less than seamlessly elegant . . . As brilliantly well conceived and emotionally profound as one has come to expect from this master." —Rosemary Goring, The Herald (Scotland)
About the Author
JAVIER MARÍAS was born in Madrid in 1951. The recipient of numerous prizes, including the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and the Prix Femina Étranger, he has written fourteen novels, three story collections, and twenty works of collected articles and essays. His books have been translated into forty-three languages, in fifty-five countries, and have sold more than eight million copies throughout the world.
Translated from the Spanish by Margaret Jull Costa.
Translated from the Spanish by Margaret Jull Costa.
Funmi Tofowomo Okelola
-In the absence of greatness, mediocrity thrives.
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